Revolut vs Airwallex: Compare on fees, features, and benefits in the US

As your business grows, a flexible financial platform is essential — one that lets you open local accounts in multiple currencies, accept global payments effortlessly, and send funds across borders without high fees. Both Revolut and Airwallex offer these services, but which solution is right for your business? Read on to find out how Airwallex compares to Revolut in price, features, and benefits. 

What is Revolut?

Founded in 2015, Revolut is a financial technology company offering digital financial services for consumers and businesses. Revolut provides a range of tools for managing finances, facilitating cross-border payments, and handling currency exchanges, with added features like budgeting and cryptocurrency trading. It’s designed to be a flexible, cost-effective solution for freelancers, gig workers, and small businesses needing foreign exchange (FX) services and basic domestic and international payments. 

Revolut’s accessible pricing plans appeal to individuals and smaller businesses seeking streamlined financial services without the high costs of traditional banks. 

What is Airwallex?

Also founded in 2015, Airwallex is a comprehensive financial platform that simplifies international business operations and accelerates global expansion. It offers multi-currency business accounts, enabling US businesses and companies worldwide to receive and hold funds in 23+ major currencies, transfer funds in 60+ currencies, and accept online payments from 180+ countries. Unlike many competitors, Airwallex offers cost-effective transfers with no withdrawal or transaction fees when using local rails in 120+ countries and highly competitive FX rates.

Airwallex also functions as a payment service provider in the US, enabling businesses to accept cards and local payment methods directly on their websites or through customizable payment links and plug-ins. Beyond payments, Airwallex offers spend management tools, helping businesses track and control expenses more effectively. Its embedded finance solutions go further, allowing companies to integrate various financial services — such as global payments, transfers, FX, and card issuance — into their products. This flexibility empowers businesses to offer seamless financial services to their customers, enhancing user experience and creating new revenue opportunities within their own platforms.

Compare Airwallex vs Revolut

*Some currencies in certain regions may have additional fees that apply

**Additional fees apply for SWIFT transfers (SHA and OUR)

Revolut fees explained 

Monthly fees: Specifically designed for startups and small companies, Revolut uses an incremental subscription-based model for its business accounts comprised of four tiers⁴:

• Basic ($0/month)

• Grow ($30/month)

• Scale ($119/month)

• Enterprise (custom pricing)   

Transfers and FX conversion fees: The number of fee-free international and local transfers varies by plan:

International

• Basic: No free international transfers

• Grow: 5 free international transfers/month

• Scale: 25 free international transfers/month

• For any transfers beyond these limits, a $5 fee applies per transaction

Local 

• Basic: 5 free local transfers/month

• Grow: 100 free local transfers/month

• Scale: 1,000 free local transfers/month

• Transfers beyond these limits incur a fee of $0.20 per transaction

Each plan also offers a specific amount of currency exchange at the interbank rate without additional fees:

• Basic: $1,000 per month

• Grow: $10,000 per month

• Scale: $50,000 per month

• Enterprise Plan: Custom limits

To convert currencies, a fee of 0.6% applies to exchanges exceeding your monthly allowance, which varies by plan. There is also a 1% fee on exchanges made outside market hours.⁵

Business debit cards: Grow and Scale customers receive one or two complementary cards, respectively, to spend in up to 150 countries. A $49 fee applies for every card above your plan allowance. A 2% fee applies per ATM withdrawal. Cashback offers are available for Enterprise plan holders only.¹ 

Airwallex fees explained

Monthly fees: Airwallex business accounts do not charge a monthly fee. There are no minimum balance requirements or number of transactions, making it a cost-effective option for businesses looking to manage international payments. 

Transfers and FX conversion fees: With Airwallex, domestic and international customer payments are received into a multi-currency wallet. When paying overseas suppliers and contractors, you can utilize local payment rails in over 120 countries, which helps minimize fees and expedite transactions. If a transaction involves currency conversion, Airwallex provides competitive FX rates, typically 0.5% above the interbank rate for major currencies like USD, EUR, GBP, and AUD and 1% above for other currencies. This structure reduces cross-border payment costs and improves the efficiency of international transactions.

Business debit cards: Airwallex provides both physical and virtual Visa-supported cards, allowing spending in multiple currencies directly from account balances. These cards are free to create and offer up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases without international transaction fees. They are compatible with digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay and include tools for tracking, controlling, and approving expenses.

Revolut vs Airwallex: compare additional features

Embedded finance solutions

Available for Grow plans and up, Revolut’s Business API lets you view accounts, make payments, and automate currency exchange, ideal for businesses looking for simple integration tools. Open to customers big and small, Airwallex builds robust embedded finance solutions that enable US businesses to seamlessly integrate global payment acceptance, transfers, and foreign exchange directly through their platforms. With these solutions, businesses can provide financial services to global customers in-house, simplifying operations, enhancing customer experience, and reducing dependency on third-party providers.

Expense management tools 

Revolut offers business accounts with features such as real-time analytics, card issuance, and limited integration with existing business tools, focusing on expense management and cash flow forecasting.

Airwallex offers a complete set of financial tools that automate global payments, money transfers, and currency exchange while simplifying expense management and bill pay. Additionally, Airwallex provides business debit cards that allow companies to manage global spending effectively and connect easily with accounting software like Xero and QuickBooks for comprehensive financial oversight.

Batch transfers

Both Airwallex and Revolut offer batch transfer capabilities, enabling businesses to process multiple payments simultaneously. Airwallex provides this feature to all customers, allowing up to 1,000 payments in a single batch across various countries, currencies, and transfer methods. This flexibility streamlines payment processes and reduces errors, as users can upload payment details using an intuitive template. 

In contrast, Revolut's bulk payments feature is available starting from the Grow plan and above. This functionality allows users to create and release multiple payments at once, with a limit of 1,000 payment entries per CSV file. 

While both platforms facilitate efficient batch payments, Airwallex offers this service to all customers without needing a specific subscription plan, providing greater accessibility for businesses of varying sizes.

Scalability and advanced management tools

Revolut provides multi-currency accounts and essential cross-border payment features that cater to smaller or early-stage businesses entering new markets. Its services are structured around core international transactions and currency exchange, giving businesses a straightforward solution to basic global needs.

Airwallex includes tools designed to scale with more complex operations, in addition to multi-currency and cross-border payment functions. The platform offers features such as revenue stream management, global fund flow optimization, multi-entity account grouping, and centralized reporting. These capabilities are geared toward companies managing multiple countries or regions, providing a suite of advanced tools that streamline international operations as they expand.

Final thoughts: Revolut vs Airwallex

For scaling companies targeting worldwide clients and opportunities overseas, Airwallex has a clear edge over Revolut in terms of the sophistication of its international capabilities.

While Revolut sufficiently services starter sole proprietorships, the monthly fees and plan limitations may hinder fast-growing global SMEs and enterprises. As businesses expand, they often require more flexible solutions to accommodate multi-currency transactions, comprehensive expense management, and seamless integrations with existing accounting systems.

Airwallex is uniquely designed to solve complex multi-currency transaction challenges for scaling businesses worldwide. From holding balances globally and market-leading FX rates to no-fee business debit cards and oversight for real-time transfers — Airwallex’s advanced financial infrastructure supports you every step of the way. 

Sources

1. https://www.revolut.com/en-US/business/business-account-plans/

2. https://help.revolut.com/help/receiving-payments/transfers-info/international-iban/business/ 

3. https://www.revolut.com/en-US/business/money-transfers/ 

4. https://www.revolut.com/en-US/business/business-account-plans/

5. https://help.revolut.com/en-US/business/help/receiving-payments/currency-exchanges/exchanging-currencies/ 

Disclaimer: We wrote this article in Q4 2024. The information was based on our own online research, and we were not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. This research is reviewed every six months. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].