HolaRetire · Free planning tools for retiring to Spain
Sending money to Spain: what it really costs
The fee is not the cost. See what the exchange rate takes, and what a better one is worth.
€
The rate with no margin in it. Type your own if you have a quote in front of you.
How far below mid-market the provider’s rate sits. Banks rarely tell you; you can work it out from a quote.
%
€
What this means for you
Euros that arrive: €2,253
Euros that arrive
What the transfer costs you: €75
What the transfer costs you
As a share of the amount: 3.73%
As a share of the amount
This transfer costs you €75, and €60 of that is inside the exchange rate rather than on the invoice. That is the number to compare between providers — the fee is the part they are willing to show you.
What a better rate is worth
Moving from your margin to a specialist’s would keep about €596 a year, or €2,978 over five years, on this pattern of transfers.
The same transfer at three margins
Margin
Euros received
Total cost
Your figures
3%
€2,253
€75
A specialist
0.5%
€2,311
€25
A high-street bank
3%
€2,253
€75
1.1700 → 1.1349
What to ask a provider
“What rate will I actually get, and what is the mid-market rate right now?” — the gap is the answer
What the total is in your currency, all in, before you agree to anything
Who regulates them, and whether client money is held separately from their own
What happens if the payment is late, and who chases the receiving bank
Whether a recurring transfer gets a better margin than a one-off — it usually does
Turn this answer into your moving plan
Your personal step-by-step plan for retiring to Spain, built around this result.
A step-by-step plan of 35–50 steps, personal to your situation
Dates and deadlines for every step
The right professional for the steps that need one
Almost every transfer is sold on the wrong number. “No fee” usually means the cost is inside the exchange rate, where it is invisible and where it is normally several times larger than any fee would have been. Put your amount in and see both halves of it.
Two things, and only one of them is advertised. There is whatever flat charge the provider makes, and there is the margin they add to the exchange rate — the gap between the rate you get and the mid-market rate the banks trade at. Specialists live around half a percent; high-street banks are commonly at three, and neither prints the number.
What is the mid-market rate?
The rate you see on a search engine or a financial news site, with no margin in it. Nobody sells you money at that rate — it is a reference point, and its only use is to measure what you were charged. This page takes it from the European Central Bank’s daily published rates, and you can type your own in if you have a quote in front of you.
Is it worth using a specialist rather than my bank?
On a one-off transfer of a few hundred, the flat fee dominates and the answer is often no. On a pension arriving every month for twenty years, or on the proceeds of a house sale, the margin is the whole game — which is why the five-year figure is on the page. What a specialist is not is a bank, so check who regulates them and how your money is held before you send anything.
Should I fix a rate in advance?
Forward contracts and rate alerts are the usual pitch, and they genuinely help somebody with a house sale landing on an unknown date. For a monthly pension they matter far less than the margin does. Either way a contract that locks you in is a commitment, not a saving, so understand what happens if your date moves.
Are these figures current?
The exchange rate is fetched daily and dated on the page; if it cannot be reached, the field simply becomes yours to fill in. Everything else here was last checked on 19 August 2026.
Figures verified on 19 August 2026.
Based on 2013 and 2025 figures where a newer official figure has not been published.
This is an estimate to help you plan, not advice. Your own position depends on where in Spain you live and on details no calculator sees — check anything that matters with a professional.