Airwallex vs Wise: Which is best for international businesses?

Both Airwallex and Wise offer multi-currency accounts, global payments and intuitive interfaces, particularly compared to traditional banks — but they ultimately offer different solutions for different businesses. Wise keeps things lightweight and simple. Airwallex gives you more features, but keeps a lot of them behind a tiered pricing structure.

Today, we're going to break down both. By the end, you'll understand what both Wise and Airwallex have to offer, how their pricing works, who each is best for and whether the best cross-border payment provider for your business might be neither.

The key features: What do you get with Wise and Airwallex?

Both platforms promise to simplify international payments, but they take very different approaches. One focuses on keeping things simple. The other gives you every bell and whistle you could want.

So here's what you actually get with Wise and Airwallex.

What you get with Wise

Wise has built its reputation on simplicity. What you see is what you get. No hidden fees, no confusing markups, no surprises. It's the straightforward option that doesn't try to be everything to everyone — and that's the point.

Here's what's on offer:

• Multi-currency accounts that hold 40+ currencies, with local account details in 9 of them
• International payments at mid-market FX rates plus a small fee per transaction
• Physical and virtual debit cards that let you spend directly from your balance in any currency
• Built-in accounting integrations with Xero, QuickBooks and Sage — included for all users
• A quick, easy setup and simple interface

What you get with Airwallex

Airwallex takes another approach. It's built for businesses that are looking for more features and don't mind a steeper learning curve.

Here's what's on offer:

• A multi-currency account that lets you send and receive payments in 23 currencies
• Both virtual and physical cards with spend controls and expense tracking for team-wide use
• Payment gateway features that help e-commerce companies collect payments from global customers
• Accounting integrations with Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite (available on Grow+ plans)
• Custom API access on top-tier plans, enabling automated workflows

Airwallex is the more complex of the two, with a lot of features and capabilities. If that's what you're looking for, you'll just need to carve out some time to figure out what features you really need and what pricing tier suits you best.

How do their pricing structures work?

Both platforms handle pricing completely differently — and that difference tells you a lot about who they're built for.

Wise's pricing structure

Wise takes the "what you see is what you pay" approach to pricing. There are no surprises, no "gotchas" and no fine print that buries key details. There's a one-time setup fee of €50 to open a business account. After that? You don't need to worry about ongoing monthly fees or subscriptions.

Currency conversions use the mid-market rate plus a percentage-based fee that typically runs between 0.33% to 1.0%, depending on the currency pair.

Airwallex's pricing structure

Airwallex takes a much different approach with a four-tiered pricing structure for EU businesses:

• Explore: €0 per month (if you deposit €10,000 monthly / maintain a €10,000 balance) or €19 per month.
• Grow: €49 per month, which adds expense management and bill pay features.
• Accelerate: €999 per month.
• Custom: Tailored pricing for high-volume businesses.

Airwallex also charges a 0.5% to 1% exchange rate markup on all conversions, depending on the currency.

Tiered pricing structures work if your business needs fit neatly into one of the tiers. If they don't, you'll end up paying for features you don't use or upgrading sooner than you'd like as your business grows.

When Wise is a good fit

If you're looking for an efficient, affordable way to handle cross-border payments without a steep learning curve and if you value simplicity over bells and whistles, Wise is a solid choice.

You're probably a good match if you're a freelancer, consultant or small business owner who works with international clients in multiple currencies. Digital nomads tend to love it, as do small businesses in the early stages of their international expansion. E-commerce businesses selling products across borders also find it useful, particularly when their transaction volumes are still relatively low.

When Airwallex is a good fit

Airwallex makes sense when you need more features, particularly those designed for e-commerce businesses, and don't mind paying extra for them.

E-commerce businesses gravitate towards Airwallex as they'll often want to create online checkout links, accept global payments and make use of the payment gateway features. The expense management tools also work well for teams that need to track and control global spending.

So if you're comfortable with a more technical platform and can afford the higher-tier plans (where the real value kicks in), Airwallex might be for you. It often suits larger businesses that aren't concerned with the Accelerate or Custom price tags, as they can get the most out of it.

Where does each provider fall short?

Here's what you won't get with Wise or Airwallex, and why it matters for your growing business.

Neither offers comprehensive FX risk management tools

For Wise and Airwallex users, there's no access to fixed, flexible or dynamic forward payment contracts to lock in future rates or reduce volatility.

Why is this important? When exchange rates swing against you, your margins take the hit. No protection, no warning. For businesses moving serious money across borders, this can get expensive — fast.

Human support is limited (unless you pay more)

Do you value hands-on support from real humans? Maybe you should look elsewhere. Wise relies on email support tickets and help docs. And unless you're on Airwallex's highest-priced tier, you don't get access to an account manager and are largely on your own when things go sideways.

Confused by a complex payment issue? Got questions about currency risk? You'll likely be working through support tickets or speaking to chatbots instead of talking to someone who actually understands your business.

Tracking for international payments is basic

With Wise and Airwallex, you get the standard notifications to track payments, so you know when your payment has been sent and when it arrives, but that's about it. No visibility into which intermediary banks are handling your payment, no clarity on where your money sits along its journey, and no easy way to share status updates with suppliers or partners.

When you're sending or waiting on a time-sensitive payment, that lack of visibility can become a real problem.

What's the best alternative for Airwallex and Wise that fills these gaps?

If you're looking for an alternative to Wise or Airwallex that better fits growing businesses, iBanFirst may be the right fit for you.

What you get with iBanFirst

iBanFirst is built specifically for growing international SMBs — we aren't juggling solutions for both B2B and B2C like Wise or trying to offer solutions and features for freelancers, large corporations and everyone in between like Airwallex.

With iBanFirst, you get access to advanced FX risk management tools that give you the ability to lock in rates, better forecast costs, and reduce FX risk. Got questions? You get expert support from human FX specialists — without paying enterprise-level fees. We can support your growing international payment volumes and help you reduce FX risk.

And our Payment Tracker gives you real-time updates and shareable tracking links, so you and your beneficiaries never have to wonder where a payment is. You're aware of any roadblocks or delays and which intermediary banks are involved — all in real time. 

Get started with iBanFirst today 

If your business regularly moves money across borders, you're already exposed to FX risks like rate fluctuations. iBanFirst helps SMBs like yours take control of that risk with tools that go beyond transfers.

Here's exactly what you'll get with iBanFirst:

• Multi-currency accounts to manage 25+ global currencies from one dashboard
• Easily send, receive and convert funds on your schedule
• Fixed, flexible and dynamic forward payments to manage currency exposure and lock in rates
• Support from real, human FX experts — not just chatbots and complex help docs
• Real-time payment tracking for international payments with timestamped updates and shareable links for your suppliers and partners
• No feature gating — you get access to the platform, FX experts and dedicated support from day one
• Transparent pricing with no hidden fees

Request an account today and see why thousands of international businesses choose iBanFirst.