Currency Converter

Convert between 20 major world currencies using ECB reference rates, refreshed daily. Designed for travel, salary comparisons, and quick budgeting — not for FX trading.

What “the exchange rate” actually means

The rate you see here is the mid-market rate — the midpoint between what banks buy and sell a currency for among themselves. It's the cleanest reference rate that exists, and it's the number you'll see on Google, Reuters, and most financial news services. It is not the rate you'll get when you actually exchange money.

Banks, brokers, and money-changers add a spread — a margin on top of the mid-market rate. Typical spreads:

• 0.1 - 0.5% — wholesale FX, large transactions through specialist brokers.
• 0.4 - 1.0% — Wise, Revolut, and similar app-based providers on common pairs.
• 1 - 3% — high-street bank international transfers and credit-card foreign transactions.
• 3 - 8% — airport currency kiosks. Avoid.
• 5 - 15% — hotel currency desks and tourist-trap exchange windows.

So when this calculator says £100 = €118, the real-world deliverable will likely be somewhere between €115 and €117 depending on which provider you use. The mid-market rate is the ceiling, not the floor.

How often these rates update

This calculator uses the European Central Bank's published reference rates, served via the open-source Frankfurter API. The ECB publishes once per working day, around 16:00 CET. Live FX markets, by contrast, update every microsecond and can move 1-2% within a single trading session. Do not use this calculator for trading decisions. Use a real FX terminal — XE.com, Reuters, a broker platform — if you need rate accuracy for an actual transaction.

Worked example: travel money

You're going to Spain for a week and want to take €500 in cash. At a mid-market rate of £1 = €1.18, that's £424. But the high-street bank quotes you £1 = €1.13 — a spread of around 4%. You'd actually pay £442. The airport bureau quotes £1 = €1.08, a spread of 8.5%: you'd pay £463. The cost of choosing the wrong provider is £39 — more than a meal in Madrid.

Worked example: salary in two countries

A job in Gibraltar pays £55,000. A similar role in Spain pays €60,000. Same calculator: €60,000 ÷ 1.18 ≈ £50,847. Spain looks lower. But the real comparison also needs:

• Take-home pay (different tax systems — try our Salary Calculator).
• Cost of living (Gibraltar housing is roughly 2-3× Spain inland).
• FX rate stability over your expected tenure.
• Currency you have liabilities in (mortgage, family commitments).

Currency conversion alone tells you nothing about purchasing power. Use it as one input, not the answer.

Why GBP isn't really GBP everywhere

The Gibraltar pound (GIP) is at parity with sterling (1 GIP = 1 GBP). The Falkland Islands pound (FKP), Saint Helena pound (SHP), and Jersey pound are similar parity-linked currencies. None of them are exchangeable at face value outside their home territory — try paying with a Gibraltar £20 note in London and watch the cashier struggle. This calculator does not distinguish between these regional sterling variants because no FX market quotes them; they all trade at GBP parity by design.

What this calculator does NOT do

• Apply any spread or transaction fee — quoted rates are mid-market only.
• Cover crypto (BTC, ETH, etc.) — those need a separate exchange feed.
• Cover exotic currencies (most African, Central Asian, and Pacific currencies). The 20 currencies covered are those in the ECB reference basket.
• Provide historical rates — only the latest available daily rate.
• Hedge against rate movement — for that you need forwards, options, or a multi-currency account.

Disclaimer

Rates shown are reference rates only. The actual rate you receive when exchanging or transferring money will differ and is set by your bank, broker, or app. This calculator is for general planning use, not financial or trading advice.