The cheapest way to get paid by an international client is usually to give them bank details in their own currency, so they make an ordinary domestic transfer, and then convert at a small, visible margin. Wise and Payoneer both offer that where they operate. PayPal is the easiest for the client and usually the most expensive for you, and the biggest cost is rarely the headline fee: it is the currency conversion.
Every figure below was checked on the provider's own pricing pages in October 2026. These fees change, and they depend on where you live, where your client lives and which currencies are involved. Use this to understand the structure, then put your own numbers into each provider's calculator before you choose.
The three places money disappears
Whatever you use, a payment from abroad can lose money in three places:
- The receiving fee. A percentage, a fixed amount per payment, or both, charged when the money arrives.
- The conversion. When dollars become rupees, the rate you get is usually worse than the mid-market rate you see on Google. The gap is a fee, even when nobody calls it one.
- The withdrawal. Moving the money from the provider to your local bank account.
There is also a fourth, outside your provider: the client's bank, and any intermediary bank, can take a slice of an international wire before it reaches you. This is why "the client paid $1,000 and $975 arrived" happens even when your own provider charges nothing.
What each one charges (checked October 2026)
| Wise | Payoneer | PayPal (India page) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account details to receive | Free on personal accounts | Free | Not applicable |
| Receiving | USD domestic: free. USD wire or Swift: 6.11 USD per payment | Local-currency receiving account: free. Non-local currency: 1%, minimum 1 USD | 4.40% plus a fixed fee (0.30 USD for USD payments) |
| Client pays by card | Not covered here | Up to 3.99% plus 0.49 USD | Included in the receiving fee |
| Conversion | Fee shown before you convert, varies by currency | 0.50% between your own balances; 1.2% to 4% when withdrawing with conversion | 3.0% above the base rate on money received |
| Other | Annual fee of 29.95 USD if you receive less than 6,000 USD in 12 months |
Sources: Wise receiving fees, Payoneer pricing, PayPal India fees. PayPal sets its fees per country, so if you are not in India, open your own country's version of that page.
A worked example: one 1,000 USD invoice
Say a client in the US pays you 1,000 USD and you need the money in Indian rupees. Using only the published rates above, and ignoring taxes on fees:
- PayPal (India): 4.40% plus 0.30 USD is 44.30 USD, leaving 955.70 USD. Converting at a 3.0% markup costs roughly another 28.70 USD. Around 73 USD gone, or about 7.3%, before any tax on the fees.
- Payoneer, USD receiving account: USD is not your local currency, so 1% (10 USD) on the way in, leaving 990 USD. Withdrawing to an INR bank account with conversion is 1.2% to 4% depending on your corridor, so somewhere between about 12 and 40 USD. Between roughly 22 and 50 USD in total.
- Wise: the client pays domestically in the US at no receiving fee, and you pay Wise's conversion fee for USD to INR, which its calculator shows for your exact amount. For Indian business accounts there is also a fixed fee, covered below.
The point is not the exact figures, which will have moved by the time you read this. It is the shape: a percentage on the way in plus a markup on the conversion adds up quickly, and on a year of invoices the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive route is a meaningful sum of money.
India: what is different
Wise's help centre describes account details for Indian businesses that work differently from the usual Wise account. A client can pay you in one of 24 currencies, but the money is not held in a balance: Wise converts it to INR automatically and sends it to your verified Indian bank account. Wise lists a fee of 2 USD equivalent per transfer for this, which it says covers issuing the e-FIRC. It requires a Wise Business account.
If you are an individual rather than a registered business, check eligibility in the Wise app before you promise a client those payment details.
PayPal does operate in India for receiving international payments, at the rates above. It is convenient, clients know it, and it is the most expensive of the three on a normal invoice.
Pakistan: what is different
Wise's own guide to receiving international payments in Pakistan says that residents of Pakistan cannot sign up for Wise accounts directly. What does work is the other direction: a client with a Wise account sends the payment through Wise to your Pakistani bank account, and it arrives in PKR. For a client in the US, UK or Europe that is usually cheap and simple, so it is worth asking for.
PayPal does not offer accounts to residents of Pakistan. Payoneer does operate there, and the fee structure in the table applies: free into a local-currency account, 1% into a USD receiving account, and a conversion cost when you withdraw to a PKR bank.
Make the cheap way the easy way for the client
Clients pay the way that is in front of them. If your invoice shows a PayPal link first, most will use it.
- Put one payment method on the invoice as the default, with full details: the account details in the client's currency, not a vague "Wise or Payoneer, let me know".
- Invoice in the client's currency when you have receiving details in it. A US client paying USD domestically is cheaper for both of you than a US client wiring dollars abroad.
- Offer the expensive option second, and price your rate knowing that some clients will use it.
- Keep records. Invoices, contracts and the provider's transaction history. Compliance teams ask for them, and so do accountants.
What to put on a freelance invoice covers the rest of the invoice itself, and the rate calculator has a line for costs, which is where these fees belong when you work out what you need to charge.