Remitly vs Western Union: Which is Better for Money Transfers?
Remitly built its brand as the modern, low-cost alternative to legacy providers like Western Union. Real data says the opposite is closer to the truth: across six corridors we compared head-to-head today, Western Union beat Remitly's payout in five of them.
Six corridors, head-to-head, sending 100 units of the source currency today:
| Corridor | Remitly Rate | Remitly Fee | Remitly Receives | Western Union Rate | Western Union Fee | Western Union Receives | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK → Brazil | R$6.87 | £1.99 | R$673.23 | R$6.81 | £0.00 | R$680.88 | Western Union |
| UK → India | ₹128.12 | £1.99 | ₹12,557 | ₹127.63 | £0.00 | ₹12,763 | Western Union |
| UK → Mexico | Mex$22.61 | £1.99 | Mex$2,216.01 | Mex$22.96 | £0.00 | Mex$2,295.54 | Western Union |
| UK → Nigeria | ₦1,830.92 | £0.00 | ₦183,092 | ₦1,786.44 | £0.00 | ₦178,644 | Remitly |
| UK → Pakistan | PRs371.33 | £0.99 | PRs36,765 | PRs369.87 | £0.00 | PRs36,987 | Western Union |
| US → Mexico | Mex$16.59 | $1.99 | Mex$1,625.99 | Mex$16.78 | $1.99 | Mex$1,644.59 | Western Union |
Western Union's edge here isn't a fee trick — on four of these six corridors it charges nothing at all, while Remitly charges £1.99 or £0.99. But the gap isn't just the fee either: on UK → Mexico and US → Mexico, Western Union's exchange rate is also better than Remitly's outright, fee aside. Remitly isn't losing narrowly here — on Brazil, India, and UK → Mexico, Western Union's payout leads by a meaningful margin, not a rounding error.
Nigeria is the exception, and it's worth understanding why. Both providers charge zero fee on this corridor, so the comparison comes down purely to rate — and Remitly's rate (₦1,830.92) is genuinely better than Western Union's (₦1,786.44). When neither provider is charging a fee, Remitly can and does win. That's not the case on most of the other corridors here.
Zooming out — how the two compare across every corridor Sendrater tracks, not just these six:
| Metric | Remitly | Western Union |
|---|---|---|
| Rate Leadership Ratio (cheapest provider outright) | 37% | 48% |
| Active competitive corridors | 141 | 128 |
| Corridors where it ranks in the top 3 | 53 | 61 |
Remitly is active on more corridors than Western Union — 141 versus 128 — so it has broader reach. But when both are competing on the same corridor, Western Union is the outright cheapest option far more often: a 48% Rate Leadership Ratio against Remitly's 37%, and more corridors where it ranks in the top 3. Founded in 1851, Western Union isn't out-priced by the newer, app-based challenger it's often compared against — on Sendrater's own tracked data, it's usually the other way round.
That doesn't make Remitly a bad choice. Its app is well reviewed, its coverage is broader, and on corridors where fees are equal, it can and does win on rate. But "Remitly is cheaper because it's newer" isn't a safe assumption — check the actual payout for your corridor before assuming which provider wins.
Methodology: based on live rates captured on Sendrater across six shared corridors on the date shown in this article, plus each provider's site-wide performance stats across all corridors we track. Rates change daily — check today's live comparison for your specific corridor and amount before sending.