Remittance Comparison Calculator
Cross-agency
Compare up to three providers on what the recipient actually receives, using the fee and the exchange rate margin rather than the advertised fee alone.
This calculator does not carry current agency interest or dividend rates. You enter the rate, so a result is only as current as the figure you typed.
It is an estimate for planning, not an official quotation, and each provider's own figures are what govern. Confirm the figures before you commit to anything.
Every figure on this page is from official published documents: TIEZA, Bureau of Customs and National Bureau of Investigation.
Last verified 4 sources, listed below
TIEZA | Full Travel Tax1 · TIEZA | Reduced Travel Tax2 · Bureau of Customs | Balikbayan Box Guidelines3 · National Bureau of Investigation | Citizen's Charter Handbook 2025 (1st Edition)4. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
What this calculator does
You enter the amount you are sending, today’s mid-market rate, and for each provider a fixed fee and a margin below the mid-market rate. It ranks the providers on what the recipient receives, and shows how far behind the best option each one falls.
Provider C is optional. Leave it blank to compare two.
Why it ranks on what arrives, not on the fee
A remittance carries two charges and only one is advertised:
| Charge | How it appears |
|---|---|
| Fixed fee | Advertised, in the sending currency |
| Exchange rate margin | Usually not presented as a charge at all |
A “zero fee” transfer is not free if the rate carries a margin. Worked at a mid-market rate of ₱58.00 on USD $500.00:
| Provider | Fee | Margin | Recipient receives | Behind the best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | $5.00 | 1% | ₱28,422.90 | - |
| C | $10.00 | 0% | ₱28,420.00 | ₱2.90 |
| A | $0.00 | 3% | ₱28,130.00 | ₱292.90 |
The zero-fee provider finishes last, ₱292.90 behind a provider charging USD $5.00. The provider charging the most in fees finishes second, ₱2.90 off the lead.
The ranking changes with the amount
Fixed fees stay flat while margins scale, so the winner is not stable. Same three providers, same rate:
| Send amount | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| USD $100.00 | Provider B | The flat $10.00 fee is 10% of the transfer |
| USD $500.00 | Provider B | Fee and margin roughly balance |
| USD $5,000.00 | Provider C | A 0% margin beats a $10.00 fee at scale |
Compare at the amount you actually send, not a round number.
Why there are no provider names or rates here
No government agency publishes remittance rates, none of the agencies covered on this site administers remittance, and this site does not rank financial products. Every figure above is illustrative arithmetic, not a quote.
Every remittance figure on this page is illustrative arithmetic, not a quote. The sourcing band and the sources below cover the government fees in the next section, which are real published figures from the agencies named. You supply the provider rates; the calculator does the arithmetic.
What the government side costs, for comparison
The transfer itself is private and unpublished. Everything around sending money home is published, and these are the sourced figures, unlike the illustrative provider numbers above.
| Item | Published fee | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Travel tax, economy | ₱1,620.00 | Full rate |
| Travel tax, first class | ₱2,700.00 | Full rate |
| Travel tax, standard reduced, economy | ₱810.00 | Minors, journalists |
| Travel tax, OFW dependent, economy | ₱300.00 | Privileged reduced |
| Travel tax, OFW | ₱0.00 | Exempt under PD 1183 |
| Balikbayan box | Exempt to ₱150,000.00, 3 times a year | Qualified Filipinos While Abroad |
| NBI clearance | ₱130.00 plus ₱30.00, ₱160.00 total | - |
| NBI clearance, delivered | ₱200.00 NCR, ₱350.00 outside | 5 or 7 to 10 working days |
| National Police Clearance | ₱150.00 plus a convenience fee | Valid 6 months |
| PSA birth certificate, viewable online | ₱130.00 | Valid 60 days |
| Postal ID, regular | ₱550.00 | 24 days, 1 hour and 37 minutes |
| OWWA membership | USD $25.00 | Valid to contract end or 2 years |
Two of those dwarf most remittance savings. Travel tax exemption is worth ₱1,620.00 per economy trip, and a qualifying balikbayan box avoids roughly ₱34,800.00 in duty and VAT at illustrative rates on a ₱150,000.00 shipment, against the ₱292.90 the worked example above turns on.
That is the useful perspective: shaving a provider margin is worth tens or hundreds of pesos per transfer, while getting the government exemptions right is worth thousands per trip.
What it does not include
Receiving-side charges, cash pickup fees, promotional rates, transfer limits and delivery speed. Those differ per provider and per corridor, and none of them is published by an agency this site sources from.
Sources
- TIEZA | Full Travel Tax, retrieved
- TIEZA | Reduced Travel Tax, retrieved
- Bureau of Customs | Balikbayan Box Guidelines, retrieved
- National Bureau of Investigation | Citizen's Charter Handbook 2025 (1st Edition), retrieved