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Western Union Review 2026: What Our Price Data Shows
Is Western Union expensive? On 50 routes we price, it was cheapest on 18 and most expensive on 17 — and where you send from decides which.
In summary
On 50 routes priced in late September 2026, Western Union was the cheapest on 18 and the most expensive on 17. From France it was never the most expensive; from the US it was the most expensive on 11 of 15 routes.
Western Union has a reputation for being expensive. Our price data says something more precise: it depends almost entirely on where you send from. Between 26 and 29 September 2026 we recorded its price on 50 routes where at least one other provider is also priced, for a transfer of 100 units of the sending currency. It was the cheapest on 18, tied for cheapest on 3, and the most expensive on 17.
Where you send from changes everything
| Sending country | Routes compared | Cheapest | Tied | Most expensive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Germany | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| United Kingdom | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Spain | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Canada | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| United States | 15 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
From France, Western Union was never the most expensive provider we recorded. From the United States, it was the most expensive on 11 of 15 routes.
Where Western Union was cheapest
- France → Senegal and France → Côte d'Ivoire: €0.99 fee, 0.99% total cost, against 1.79% and 1.85% for WorldRemit.
- Spain → Senegal: 0.99%, against 6.99% for WorldRemit.
- Germany → Morocco: 2.58%, against 4.44% for the next provider.
- France, Germany and Italy → Tunisia: 3.57% to 4.28%, ahead of WorldRemit on each.
- To Haiti and Ethiopia, it was cheapest from every country we price — but often against a single competitor, Wise, at 8.6% to 18.3% on these routes.
On the routes to the CFA franc zone, the exchange rate is pegged to the euro and Western Union applied it without a margin: its only cost was the €0.99 fee.
Where it was most expensive
- From the United States to Africa: 6.80% to 7.20% to Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon and Kenya, where the cheapest provider was between -0.99% and 2.27%. Its $5.99 fee weighs heavily on $100.
- United States → Mexico: 7.46%, against 0.29% for InstaReM.
- United States → Philippines: 4.81%, against 0.19% for WorldRemit.
- From the UK to Pakistan, Kenya and Nigeria: last, though closer to the others (2.22% to 3.88%).
A negative total cost means a provider's exchange rate was slightly better than the interbank reference rate we measured that day.
Fees and speed
The fees Western Union quoted on €100, £100 or $100 ranged from nothing to $6.99: €0.99 to €3.99 from the euro zone, £0.01 to £1.99 from the UK, $1.99 to $6.99 from the US. In its quotes, it stated a delivery time of about 24 hours on 49 of the 51 routes we record.
Our verdict
Western Union is neither always expensive nor always cheap. From France and most of Europe to North and West Africa, it was among the cheapest providers we recorded. From the United States, it was usually the most expensive. The only reliable way to choose is to compare on your route, at your amount.
Western Union does not pay this site. Wise is the only provider that does, and neither has any influence on these figures: they come from the quotes we record, ranked by the amount the recipient gets.
Compare on your route
Sources:
Charles Parenteau
Founder of TransfertCompare. I collect the providers' prices myself and compare the options to help you save on every transfer.Learn more →