Forex Calculator India — FY 2025-26
Calculate how much INR you need for your USD transfer, foreign trip, or overseas payment. Compare bank wire, forex card, cash exchange, and online platforms (Wise/BookMyForex) with real-world markups and GST. See the actual cost — not just the mid-market rate.
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How to Use This Calculator
Currency Converter tab
Enter the foreign currency amount, select the currency (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.) and conversion method (bank wire, forex card, cash, or online platform). The calculator shows the mid-market value, actual cost with markup, GST on conversion, and a side-by-side comparison of all methods so you know exactly how much INR you need.
Travel Budget in INR tab
Select your destination, enter your daily budget in local currency and trip duration. The calculator computes total foreign currency needed, total INR cost including markup and GST, and recommends the cheapest conversion method. Use this to plan your travel forex budget before booking.
Best Rate Comparison tab
Enter the INR amount you want to convert and select the target currency. The calculator compares how much foreign currency you receive via bank wire, forex card, cash exchange, and online platforms (Wise/BookMyForex) after accounting for markup and GST. See the exact savings from choosing the best method.
Share your result
Every input is encoded in the URL. Click Share to send your exact scenario to a friend, travel companion, or save it for later reference.
The Formula
Forex conversion cost is calculated by applying the provider's markup over the mid-market (interbank) rate, plus GST on the conversion service charge:
Effective rate = Mid-market rate × (1 + markup%)
Total INR Cost:
INR cost = Foreign currency amount × Effective rate
Markup cost = INR cost − (Amount × Mid-market rate)
GST on Forex Conversion:
GST is 18% on the "value of supply" (not on the total amount):
• Up to &rupee;1,00,000: 1% of amount or &rupee;250 (whichever is higher)
• &rupee;1,00,001 to &rupee;10,00,000: &rupee;1,000 + 0.5% of (amount − &rupee;1,00,000)
• Above &rupee;10,00,000: &rupee;5,500 + 0.1% of (amount − &rupee;10,00,000), max &rupee;60,000
Then: GST = Value of supply × 18%
Total cost = INR conversion amount + GST
The mid-market rate (also called interbank rate) is the midpoint between buy and sell prices on the global forex market. No provider gives you this rate — they all add a markup. The markup varies by method: online platforms (0.5-1%) are cheapest, airport cash exchanges (2-4%) are most expensive.
Example
Rahul — Delhi IT professional, sending $2,000 to a US university
Rahul needs to pay $2,000 for an online course from a US university. He compares bank wire transfer vs. Wise to find the best rate.
Step 1: Mid-market calculation
Step 2: Bank wire (1.5% markup)
Step 3: Wise / BookMyForex (0.75% markup)
Step 4: Savings
By using Wise instead of his bank, Rahul saves &rupee;1,408 on this single $2,000 transfer. For larger amounts, the savings scale proportionally. Since the total is below &rupee;10 lakh in the FY, no TCS applies.