Travel money apps that earn their place
Four categories, and you probably need one from each. We make an app in one of them.
Travel money splits into four jobs, and most people try to solve all four with one app and end up doing none of them well. The jobs are: paying, converting, judging, and the fallback for when your phone is useless.
1. Paying — a card that does not skim you
Wise, Revolut, or any card with no foreign transaction fee. This is by far the highest-value decision on the page. A typical high-street debit card adds roughly 3% to every purchase abroad plus ATM fees; a fee-free card does not. Over a two-week trip that difference dwarfs the cost of every app listed below combined.
If you do one thing from this page, do this one. The detail is here.
2. Converting — something that works with no signal
Start with what you already own: since iOS 18, the iPhone Calculator converts currency offline across about 105 currencies, for free. For a lot of travellers that closes the category entirely. How to switch it on.
A dedicated converter earns its place if you convert constantly, one-handed, on your feet. That is what we built RoamRate for — offline by default, $4.99 once, no ads or account. It is not the right app for charts, crypto, money transfer, Android or iPad. The full offline roundup covers the alternatives properly.
3. Judging — knowing what things should cost
Converting a price does not tell you whether it is reasonable, and that gap is where travellers actually lose money. Options here are thinner: RoamRate's Local Price Index, FairPay, and reference sites like Numbeo if you are planning at a desk rather than standing in a market.
Whatever you use, check how recent the data is. Prices rot.
4. The fallback — your own head
Free, weighs nothing, works with a dead battery or a stolen phone. Learn the one-line rule for wherever you are going: the cheat sheets give you the rule, how wrong it is, and when it stops being right.
What you can skip
| Skip | Why |
|---|---|
| Standalone tip calculators | It is multiplication. Your converter or your phone already does it. |
| Expense trackers, for short trips | Most people abandon them by day three. Your card app already lists transactions. |
| Subscription converters | A converter is a utility. Paying yearly for one is the wrong shape of deal. |
| Anything needing an account for a conversion | You are handing over an identity to do arithmetic. |
The minimum viable setup
- A fee-free card, sorted before you leave.
- An offline converter — the built-in one counts.
- The rule of thumb for the local currency, memorised.
- Always pay in the local currency at a card terminal.
That covers almost everything, and three of the four are free.
For the converting part
Offline, one-handed, no ads, no account. Free for five major currencies; $4.99 once for all 150+.
Download on the App Store