XE Currency: Check Live Exchange Rates and Convert Money Before and During Travel

XE Currency is a free app and website that shows you live exchange rates for more than 180 currencies around the world. Before and during international travel, it helps you understand exactly how much your dollars are worth in another country — so you can make informed decisions about when and where to exchange money, and avoid getting taken advantage of by unfavorable rates.

The exchange rates shown in XE reflect the mid-market rate, which is the midpoint between the buy and sell prices used in international currency markets. Banks, airport currency exchange booths, and credit card companies all add a margin on top of this mid-market rate, which is how they make money. Knowing the mid-market rate gives you a benchmark to compare against what you are actually being offered.

For example, if XE shows $1 equals 1.08 euros, and the airport currency booth offers $1 equals 0.95 euros, you know you are losing about 12 percent to fees and unfavorable rates. This awareness can save you real money over the course of a trip.

XE also lets you set rate alerts. You can tell the app to notify you when a particular currency pair reaches a target rate — useful if you are planning a trip a few months out and want to exchange money when the rate is favorable.

The app works offline once you have loaded rate data. This means you can convert prices while walking around a market or store abroad, even without a data connection.