Currency Calculator
Convert between 160+ world currencies at live mid-market rates, check what the majors are worth against each other, or run a conversion at a custom rate — the one your bank, broker or contract actually gives you.
With Live Exchange Rate
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Customized Currency Exchange Rate
Equivalent unit(s) of B compared to 1 unit of A.
For bank quotes, broker offers, contract rates or historical rates — applied exactly as entered, no market data involved.
Market Exchange Rates — Major Currencies
Read across: each cell is what 1 unit of the row currency buys in the column currency, at the rates currently loaded in the converter above.
Key terms, in plain language
Exchange rate — the value of one currency expressed in another; the single number this whole page revolves around. Forex — the global, decentralized market where currencies trade; at trillions of dollars a day it is the largest market in the world, and it exists because one unit of money almost never equals exactly one unit of another. Bid price — what a buyer will pay. Ask price — what a seller will accept. Bid-ask spread — the gap between them, which is where banks and brokers make their money: the rates on this page are the mid-market midpoint, and every real-world counter adds its margin on top. Pip — the smallest standard step in a quote; in EUR/USD 1.2800/1.2803 the spread is 3 pips. Currency pair — the two-currency quote itself, base currency first, quote currency second. Interbank rate — the wholesale rate banks charge each other, the benchmark retail rates are marked up from. Major currencies — the most traded handful: the U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Swiss franc, Canadian and Australian dollars; any pair of the dollar against another major is a "major pair."
What moves exchange rates
Thousands of forces push on a currency, but the big ones repeat: inflation — a low-inflation currency quietly gains purchasing power against a high-inflation one, which is why chronically high inflation means a chronically falling exchange rate. Interest rates — higher rates attract foreign capital hunting yield, pulling the currency up. Trade deficits — an economy that buys more abroad than it sells must supply more of its own currency than foreigners demand, pressing the rate down. Politics and stability — capital flees perceived instability and rewards boring predictability. Economic performance — when global money searches for the best return, strong economies draw it in and their currencies strengthen. None of these act alone, and all of them are already inside the "live" number above by the time you read it.
Money, briefly
Currency is whatever an economy agrees to treat as the universal medium of exchange — a role filled over 3,000 years by coins, barley, salt, cowrie shells and, legendarily, 8-ton carved limestone rocks. The first standardized coins were minted in Lydia (modern Turkey) in the seventh century BC; paper money came from Asia and reached Europe with Marco Polo. Modern currency is mostly not paper at all but balances in digital accounts, declared legal tender by governments and backed by their promise rather than by gold — fiat money. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin push the idea further: digital units, no central bank, transfers verified by a shared ledger (blockchain) instead of a clearing authority. They trade and fluctuate like any currency, and Bitcoin is included in the converter above (at snapshot rates — live crypto feeds are a different beast).
Tips for exchanging money when you travel
Exchange before you go when you can: doing it domestically, without time pressure or a language barrier, usually beats the foreign scramble — and your own bank or credit union normally beats everyone else. Abroad, your bank's own ATMs and fee-friendly local ATMs beat the kiosks, which cluster in airports, hotels and tourist traps precisely because captive customers do not comparison-shop; airport counters have the worst rates and highest fees in the business. Card-friendly destinations are easiest of all: card networks convert close to wholesale rates (watch for foreign-transaction fees on non-travel cards), and a card is safer than a pocket of unfamiliar cash. Left with foreign currency at the end of a trip, sell it back to a bank rather than a booth — or keep a note as the cheapest souvenir there is.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the live rates come from?
The free ExchangeRate-API feed, refreshed daily, with its update time printed under the result. If it cannot be reached, a dated snapshot of the majors is used and labeled. Bitcoin, gold and silver always use the snapshot.
Why is my bank's rate worse?
The rates here are mid-market. Your bank adds the bid-ask spread and a margin — that difference is its fee, whether it calls it one or not.
What does EUR/USD 1.09 mean?
One euro (the base) costs 1.09 U.S. dollars (the quote). The base currency is always exactly one unit.
When do I use the custom rate?
When your rate is not the market's: a bank quote, a broker's offer, a contract rate, or a historical conversion.
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