Corridor USD → KRW · US dollar to South Korean won
What does it cost to send US dollars to South Korea?
On 15 October 2026, the most a recipient in South Korea got for 1,000 USD was 1,336,578 KRW via Instarem: a true cost of 6.26 USD (0.63%) including fee and rate markup. The last of 6 quotes cost 4.04%.
Transfer cost receipt · USD → KRW
Most to the recipient: Instarem transfer service
- You send
- 1,000.00 USD
- Upfront fee
- 0.00 USD
- Amount converted
- 1,000.00 USD
- Rate given
- 1,336.58
- Mid-market when quoted
- 1,345.00
- Exchange-rate markup inside the rate
- 6.26 USD 0.63%
- True total cost
- 6.26 USD 0.63%
- Recipient gets
- 1,336,578 KRW
Picking the last quote in this ledger (OFX) instead would leave the recipient 45,980 KRW short.
Snapshot indicative quotes retrieved 15 Oct 2026, 14:55 UTC. Quote collected 15 Oct 2026, 14:27 UTC. Source: Wise public comparison data.
Plain link to the provider's official site. No commission.
Every quote for 1,000 USD → KRW
Sorted by what the recipient gets. “True cost” adds the upfront fee to the money lost in the exchange rate versus the mid-market rate at the time each quote was collected.
| Provider | Upfront fee | Rate markup | True cost | Cost % | Recipient gets | vs best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Instaremservice | 0.00 USD | 0.63% | 6.26 USD | 0.63% | 1,336,578 KRW | best |
| 2. Remitlyservice | 2.49 USD | 0.43% | 6.81 USD | 0.68% | 1,335,837 KRW | −741 KRW |
| 3. Wiseservice | 13.82 USD | 0.00% | 13.82 USD | 1.38% | 1,325,771 KRW | −10,807 KRW |
| 4. Western Unionservice | 0.99 USD | 1.66% | 17.54 USD | 1.75% | 1,321,408 KRW | −15,170 KRW |
| 5. Xoomservice | 0.00 USD | 2.55% | 25.51 USD | 2.55% | 1,310,686 KRW | −25,892 KRW |
| 6. OFXservice | 5.00 USD | 3.56% | 40.45 USD | 4.04% | 1,290,598 KRW | −45,980 KRW |
Does the cheapest option change with the amount?
| You send | Most to recipient | Best cost | Worst cost | Recipient gets (best) | Gap best vs worst | Quotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 USD | Instarem | 0.63% | 5.97% | 267,316 KRW | 14,385 KRW | 6 |
| 1,000 USD | Instarem | 0.63% | 4.04% | 1,336,578 KRW | 45,980 KRW | 6 |
| 5,000 USD | Remitly | 0.48% | 2.62% | 6,692,522 KRW | 143,516 KRW | 5 |
What the USD → KRW numbers show
- The provider that delivers the most changes with the amount: Instarem at 200.00 USD, Instarem at 1,000.00 USD, Remitly at 5,000.00 USD. Fixed fees weigh heavily on small transfers; rate margins dominate large ones.
- At 200.00 USD, true cost ranged from 0.63% (Instarem) to 5.97% (OFX); the recipient would get 14,385 KRW less with the last quote than with the first.
- 2 of 6 quotes at 1,000.00 USD charged no upfront fee but priced in a rate markup above 0.5%, so “no fee” did not mean free.
How does the quoted mid-market rate compare with the ECB reference?
The European Central Bank reference rate for USD/KRW on 15 October 2026 was 1,345.90. The mid-market rate implied by the top quote at its collection time was 1,345.00, a difference of −0.07%. ECB rates are published once per working day around 16:00 CET, so they drift from live market rates during the day; RateRunner uses them only as a cross-check, never to rank providers.
Every quote for 200 USD → KRW
| Provider | Upfront fee | Rate markup | True cost | Cost % | Recipient gets | vs best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Instaremservice | 0.00 USD | 0.63% | 1.25 USD | 0.63% | 267,316 KRW | best |
| 2. Remitlyservice | 2.49 USD | 0.43% | 3.35 USD | 1.67% | 264,500 KRW | −2,816 KRW |
| 3. Western Unionservice | 0.99 USD | 1.66% | 4.29 USD | 2.14% | 263,234 KRW | −4,082 KRW |
| 4. Wiseservice | 9.37 USD | 0.00% | 9.37 USD | 4.68% | 256,293 KRW | −11,023 KRW |
| 5. Xoomservice | 4.99 USD | 3.05% | 10.93 USD | 5.47% | 254,293 KRW | −13,023 KRW |
| 6. OFXservice | 5.00 USD | 3.56% | 11.95 USD | 5.97% | 252,931 KRW | −14,385 KRW |
Every quote for 5,000 USD → KRW
| Provider | Upfront fee | Rate markup | True cost | Cost % | Recipient gets | vs best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Remitlyservice | 2.49 USD | 0.43% | 24.15 USD | 0.48% | 6,692,522 KRW | best |
| 2. Instaremservice | 0.00 USD | 0.57% | 28.31 USD | 0.57% | 6,686,927 KRW | −5,595 KRW |
| 3. Wiseservice | 36.10 USD | 0.00% | 36.10 USD | 0.72% | 6,673,715 KRW | −18,807 KRW |
| 4. Western Unionservice | 0.99 USD | 1.66% | 83.81 USD | 1.68% | 6,612,278 KRW | −80,244 KRW |
| 5. OFXservice | 0.00 USD | 2.62% | 130.85 USD | 2.62% | 6,549,006 KRW | −143,516 KRW |
Read next
Questions people ask
- Which provider gave the most for 1,000 USD sent to South Korea?
- Instarem, with 1,336,578 KRW delivered, in the snapshot retrieved 15 Oct 2026, 14:55 UTC. Its upfront fee was 0.00 USD and its rate markup 0.63%.
- How much of the cost of sending USD to KRW is hidden in the exchange rate?
- For the 6 quotes on 1,000 USD, rate markups ranged from 0.00% to 3.56% of the amount converted. 2 quotes charged no upfront fee but still had a markup above 0.5%.
- How current are these USD to KRW quotes?
- RateRunner retrieved them on 15 Oct 2026, 14:55 UTC. Each provider quote also carries its own collection time, shown in the tables, and quotes older than 24 hours are flagged. They are indicative; the price you are offered at checkout can differ.
Related corridors
Sources
- Indicative provider quotes: Wise public comparison data (retrieved 15 Oct 2026, 14:55 UTC). Wise collects quotes from listed banks and services and is itself listed.
- Reference rate: European Central Bank euro reference rates via Frankfurter (15 October 2026).
- Raw data for this page: usd-to-krw.json