Frequently asked questions.

Roam shows the mid-market rate: the midpoint between the buy and sell price two currencies are trading at. It's what banks use when trading with each other, and the closest thing to a "real" rate.

Every provider adds a margin on top to cover their costs. Some keep that margin small and charge a visible fee. Others hide more of the cost in the rate itself. The number you see on Roam is the benchmark. What you actually receive depends on which provider you use and how transparent they are about their markup.

Every 60 seconds during weekday trading hours.

Forex markets are mostly closed from Friday evening until Sunday evening. Some providers will still let you exchange money over the weekend, but they widen their margins to cover the risk that rates move when markets reopen. If you can wait until Monday, you'll usually get a better deal.

Three places fees hide. The visible transfer fee, which is usually the smallest part. The markup baked into the exchange rate, which can be a fraction of a percent with the cheapest providers and several percent at airport booths. And fees taken by the receiving bank or any intermediary banks for international wires.

"Free transfer" promotions usually move all the cost into the markup. The only number that matters is what arrives in the recipient's account, not the headline fee.

Always pay in local currency. When a foreign card terminal asks "would you like to be charged in your home currency?", that's Dynamic Currency Conversion, and the conversion rate they use is almost always worse than what your card issuer would give you. Decline DCC and let your own bank or card network handle the conversion.

Most card networks (Visa, Mastercard) convert at close to the interbank rate. Whether you actually pay close to that rate depends on whether your specific card adds a foreign transaction fee on top. Many travel-focused cards don't. A standard high street debit card often adds 2 to 3%. Check your card terms before assuming.

For each currency pair we look at where today's rate sits relative to the past 12 months. A high percentage means the local currency is currently weaker than usual against your home currency, which makes it a comparatively good time to exchange. A low percentage means the opposite.

It's a backwards-looking snapshot, not a prediction. Currency markets move quickly and a rate that looks favourable today might not be favourable tomorrow. This is not financial advice, just context.

It depends on three things: the currency pair, the amount, and the timing. Modern digital transfer services tend to stay close to the mid-market rate and charge a transparent fee. Traditional banks usually hide more of the cost in the rate itself.

We built a currency comparison tool for exactly this. Plug in your pair and the amount and it shows what each provider would actually deliver. Pricing differs by both, not just by pair. Some providers look cheap on a $200 transfer but stop being competitive at $5,000. Others discount as the amount goes up. The only way to know is to check yourself using our calculator.

No. RoamFX compares providers and shows rates. We don't hold, move, or exchange money. When you click through to a provider, the transfer happens entirely on their platform under their terms.

Sometimes. If you sign up through one of our links we may earn a commission. It doesn't change the rate or fees you pay, and our comparisons are based on pricing and data, not on who pays us. The full list of who we partner with and what we earn from each is on the advertiser disclosure page.

Each score combines several data points from public datasets, government sources, and live data feeds. Scores recalculate when the source data updates. The full breakdown of sources, weights, and refresh schedules lives on the data page.

Because scoring is partly subjective. Reasonable people would weight the inputs differently. Someone planning a beach week cares about average rainfall more than nightlife. A digital nomad cares about internet speed where a tourist might not.

Our scores are one defensible reading of the data, not the only one. They're meant to give you a starting point at a glance, not a final verdict. If you disagree with how something is weighted, the data page shows our working.

Scores are averages. A month that scores 45 means conditions are typically harder than other months at that destination, not that a trip is ruined. Personal taste matters too. Some people love a place in rainy season because hotels are cheap and queues are short.

The score reflects historical data. It is not a forecast of your specific trip.

Because we couldn't find reliable data for that input. We'd rather leave a score off than fabricate one from a thin source. As more data becomes available, missing scores get filled in.

If you have a credible source for something we're missing, send it to data@roamfx.com. If it checks out, we'll add it.

A few things to keep in mind. The data is mostly country-level, so it won't always reflect specific cities or regions that are notably safer or more dangerous than the average. Government advisories also reflect formal risk assessments and geopolitical concerns, which don't always match what travellers experience day to day. A country can carry a "reconsider travel" advisory because of a specific regional issue while its main tourist areas function normally.

If you think a score is materially wrong, email data@roamfx.com with the destination and your reasoning. We read every report.

The advisory component updates when government guidance changes, which usually happens within days of a significant incident. The underlying safety index updates less often, typically when the source dataset is refreshed.

For breaking situations, check your government's official advisory directly. RoamFX is a useful baseline, not a real-time news service.

It's a snapshot of how expensive a destination is for a typical visitor, based on things like accommodation, food, transport, and everyday costs. A high score means cheaper, a low score means pricier.

Like all our scores it's relative and partly subjective. Hotels in one city costing more than hotels in another is objective. How much weight to give hotel cost versus food cost versus transport is a judgement call. The full breakdown is on the data page.

Travel style matters. The same city can be cheap if you stay in guesthouses and eat at local spots, or expensive if you stay in international hotels and eat in tourist areas. Tourist districts also tend to cost more than residential ones, and our data is averaged across the destination, not zoomed in on the strip near the beach.

The score tells you what's possible. It does not promise what you'll actually spend.

Affordability is about how much things cost in absolute terms. Currency timing is about whether your home currency happens to be strong against the local one right now. A destination can be cheap with poor timing, or expensive with great timing. Both feed into what you actually spend, but they answer different questions.

A combination of environmental and governance signals: things like protected natural areas, renewable energy use, air quality, water access, and waste handling. Higher means better on those measures. The exact data sources and weights are on the data page.

It's a destination-level reading, not a verdict on any individual operator or hotel.

No. The score reflects the destination, not your travel choices. You can visit a high-scoring country and still take a long-haul flight, stay in a resort that drains local water, and book activities that exploit local communities. Or you can visit a lower-scoring country and travel light, support local businesses, and minimise your footprint.

The score gives you context. The choices are still yours.

Yes. No account, no subscription, no hidden fees. We earn through affiliate commissions when users sign up to providers via our links. That's how we keep the site free.

Both. Scores, rates, and charts come from data sources and update automatically. Destination summaries and editorial content are written with AI assistance and reviewed by us. The data is accurate and current. The written parts are generally reliable but occasionally contain errors or facts that have since changed.

If you spot something wrong, email data@roamfx.com and we'll fix it.

One of three places. Most are our own photos from trips. Some are AI-generated by us based off of popular destinations. The rest are licensed for commercial use, with the original creator credited in the image.

If you've taken a photo at a destination we cover and want to see it on the site, send it to hello@roamfx.com. If it fits, we'll find a spot for it and of course give you the credits.

Because we don't use tracking cookies. We made the call to skip third-party analytics and behavioural trackers, which means there's nothing to ask permission for and no banner to click through on every visit. The full breakdown of what we do and don't collect is on the cookies page.

Email data@roamfx.com with the destination, the section where the error appears, and what you think is wrong. We check every report and update when you're right. Same-day replies for most messages.

We add destinations regularly. Email hello@roamfx.com with the destination name to request one. Popular requests get prioritised.