OFX
4.2
Xoom (PayPal)
4.6There is very little overlap between these two, and the page is most useful for showing that. OFX is a no-fee FX broker for bank-to-bank transfers, with no upper limit, one to three business days, and a dealer for larger amounts. Xoom is PayPal's remittance arm: cash pickup, mobile reload and bank deposit across 130 countries, settling in minutes, priced with a 1–3% rate markup and a fee up to $4.99. One is built for a large planned transfer; the other for a small urgent one. Anyone genuinely choosing between them has not yet decided what kind of transfer this is.
Live comparison: OFX vs Xoom (PayPal) across popular corridors
Recipient payout route by route, OFX against Xoom (PayPal), from collected quotes (not guaranteed).
| Corridor | OFX | Xoom (PayPal) | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD → INR($1,000) | ₹92,834.28 | — | N/A |
| GBP → EUR(£1,000) | €1,143.33 | — | N/A |
| USD → PHP($500) | ₱29,376.30 | — | N/A |
| USD → MXN($1,000) | MX$17,669.84 | — | N/A |
| GBP → PKR(£500) | ₨168,706.66 | — | N/A |
| USD → NGN($200) | — | ₦262,684.82 | N/A |
Key differences between OFX and Xoom (PayPal)
OFX vs Xoom (PayPal): Feature comparison
| Feature | OFX | Xoom (PayPal) |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2/5 (Good) | 4.6/5 (Excellent) |
| Fee structure | No fee on US-dollar transfers; elsewhere, fee-free above a threshold (e.g. AU$/CA$10,000), flat fee below it | From $0 to $4.99 |
| Exchange rate markup | 0.5% - 1.5% above mid-market | 1% - 3% above mid-market |
| Transfer speed | 1-3 business days | Minutes to 3 days |
| Supported countries | 190+ | 130+ |
| Supported currencies | 55+ | 50+ |
| Max transfer | No limit | $50,000 |
| Delivery methods | Bank Deposit | Bank Deposit, Cash Pickup, Mobile Reload |
| Regulators | ASIC, FCA, FinCEN | FinCEN |
What we measured: OFX vs Xoom (PayPal)
OFX led 0 of 5 of the corridors we price and Xoom 2 of 73. OFX's win rate is measured on a very small corridor sample and should not be read against Xoom's larger one; average shortfall is the more comparable figure, at 4.86% for OFX and 5.61% for Xoom. Xoom quotes far more of the remittance corridors we track, which is consistent with what it is for. Neither leads often.
A worked example: $1,000 to Pakistan
On $1,000 USD→PKR the gap is Rs2,439, with Xoom (PayPal) delivering more — 2.61% all-in for OFX against 1.73% for Xoom. The number that does not appear here is time. OFX quotes one to three business days; Xoom quotes minutes. If the money has to arrive today, only Xoom's figure is on the table — OFX cannot deliver today at any price — and the comparison is decided before price enters it.
Why the example isn't India
USD→INR is the route most readers of this page are pricing, and it used to be the example here. We took it out because the only bank-deposit rate Xoom shows a visitor without an account on that route is a first-transfer promotion — a rate for a new or lapsed customer's first send, not for anyone sending regularly. This site compares standard rates, so Xoom has no India figure here until its standard rate is visible to us. Beyond that, the two overlap on only a handful of pairs: Xoom quotes 26 of the corridors we price against 162 for OFX. If your corridor isn't USD→PKR, get a live quote from both rather than extrapolating from this one.
When to choose OFX vs Xoom (PayPal)
Pick OFX for planned transfers, especially large ones
OFX suits a transfer you can schedule: no fee at all, no upper limit, 190 countries, and dealer support once the amount is substantial. Property deposits, tuition instalments, emigration transfers and business payments are its natural cases. The trade-off is that it settles in business days and pays out only to bank accounts, so it is the wrong instrument for anything urgent or anything a recipient needs to collect in cash. It's regulated by FCA, FinCEN and ASIC.
Pick Xoom for speed and non-bank payout
Xoom is built for the transfer that has to land now. Cash pickup, mobile reload and bank deposit across 130 countries, settlement in minutes, and a familiar PayPal login and balance behind it. Transfers run to $50,000. You pay for the speed and the payout options through a 1–3% markup plus a fee, which on our measurements leaves it behind the cheapest digital routes — but "behind on price" and "the only option that arrives in time" are not competing claims.
What the OFX and Xoom (PayPal) figures don’t settle
OFX's rates improve with transfer size in a way a $1,000 comparison cannot show, and Xoom prices cash pickup differently from bank deposit. Quotes are collected by currency pair — confirm corridor, payout method and speed with the provider before sending. OFX's "no fee" claim holds at any amount for US-dollar sends; senders elsewhere pay a flat fee under a local threshold that differs by country, so look up your own before setting it against Xoom's fee.
Verdict: OFX or Xoom (PayPal)?
Cost: Too close to call
OFX charges no fee at all and recovers cost through its markup alone; Xoom adds a fee up to $4.99 on top of a similar 1-3% markup. OFX's win rate is measured on a small corridor sample and shouldn't be compared directly against Xoom's much larger one — 4.86% against 5.61% average shortfall is the more comparable figure.
Faster: Xoom (PayPal)
This is the widest speed gap tracked on the site: OFX settles in one to three business days, Xoom in minutes. That difference alone decides the comparison for anyone who needs the money to arrive today, regardless of which one is nominally cheaper.
Wider coverage: OFX
Xoom pays out via cash pickup, mobile reload and bank deposit across 130 countries; OFX pays to bank accounts only but has no upper transfer limit against Xoom's $50,000 cap, and adds dealer support once the amount is substantial.
Bottom line
OFX and Xoom solve different problems. OFX is built for a transfer you can schedule — large, planned, bank-to-bank. Xoom is built for the transfer that has to land today, in cash or a mobile wallet if needed. Anyone genuinely torn between them likely hasn't decided yet what kind of transfer this is.
OFX vs Xoom (PayPal): your questions
Why do OFX and Xoom overlap on so few corridors?
Xoom prices far more of the remittance corridors we track than OFX, whose route list is built around large planned transfers rather than everyday remittance pairs — so the two rarely quote the same currency pair at the same amount. USD to PKR is one where they do, which is why it carries the like-for-like example above.
Can OFX deliver cash the way Xoom does?
No — OFX pays out to bank accounts only, on a one-to-three business day timeline. If the recipient needs cash pickup or a mobile wallet today, Xoom is the only one of the two that can do it, regardless of price.
Is OFX cheaper than Xoom once you account for the fee?
On $1,000 USD to PKR the gap is Rs2,439, with Xoom (PayPal) delivering more — but one corridor shouldn't be extrapolated to your own transfer. OFX's rates also improve with transfer size in a way our $1,000 sample doesn't capture; get a live quote from both for your actual amount and corridor.
Does OFX's no-fee claim apply everywhere?
It's confirmed fee-free regardless of amount for US-dollar transfers specifically. Outside the US, OFX charges a flat fee below a country-specific threshold — check the policy for your sending country before assuming it applies to your transfer.