Remitly's whole pitch is a choice most competitors don't offer outright: Express, which lands in minutes to hours for a slightly higher cost, or Economy, which takes longer but charges less. You pick the tradeoff per transfer instead of being locked into one speed.
The markup runs roughly 0.4-2.5% depending on which speed you choose, how you pay, and how much you're sending — first-time users often get a promotional rate that undercuts even that range. For bank-to-bank transfers, Remitly's total cost is typically lower than a UAE exchange house's counter rate, thanks to a smaller FX margin.
It's particularly popular with UAE residents sending to India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Nepal — corridors where it competes directly with the exchange houses on this list, usually landing somewhere between LuLu's zero-fee routes and Wise's flat percentage.