Tools

Transfer Frequency Calculator

Every wire to an overseas broker carries a fixed cost that does not depend on the amount, such as your bank’s transfer fee and cable charge. Send money too often and the fees eat into your return; send it too rarely and the money sits in your bank account waiting to be sent, earning no investment return. Enter your numbers and this tool gives two reference points: the break-even size of a single transfer, and the transfer interval with the lowest total cost over time.

The expected annual return is an assumption you choose, not a promise. This tool only estimates costs; it does not recommend any product and is not investment advice.

Results

Break-even transfer size

36,818

At this size or above, one transfer’s expected return in its first month covers the cost of that transfer.

Interval with the lowest total cost

About once every 0.9 months

About 85,811 per transfer

Balances transfer fees against the return lost while money waits uninvested, for the lowest total cost over time.

How it was calculated

Monthly return r = (1 + 5%)^(1/12) − 1 ≈ 0.4074%
Break-even size X* = C ÷ r = 150 ÷ 0.4074% ≈ 36,818
Optimal interval T* = √(2 × C ÷ (M × r)) = √(2 × 150 ÷ (100,000 × 0.4074%)) ≈ 0.86 months

One-year return by transfer size

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Transfer size	Cost share	Expected one-year return	After the cost	Effective return
5,000	3.00%	250	100	2.00%
10,000	1.50%	500	350	3.50%
20,000	0.75%	1,000	850	4.25%
50,000	0.30%	2,500	2,350	4.70%
100,000	0.15%	5,000	4,850	4.85%
100,000(your monthly amount)	0.15%	5,000	4,850	4.85%

Expected one-year return = transfer size × expected annual return; effective return = (expected one-year return − one transfer cost) ÷ transfer size. The smaller the transfer, the larger the share taken by the fixed cost.

This tool only calculates from the assumptions you enter. It does not know what your bank actually charges and is not investment advice. The expected return is an assumption; real returns may be higher, lower or negative. Check your bank’s and broker’s fee pages before you send money; international wires may also lose an intermediary bank fee along the way.

The two answers mean different things

The break-even size is a conservative minimum: a single transfer of at least this amount earns enough expected return in its first month to cover that transfer’s cost. Below it, the first month’s return does not pay for the fee.

The lowest-cost interval looks at total cost over time. Sending more often means more fees; sending less often means money waits longer in your bank account, earning nothing. The optimal interval keeps the sum of the two as low as possible. It answers a different question from the break-even size, so the numbers differ.

Sending money less often does not mean investing it all at once. Once the money reaches your broker, you can still invest it in regular instalments to spread out your entry points.

Methodology

Monthly return r = (1 + annual return)^(1/12) − 1. At a 5% annual return, r ≈ 0.4074%.
Break-even transfer size X* = cost per transfer C ÷ r. With a cost of 150 and a 5% return, that is about 36,818. The tool uses the exact r; rounding r first would shift the result by a few hundred.
Optimal interval T* = √(2C ÷ (M × r)) months, where M is the amount you can invest per month. This is the economic order quantity (EOQ) model: the transfer cost per month is C ÷ T, the money waiting to be sent averages M × T ÷ 2, and the return it misses is about M × T ÷ 2 × r. Their sum is lowest at T*.
Amount per transfer = M × T*.
The table’s expected one-year return uses simple interest (transfer size × expected annual return) and subtracts one transfer cost, as if the money sent stays invested for a year.
Negative or empty inputs count as 0. With a 0% return nothing offsets the cost, so the affected results show “—”.

What is not included

Currency spread: the bank’s buy/sell spread is a cost too, but it is proportional to the amount and you pay it however often you send, so it does not change the frequency calculation.
Intermediary bank fees and broker deposit fees: international wires may be charged by intermediary banks, and some brokers charge for incoming wires. Add whatever you actually pay to the cost per transfer.
Taxes, exchange rate moves and broker trading commissions.
Real returns vary from year to year and can be negative; the tool uses one fixed expected return.
Your own cash needs, such as an emergency fund or money you will need soon.

FAQ

Should I look at the break-even size or the optimal interval?

They answer different questions. The break-even size is the minimum for a single transfer: below it, the first month’s expected return cannot pay for the transfer. The optimal interval weighs fees against the return missed while money waits, to find the frequency with the lowest total cost over time. Both are reference values based on your assumptions; how you arrange your transfers is your own decision.

What expected return should I enter?

There is no right answer; it is an assumption, not a promise. Try a few numbers: a lower return makes waiting cheaper, so the optimal interval gets longer and the break-even size gets larger. At 0% nothing offsets the cost, and the results show “—”.

What should the cost per transfer include?

Add up every charge you pay once per transfer regardless of the amount, such as the bank’s outgoing wire fee, the cable charge and any deposit fee your broker charges. International wires may also be charged by intermediary banks. The tool does not know what your bank charges, so check your bank’s and broker’s fee pages. The currency spread is proportional to the amount and does not belong here.

Is it still dollar-cost averaging if I send money less often?

How often you send money and how often you invest can be separate. After the money reaches your broker, you can still buy in monthly instalments to spread out your entry points. This tool only covers the cost of how often to send money, not what to buy.

What do the results mean when my monthly amount is small?

The fixed cost takes a large share. With a cost of 150 and a 5% return, the cost takes 3% of a single transfer of 5,000, leaving an effective return of about 2.0%. Letting the money build up to a larger amount spreads the fixed cost further.