Where your dollars go
When a client pays you $1,000, several companies take a share before the money reaches your bank in rupees, pesos, taka or naira. Each step looks small on its own. Together they often add up to 12–25% of the payment.
The calculator shows each step separately:
- Platform fee. Upwork charges 0–15% per contract (10% is common). Fiverr keeps 20%. Direct clients have no platform fee.
- Withdrawal fee. A flat fee per transfer, for example $0.99 for Upwork’s direct-to-local-bank, or $3 for Fiverr to Payoneer.
- Receiving fee. Payoneer charges 1% (minimum $1) when a direct client pays into your USD account details. Marketplace payments into Payoneer have no fixed fee.
- Currency conversion. This is the hidden one. Providers convert at a worse rate than the mid-market rate, the real rate you see on Google or Reuters. Payoneer’s pricing page says 1.2%–4%. Wise shows its fee up front, about 0.4–0.7% for these currencies on 22 October 2026.
- Bank fee. Some banks charge for incoming foreign payments.
- Tax withheld. In Pakistan, banks deduct tax on IT export proceeds before the money reaches you.
Worked example: Fiverr to Pakistan via Payoneer
A Lahore-based designer earns $1,000 in Fiverr orders, withdraws to Payoneer and then to a local bank. The mid-market rate is 280 PKR per dollar, and the designer is PSEB-registered.
| Step | Working | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Client pays | $1,000.00 | |
| Fiverr commission | 20% | −$200.00 |
| Payoneer withdrawal | flat | −$3.00 |
| Dollars converted | $797 × 280 | Rs 223,160 |
| FX spread (estimate) | 2% | −Rs 4,463 |
| Tax withheld (PSEB) | 0.25% | −Rs 547 |
| Reaches the bank | Rs 218,150 |
That is about 22% less than the Rs 280,000 the $1,000 is worth at the mid-market rate. The Fiverr commission is the biggest bite. The FX spread costs more than the withdrawal fee.
Worked example: what to charge
A developer in the Philippines wants ₱100,000 in the bank from a direct US client paying into Payoneer. At 63.38 PHP per dollar, with Payoneer’s 1% receiving fee and a 2% conversion spread, the developer needs to invoice about $1,627. Switch the calculator to What to charge in USD and enter your own target.
Local tax notes (checked 22 October 2026)
- Pakistan: banks deduct 0.25% of IT and IT-enabled export proceeds for exporters registered with the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and 1% for others. Under section 154A of the Income Tax Ordinance, it can be a final tax if you file your return. The 0.25% rate now runs to tax year 2029.
- India: freelance income is taxed at slab rates. Under the default new regime, income up to ₹12 lakh is effectively tax-free after the section 87A rebate. Section 44ADA presumptive taxation (50% of receipts treated as profit, up to ₹75 lakh) can simplify things. Exports of services are zero-rated for GST under a Letter of Undertaking.
- Philippines: if your receipts are ₱3 million or less, you can choose 8% on receipts above ₱250,000, instead of graduated rates and percentage tax.
- Bangladesh: IT freelancing income is exempt until 30 June 2027 under the Income Tax Act 2023, as long as all business money moves through banks. A 2026 change may widen this; we could not confirm it from the official text.
- Nigeria: from 2026 the Nigeria Tax Act taxes residents on worldwide income. The first ₦800,000 a year is at 0%, with bands rising from 15% to 25%.
These notes are general information, not tax advice. Rules change every budget, so check with your tax authority or an adviser.
Ways to keep more
- Compare routes. Switch between routes in the calculator. A 1% difference in FX spread on $2,000 a month is $240 a year.
- Withdraw less often, in bigger amounts. Flat fees shrink as a share of larger transfers.
- Raise your rate to cover the chain. Use reverse mode to find the dollar price that leaves you the local amount you need.
- Check platform fees first with the Upwork fee calculator or Fiverr fee calculator. For direct clients, bill with the invoice generator. Pakistani salaried income is covered by the Pakistan salary tax calculator.