Yearly cost at three spending levels
| Monthly spend | Plutus | ether.fi Cash |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | ≥ $23.13 Starter (€6.99 a month) | ≥ -$162 Core |
| $2,000 | ≥ $113.13 Starter (€6.99 a month) | ≥ -$648 Core |
| $5,000 | ≥ $293.13 Starter (€6.99 a month) | ≥ -$540 Core |
Yearly cost: conversion, FX, ATM and fixed fees minus cashback. A minus sign means cashback outweighs fees. US dollars, 20% foreign spending, one $200 ATM withdrawal a month. The card cost calculator runs the same comparison with your own habits.
Where the money goes at $2,000 a month
| Line | Plutus Starter (€6.99 a month) | ether.fi Cash Core |
|---|---|---|
| Top-up and conversion fees | $0 | Not disclosed |
| Spending fees | $0 | Not disclosed |
| Foreign exchange markup | $120 | $72 |
| ATM fees | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Annual, monthly and subscription fees | $94.22 | $0 |
| Cashback | -$101.09 | -$720 |
| Yearly cost | $113.13 | -$648 |
Fees
Plutus charges 0% to convert or top up and 2.5% on spending in a foreign currency. ether.fi Cash charges Not disclosed and 1.5%.
ATM withdrawals: Plutus 2.5%; ether.fi Cash not disclosed.
A virtual card costs nothing with Plutus and nothing with ether.fi Cash. A physical card costs €9.99 and an undisclosed fee. Neither card has an annual fee on its base tier.
Cashback and rewards
Plutus cashback: 3%. ether.fi Cash cashback: 3% to 4%.
Plutus tiers: Starter (€6.99 a month): 3% on the first €250 a month; Everyday (€9.99 a month): 3% on the first €500 a month; Premium (€19.99 a month): 3% on the first €1,000 a month.
ether.fi Cash tiers: Core: 3% on the first $2,000 a month; Luxe: 3% on the first $10,000 a month; Pinnacle: 3% on the first $50,000 a month; VIP: 4% on the first $50,000 a month.
Plutus: Rewards are paid in PLU. Holding more PLU raises the rate from 3% up to 9% and unlocks perks. Plan prices include a promotional discount shown on Plutus's plans page; the fees shown are the same in GBP.
ether.fi Cash: Membership levels also add category cashback (10% to 30% on AI, streaming and food, capped monthly), travel discounts and account balance protection against smart contract exploits of $10,000 to $500,000, which is not deposit insurance.
Availability and KYC
Plutus does not publish a country list. Plutus offers EUR and GBP cards and does not publish a country list on its fees page.
ether.fi Cash is offered in 91 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia and Mexico. ether.fi lists these jurisdictions. In the US the card is available in 31 states and Washington D.C. only. Belgium and Ireland are eligible, but physical cards are not delivered there. In some countries (including Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and the Philippines) the first virtual card costs $10.
Plutus needs full KYC and ether.fi Cash needs full KYC.
The card finder checks both cards against your country, KYC level and must-have features.
Limits, wallets and card types
Plutus publishes a daily spending limit of €500,000 and a monthly limit of €1,000,000.
ether.fi Cash publishes ATM withdrawals of up to $5,000 a day.
Plutus does not list Apple Pay or Google Pay support, and ether.fi Cash works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Plutus issues a virtual card you can use straight away.
Custody and safety
Plutus scores 44/100. Licensing: we could not confirm a licence for the card issuer on its own website. No incidents or enforcement actions found in the last 36 months. Plutus refers to a banking partner for its card but does not name the issuer on its fees and plans pages.
ether.fi Cash scores 60/100. Licensing: we could not confirm a licence for the card issuer on its own website. No incidents or enforcement actions found in the last 36 months. ether.fi describes Cash as a non-custodial account. The ATM fee on Core is not published as a fixed figure.
Full reports: Plutus safety check and ether.fi Cash safety check.
About each card
Plutus Card is a custodial Visa card from Plutus (Block Code Ltd, UK; Block Code LT UAB, Lithuania). It tops up with EUR and GBP and its balance is held in EUR.
ether.fi Cash Card is a self-custody Visa card from ether.fi. It tops up with USDC and ETH.
Which card fits you
Plutus fits if
- Most of your spending is in your home currency, where its lower conversion fee counts most.
ether.fi Cash fits if
- You want to keep crypto in your own wallet until each payment.
- You spend in foreign currencies often, since its FX markup is lower.
- You want a higher cashback ceiling (up to 4%).
- You weigh licensing and fund segregation heavily, since it scores higher on our safety check.
Read more: Plutus fees and details · ether.fi Cash fees and details