Plutus vs Exa Card

The cheaper card changes with your spending. The full fee, reward, availability and safety comparison is below.

Verdict

  • At $500 a month, Plutus comes out $22.57 a year ahead. At $2,000 a month, Exa Card comes out $13.43 a year ahead. At $5,000 a month, Exa Card comes out $85.43 a year ahead.
  • Plutus is a custodial card, so the provider holds your balance. Exa Card is self-custody.
  • On our safety check, Plutus scores 44/100 (Fair) and Exa Card scores 75/100 (Good).
  • Overall, Exa Card rates 54/100 against 25/100 for Plutus, helped by its reach: it is offered in 46 countries and territories against an unpublished number for Plutus.

Net value per year at $2,000 a month (20% foreign spend, one $200 ATM withdrawal a month)

  • Plutus · Starter (€6.99 a month)≤ -$113.03
  • Exa Card · Standard-$99.60

≤ one fee is not published and counts as zero.

Crypto card comparison
FeaturePlutusExa Card
Countries offeredList not published46 countries
Card networkVisaVisa
CustodyCustodialSelf-custody
KYCFullFull
Top-up assetsEUR, GBPUSDC, ETH, WBTC, wstETH, OP
Top-up or conversion fee0%0%
FX markup2.5%1.5% (better)
ATM fee2.5%No ATM access (virtual card only)
Annual fee (base tier)FreeFree
Card issuanceVirtual Free · Physical €9.99Virtual Free · Physical Not disclosed
Cashback3% (better)None
Apple Pay / Google PayNot listedApple Pay, Google Pay
Safety score44/10075/100 (better)
Overall rating25/10054/100 (better)
Get the cardGet PlutusGet Exa Card

Yearly cost at three spending levels

Monthly spendPlutusExa Card
$500≤ -$23.03
Starter (€6.99 a month)
-$45.60
Standard
$2,000≤ -$113.03
Starter (€6.99 a month)
-$99.60
Standard
$5,000≤ -$293.03
Starter (€6.99 a month)
-$207.60
Standard

Net value per year: cashback minus conversion, FX, ATM and fixed 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

LinePlutus
Starter (€6.99 a month)
Exa Card
Standard
Top-up and conversion fees$0$0
Spending fees$0$0
Foreign exchange markup-$120-$72
ATM feesNot disclosed-$27.60
Annual, monthly and subscription fees-$95.50$0
Cashback+$102.46$0
Net per year-$113.03-$99.60

Fees

Plutus charges 0% to convert or top up and 2.5% on spending in a foreign currency. Exa Card charges 0% and 1.5%.

ATM withdrawals: Plutus 2.5%; Exa Card no atm access (virtual card only).

A virtual card costs nothing with Plutus and nothing with Exa Card. 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%. Exa Card cashback: None.

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.

Exa Card tiers: Standard: 0%.

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.

Exa Card: The Exa Card has no cashback program. Visa Signature benefits apply instead (purchase protection, car rental cover, Visa Airport Companion with pay-per-use lounges, concierge). Idle balances earn a variable yield in Exactly Protocol. Pay Later splits purchases into up to 8 fixed-rate installments paid in USDC, and the interest rate is set at purchase.

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.

Exa Card is offered in 46 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and United States. US residents only in 31 listed states (not, for example, Georgia, Ohio, Washington or Oregon). No EU, EEA or UK countries are eligible. Nigeria is left out because the eligibility page says it "requires conditional approval" while the prohibited-countries list (15 January 2026) bans it. Exa's own help center also claims the card is "available in 180+ countries", which the published list does not support. In the US the card is also offered through Uphold.

Plutus needs full KYC and Exa Card 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.

Exa Card publishes ATM withdrawals of up to $1,000 a day.

Plutus does not list Apple Pay or Google Pay support, and Exa Card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Plutus and Exa Card issue 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.

Exa Card scores 75/100. Licensing: holds a licence or registration outside the tier-one list (Card issued by Nimbus LLC dba Third National, licensed as a Money Transmitter by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico (licence TM-0207, NMLS 2612780). Exa Labs S.A.S. is the program manager and says it "does not issue or manage payment instruments"; its help center gives Rain's legal address as the card's billing address.). The card is issued through Nimbus LLC dba Third National. 2023-08-18: Exactly Protocol, which runs the card's credit and yield, was exploited through its DebtManager contract on Optimism. 117 accounts lost a combined $7,612,038 and the protocol was paused. Exa Labs S.A.S. is a Uruguayan company. The card is legally a credit card with no set credit line, and the issuer's terms say it has no relationship with Exactly Protocol. Your wallet is a passkey-secured smart contract account on OP Mainnet with no seed phrase. In Pay Later mode each purchase is a loan against your deposited crypto, which can be liquidated if its value falls. The 2023 exploit hit the protocol's leverage feature, not the card, which launched later. No regulator warning or enforcement action against Exa Labs or Exactly Protocol was found.

Full reports: Plutus safety check and Exa Card 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.

Exa Card (Exactly) is a self-custody Visa card from Exa Labs S.A.S. (Exa Card program). It tops up with USDC, ETH, WBTC, wstETH and OP.

Which card fits you

Plutus fits if

  • You want a higher cashback ceiling (up to 3%).

Exa Card 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 weigh licensing and fund segregation heavily, since it scores higher on our safety check.

Read more: Plutus fees and details · Exa Card fees and details

Plutus vs Exa Card: questions

Which is cheaper, Plutus or Exa Card?
At $2,000 a month with 20% foreign spending and one $200 ATM withdrawal, Exa Card leaves $13.43 more per year. The result can change with your spending, so the comparison above lets you enter your own amount.
Can I use Plutus and Exa Card in the same country?
One of the two issuers does not publish a country list, so we cannot confirm overlap. Country list not published for Plutus; 46 countries for Exa Card.
Is Plutus or Exa Card safer?
Exa Card scores higher on our safety check (75/100 against 44/100). The score looks at licensing, custody, fund segregation, proof of reserves and incident history.
Which card has better cashback, Plutus or Exa Card?
Plutus pays 3% and Exa Card pays none. Caps, tier rules and fees decide what you keep, which is why the yearly figures above include both.

Sources

  1. Plutus Card: fees · checked September 24, 2026
  2. Plutus Card: availability · checked September 24, 2026
  3. Plutus Card: cashback · checked September 24, 2026
  4. Plutus Card: safety · checked September 24, 2026
  5. Exa Card (Exactly): fees · checked September 28, 2026
  6. Exa Card (Exactly): availability · checked September 28, 2026
  7. Exa Card (Exactly): cashback · checked September 28, 2026
  8. Exa Card (Exactly): safety · checked September 28, 2026