Mobile Money
M-Pesa, Airtel, Mixx, T-Pesa & HaloPesa fees
Mobile money is how most everyday payments are made in Tanzania, and the charges are not the same across providers. Each network prices in bands, and the band boundaries differ — so the same transaction can cost noticeably more on one service than another.
The comparison tool puts the recorded charges side by side, and the fee calculator works out what one specific transaction costs once the government levy and VAT are included. Charges are set by the operators and do change, so every table carries the date it was last reviewed. Only Mixx by Yas publishes its charges as a tariff you can read yourself. The other four publish no equivalent table, so their bands carry the date they were recorded and should be confirmed with the operator before a large transaction.
Charges are built from three separate parts, which is why a total is hard to check by hand. Each network publishes its tariff in bands, so the fee steps up at set amounts rather than rising smoothly, and the published figures already include the 10% excise duty and 18% VAT — nothing further is added at the counter. A government withdrawal levy applies on top, but only when cash is taken out through an agent; sending money is exempt from it. Because the networks place their band boundaries at different amounts, the same transfer can fall into a higher band on one service and a lower one on another. Operators can change tariffs without notice, so treat these figures as a snapshot and check the date each table was verified.
Which calculator to use
What one transaction will cost me
Use the Mobile Money Fee Calculator. Pick your network, choose send or withdraw, and enter the amount: you get the operator's banded fee, the government withdrawal levy where it applies, and the total, with the band the amount falls into shown so you can check it against the table.
Which network is cheapest for this amount
Use the Mobile Money Comparison. It ranks all five networks for the same transaction, highlights the cheapest, and shows what switching would save — which is the question worth asking, because the cheapest network changes with the amount.
Checking a charge I have already been billed
Open the network's own charges page: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Mixx by Yas, T-Pesa and HaloPesa each have one, listing every send and withdraw band with a worked answer for a specific amount. That is the page to compare against a statement line, because it shows the band boundaries the charge depends on.
Common mistakes here
- Adding VAT or excise duty to the recorded charge. The figures here are already tax-inclusive, so multiplying by 1.18 — or by 1.298 for both taxes — double-counts them and overstates the fee. The fee tables say this explicitly for that reason.
- Assuming the cheapest network for one amount is cheapest for all of them. Tariffs are banded with different boundaries per network, so a 20,000 TZS send and a 200,000 TZS send can have different winners.
- Forgetting the withdrawal levy, which only applies to agent cash-out. A withdrawal costs more than a send of the same amount partly because of it, and it is a government charge rather than the operator's fee.
- Comparing a tariff that has changed. Operators revise tariffs without notice; each table on this site carries the date it was last verified, and the fee calculator states it too.
Worked examples
Sending 50,000 TZS across the five networks
Sending 50,000 TZS is cheapest on T-Pesa (500 TZS), HaloPesa 580, Airtel 680, M-Pesa 720 and Mixx 720 — switching away from the most expensive saves up to 220 TZS.
Withdrawing 50,000 TZS in cash from an agent
Withdrawing 50,000 TZS at an agent is cheapest on HaloPesa (3,073 TZS), T-Pesa 3,123, M-Pesa 3,273, Airtel 3,273, Mixx 3,273 — switching away from the most expensive saves up to 200 TZS.
Calculators
Mobile Money Fee Calculator
Free Tanzania mobile money fee calculator: see M-Pesa, Airtel, Mixx, T-Pesa and HaloPesa send and withdrawal charges before you get charged.
Mobile Money Comparison
Compare mobile money fees across M-Pesa, Airtel, Mixx, T-Pesa and HaloPesa. See the cheapest provider and your potential saving for any amount.
Guides
Maintained by David M at Delta Tech Solutions · Figures last checked 26 September 2026 · Next check due 26 March 2027