You're not overthinking it — this genuinely costs freelancers real money if you don't set it up deliberately, and it's one of those things nobody explains to you upfront.
Broad shape of what tends to work well:
- A local/foreign-currency account you actually control (rather than always converting on arrival) gives you the option to hold or convert when the rate is decent, instead of whatever your bank gives you by default on the day.
- Services like Wise generally beat traditional bank wires on the transparency front — you can usually see the real exchange rate versus what you're actually charged, which regular bank transfers often bury.
- I'd check the Money & Banking tasks on your destination country's guide — a few countries have specific rules on foreign-currency accounts or outward transfer limits that materially affect which option is actually available to you, and those are worth knowing before you pick a setup.
What's your destination? The right answer genuinely varies by country here more than most topics.