I'm trying to figure out exactly how many Bitcoin fees were paid pr $ transferred in 2013 to compare it to Western Union. Is this doable?
I can't even find a chart for the amount of Bitcoin fees paid in 2013 :/
Long story short it is much cheaper to send money via BTC then it is to send money via WU.
It generally costs ~8% to send smallish amount via WU while sending at least $10 via BTC would cost well under 1%.
If you wanted to calculate all costs as a comparison you should be sure to include exchange fees as the receiver of BTC would have little use for it in 2013 (much less then they have now) and would need to convert the BTC into fiat.