How much does an LED currency rate board cost?

It varies widely by size, brightness, row count and market — commonly a few hundred to several thousand US dollars per unit before installation, and you buy another for each additional screen. Get local quotes; we would rather you compare real numbers than take ours.

What happens to a software rate board if the internet drops?

It keeps showing the last rates it successfully loaded. After two consecutive failed refreshes — about ten minutes — it adds a notice that the rates may be stale, and only after thirty minutes without a successful update does it say rates are temporarily unavailable. It does not blank out or show an error page the moment the connection wobbles.

Can I use both an LED board and a software board?

Plenty of shops do: LED in the window for the street, a TV inside for the full currency list, and the website for people checking before they travel. The catch is that you then maintain rates in two places, since an LED controller has no way to read ours.

DEDICATED LED DISPLAY HARDWARE

Exchange Rate Management vs LED rate board hardware

Dedicated LED rate boards — ForexBoard and the many regional manufacturers like it — are physical displays built for exactly this job. They are genuinely better in some conditions. The question is whether those conditions are yours.

Start free See all comparisons

WHAT LED RATE BOARD HARDWARE IS

First, a fair description

A dedicated LED rate board is a physical unit — usually a row of bright seven-segment or dot-matrix modules — mounted in the window or above the counter, driven by a controller the shop updates via remote, keypad, PC software or an app.

They are built for one job and do it with no operating system, no browser and no page to keep open.

Pricing is per unit and varies enormously by size and market, typically from a few hundred to several thousand US dollars per board before installation. Check with local suppliers.

WHICH ONE FITS

Pick the Right Tool, Not the Loudest One

Choose LED rate board hardwareif…

The board goes in a shop window facing direct sunlight. High-brightness LED stays readable where a consumer TV washes out completely — this is a real, physical advantage and no amount of software fixes it.
You want something that runs for years with no network. An LED board with a local controller keeps showing the last rates through an internet outage indefinitely.
You want the traditional look customers in your market recognise as an exchange office from across the street.
You have no reliable internet at all, in which case a connected product is the wrong choice.

Choose us if…

Your board is indoors, where a TV is perfectly readable, and you would rather not spend hardware money to find out.
You already have a TV, or can buy one for less than a comparable LED unit.
You want to change rates from your phone or a laptop rather than walking to a controller or keypad.
You want your website to show the same rates automatically — an LED board cannot publish anything.
You want to add a second or third screen without buying a second or third board.

SIDE BY SIDE

LED rate board hardware vs a Dedicated Rate Board

	LED rate board hardware	Exchange Rate Management
Up-front cost	Per-unit hardware purchase plus installation	A TV you may already own
Direct sunlight	Excellent — built for it	Depends entirely on the TV; poor in a sunlit window
Updating rates	Controller, remote, keypad or vendor software, usually on site	Any browser, anywhere
Internet required	No	Yes, though the board keeps showing the last rates through outages
Website rates	No	Yes, from the same dashboard
Adding a screen	Buy another board	Open the same page on another screen
Currencies shown	Fixed by the physical rows you bought	As many as you like; the page scrolls or scales

Rates on our side are set by hand — there is no automatic market feed — and every board and widget re-fetches every 5 minutes. We would rather you know that before signing up than after.

THE VERDICT

If We're Being Honest

The sunlight point is the one that should decide this. If your board faces a bright window, buy LED — we will not pretend a TV competes, and you would be unhappy. Indoors, the hardware's advantages mostly evaporate and its disadvantages stay: fixed rows, on-site updates, no website, and another unit to buy every time you add a screen. Our honest weakness against LED is dependence on a network and a browser, which is why the board keeps displaying the last known rates when a refresh fails rather than going blank.

If a rate board is what you actually need, see how it works on any TV screen and as an exchange rate widget for your website. For the wider category question, read digital signage vs. a dedicated rate board.

FAQ

Questions People Ask Before Choosing

Simple pricing for everyone.

Choose the plan that fits your needs. Start for free or unlock everything with Pro.

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee • No questions asked

Free

$0/ forever

Get started with core features.

Access to USD and EUR rates
Basic embeddable widget

Pro