Are you tired of losing international customers due to currency limitations?
Letting customers pick their preferred currency at WooCommerce checkout can make a big difference!
Not allowing your customers to select their preferred currency during checkout could be a barrier to completing purchases.
When a customer is forced to pay in a currency they don’t want, they’re more likely to leave the checkout process. This can increase your store's cart abandonment rate.
However, there is good news!
You can add the option to change the currency at the checkout by using a WooCommerce currency switcher plugin.
We will share many currency switcher plugins and how you can offer currency change options at checkout with a solid plugin for free.
So, let’s begin.
Table of Contents
No, WooCommerce doesn’t have a built-in option for switching currencies at checkout.
However, if you want to change the currency of your store, you can easily do that from WooCommerce ⇒ Settings.
Under the General tab, scroll down to “Currency Options” to change the Currency. Along with currency, you can also set Currency position, thousand separators, Decimal Separators, and Number of decimals.
Now, the question is, if WooCommerce doesn't offer the option or currency switcher by default, is it still useful?
The answer is yes.
Move to the next section to find out why it’s important to let users change currency at checkout.
According to Shopify, 92% of shoppers prefer to make purchases on sites that are priced in their local currency. By offering currency change options at checkout, you can tap into a broader international market and cater to diverse customer needs.
A Baymard Institute study found that 18% of users abandon their shopping carts due to high or unexpected shipping fees, often triggered by a need for more clarity on currency conversion. Providing a local currency option directly at checkout reduces the friction caused by surprise costs and can help improve conversion rates.
According to the survey, 76% of customers feel more comfortable purchasing products with prices in their local currency. This gives users the sense that they can trust this brand. Providing the option to change currency can help you win customer trust.
Offering currency flexibility sets you apart from your competitors. In a competitive eCommerce landscape, customers appreciate the ease of shopping in their preferred currency. For example, Shopify reported that stores offering multi-currency options saw a 25-30% increase in international sales.
When users can easily change the currency and see the price of the products in their local currency, they don’t have to do the manual conversion. This streamlines the checkout process and makes it super convenient for customers.
Either switch currencies automatically based on the user's location or let customers select their currency manually. Look for a plugin that offers both options or choose the one that best fits your needs.
Ensure the plugin offers real-time or customizable frequency updates for exchange rates so customers see accurate prices.
Confirm that the plugin works with your payment gateway to avoid issues at checkout, ensuring a smooth transition between displayed and processed currency.
Look for plugins that support geolocation to accurately detect a visitor's country and apply the appropriate currency automatically.
Check if the plugin allows you to customize currency symbols, format, and style to blend seamlessly with your website’s design.
Here, we have put together five of the best WooCommerce currency switcher plugins with key features and prices:
FOX Currency Switcher is a popular free WooCommerce multi-currency switcher plugin that helps customers easily switch between different currencies on your WooCommerce store.
This feature is available as a widget and also as a short code [woocs]. You can insert a shortcode in any place of your site, even in the top menu.
Key Features:
Price: A basic free version is available. The premium version costs $36.
Aelia Currency Switcher is a premium plugin designed for WooCommerce stores looking to provide a seamless shopping experience across multiple currencies.
With this tool, you can offer users the option to choose their preferred currency. When a customer selects a currency, the shop will display prices and also allow customers to complete transactions using the new currency.
Key Features:
Price: €79.00 / year for a single site.
WooCommerce Currency Switcher by WP Wham is a simple and easy-to-use plugin for stores that need to switch currencies. It’s compatible with most WooCommerce themes and offers real-time conversion rates for accurate pricing.
Key Features:
Price: A free version is available. The premium version costs $39.99 for a signal site.
This currency switcher for the WooCommerce plugin allows your customers to change currencies on the shop, cart, and checkout pages. It automatically detects the customer's country using Geo-Location IP and displays prices in the user’s local currency.
Key Features:
Price: $99.00/year.
Multi-currency for WooCommerce offers flexible options for international stores. It automatically detects the user’s location and switches to the correct currency. Customers can also select a currency manually from a dropdown menu.
Key Features:
Price: $149.00/ year.
Follow the instructions below to offer a currency switcher option at the checkout of your WooCommerce store.
We will use FOX Currency Switcher to add a currency switcher option at WooCommerce checkout. To install this from the WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins ⇒ Add New Plugin and search for the plugin.
Once found, install and then activate it.
🔔 Note: The free version is enough to add the option to change currency on the checkout page in your WooCommerce store.
Next, go to WooCommerce ⇒ Settings and make sure you are on the Currency Tab.
By default, the plugin will have two currencies: USD and EURO.
🔔Note: The free version only allows you to offer two currency options.
You can customize the default currency to set your desired currency.
Here are the options you need to configure to set a currency:
Next, move to the options tab and set the following:
In this Options tab, you can control some other settings such as the Show price info icon, Email notice about "Rate auto update" results, Show approximate amount, etc.
🔔 Note: Do not turn on the option “Hide switcher on the checkout page.”
You can set the GeoIP rule to configure which currencies will be available in which location.
To add a search, select the tab for any currency and then add the county. Repeat the same process to assign currency to countries.
On the Designer tab, you can create a new design and add it to your checkout page using a shortcode.
You can change generation options such as width, border radius, border color, and background color here.
If you scroll down a little, you can update the title color, font, etc. For description, you also get similar options like font family, font color, etc.
After making the changes to the design, make sure to hit “Save Changes.”
Now move to the Side tab and turn on the Toggle below status to enable it.
In this tab, you can choose the skin type for the currency switcher, select the sides it will appear on, add a margin, etc.
Scroll down to customize the currency switcher settings, where you can choose specific pages to display or hide the currency change option, control its visibility on different devices, and adjust the main and hover colors for a tailored look.
Now try placing a test order, and on the top left/right side, depending on your settings, see if the Currency Change option is there at checkout.
🔔 Note: if you set the GeoIP rule, then the customer's location will decide what is shown on the checkout.
The beautiful multi-page checkout shown above is built with FunnelKit Funnel Builder. To learn how to create such a beautiful checkout, check out our blog on a custom WooCommerce checkout page.
Here is what it looks like on mobile devices.
Give users the option to manually choose their preferred currency, as automated currency detection can sometimes guess the wrong currency. This approach helps avoid potential misalignment with users' actual preferences and unnecessary location tracking. Even if you provide automated currency detection, it is recommended that you provide users the option to change the currency manually.
Position the currency switcher on high-impact pages, like the homepage, product pages, and checkout, where users are most likely to engage with it. The checkout page is especially crucial as it's the most important step of the ordering process.
Ensure the selected currency is shown throughout checkout, including the final payment screen. If FunnelKit’s checkout page is visually appealing, you can beautifully highlight the currency switcher and currency of the product of the order total in the mini cart section.
Nowadays, many customers shop on mobile, so ensure that the currency switcher is fully responsive and positioned intuitively for smaller screens. With FunnelKit Funnel builder, you can easily create a mobile responsive checkout page that shows the currency switcher in a beautiful way that is convenient for customers.
Keep currency rates current to avoid discrepancies in final payment amounts. Choose plugins that allow regular updates or manually check exchange rates. This way, your rates will always be accurate, maintaining trust and transparency.
Yes, using a lightweight currency switcher plugin, you can offer multiple currencies without impacting the website’s performance. However, it's crucial to choose reliable, well-coded plugins that are optimized for speed. You can choose any plugin from the list we shared in this blog.
No. In fact, If implemented properly, offering different currencies can enhance the shopping experience and help customers feel more comfortable completing purchases. It’s essential to clearly display the currency throughout the checkout process, ensuring that users know what currency they are being charged in.
Yes, a well-designed currency switcher can be configured to display taxes, shipping charges, and total costs in the selected currency.
While geo-location-based currency switching can be convenient, it’s important to give customers the ability to choose their currency manually. Geo-location features can sometimes be inaccurate, leading to users being presented with the wrong currency. By providing a manual option, you allow users to take control of their experience and avoid any potential mistakes.
Integrating a currency change option at checkout in your WooCommerce store can significantly enhance the user experience for international shoppers.
By allowing customers to view prices in their preferred currency, you reduce confusion, build trust, and make the shopping process more transparent. This leads to higher conversion rates and can ultimately boost sales.
However, it’s important to ensure real-time exchange rates are shown during checkout. Plus, the currency switcher should be prominent so users can easily find it and change the currency if they want to.
Along with offering the option to change currency, we would also suggest utilizing the power of FunnelKit Funnel Builder to optimize your checkout page for conversion with features like Google Address autocomplete, Multi-step preview, Express checkout, etc.
Do get your hands on FunnelKit Funnel Builder today!
