Title: Open Currency Converter
Author: Joe
Published: <strong>April 19, 2012</strong>
Last modified: April 29, 2025

---

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This plugin **hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress**.
It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when
used with more recent versions of WordPress.

![](https://ps.w.org/artiss-currency-converter/assets/icon.svg?rev=3021002)

# Open Currency Converter

 By [Joe](https://profiles.wordpress.org/morehawes/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/artiss-currency-converter.1.5.0.zip)

 * [Details](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/artiss-currency-converter/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/artiss-currency-converter/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/artiss-currency-converter/#installation)
 * [Development](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/artiss-currency-converter/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/)

## Description

🚀 If you have a wish to convert currencies “on the fly” within the text of a post
or page then this is the plugin for you! It’s free to download, free to use and 
advert free – if you think you have to pay for something you’re doing it wrong!

So, let’s say you run a UK based site and will refer to currencies in GBP. However,
the majority of visitors are from the US, so you may have a wish to also show the
dollar equivalent. Using this plugin you can do this without having to work out 
the conversion and then re-visit it in future to take into account conversion changes.

Key features include…

 * No need to update exchange rates yourself – data is fetched from an Open Source
   API
 * Over 170 currencies supported
 * An easy to use shortcode for embedding directly into your posts and pages
 * A PHP function for those people who wish to add features in their theme
 * Results can be cached, reducing resources and improving response
 * Template to allow you to control how results are output
 * Administration screen allowing you to define defaults and to view current exchange
   rates
 * And much, much more!

👉 Please visit the [Github page](https://github.com/morehawes/open-currency-converter)
for the latest code development, planned enhancements and known issues 👈

### Getting Started

🔑 **Getting Your App Key**

Open Currency Converter gets its data from the Open Exchange Rates website (which
is not associated with this plugin nor the developer). This site requires an App
Key to be specified for it to work. This is to prevent over-use of the exchange 
system and to provide premium features for users who wish to pay for them. Having
a premium plan does not add any extra features to this plugin and is not a requirement.

To get your App Key…

 1. [Sign up on the Open Exchange Rates site](https://openexchangerates.org/signup/free)–
    this link will take you to the free option but the site does require personal information.
 2. You should now be at [your account screen](https://openexchangerates.org/account).
 3. Click on the “App IDs” option in the side menu.
 4. An App ID should be listed on the right hand side – copy this ID.
 5. Head back to the admin of your website and select the Settings -> Open Currency
    menu.
 6. Paste the App ID into the equivalent field at the top of the settings screen.
 7. Click the “Save Changes” button.

**Using the Shortcode**

To add to your site simply use the `[convert]` shortcode. For example…

    ```
    [convert number="100" from="gbp" to="cad"]
    ```

This would convert 100 GBP to CAD.

⚠️ **Disclaimer**

The exchange rate data is provided for free via the [Open Source Exchange Rates](http://openexchangerates.org/)
project. Its accuracy and availability are never guaranteed, and there’s no warranty
provided.

### 🖥 The Options Screen

Once the plugin is activated two new administration screens will be present.

 * **Open Currency** – This appears under “Settings” and allows you to specify default
   settings for any currency conversion
 * **Exchange Rates** – Shown under the “Tools” menu, this displays the current 
   exchange rates along with a list of all the valid exchange codes

Before using this plugin it is highly recommended that you review the Options screen
and change any values, as appropriate. You will also need to sign up for and enter
an App Key before conversions will work.

### 🗜 Using the Shortcode

The shortcode of ‘[convert]’ has the following parameters that you may specify…

 * **number** – The number that you wish to convert from one currency to another.
   This is required
 * **from** – The currency code that you wish to convert from (see the admin options
   for a list of valid codes). If you do not specify this value then the default
   from the options screen will be used
 * **to** – The currency code that you wish to convert to (see the admin options
   for a list of valid codes). If you do not specify this value then the default
   from the options screen will be used.
 * **dp** – How many decimal places the output should be. This should be numeric
   or the word “match”. The latter is the default and will mean that the output 
   will match the number of decimal places that the **number** was.
 * **template** – See the later section, “Using Templates”, for further information
 * **thousands_separator** – The character that should be used to separate thousands
   in the output. This is a single character, such as a comma or period. If not 
   specified then the default from the options screen will be used.

Example of use are…

    ```
    [convert number=49.99 from="gbp" to="usd"]
    ```

This would convert 49.99 from UK pounds to US dollars and output the result to 2
decimal places.

    ```
    [convert number=50 from="usd" to="gbp"]
    ```

This would convert 50 from US dollars to UK pounds and output the result without
any decimal places.

If the conversion can’t be done then an appropriate error message will be output
instead. If you wish to suppress these messages then you need to use a template (
see the later section on this) – in this case no output will be generated in the
case of an error.

You can specify the thousands separator either through the options screen or by 
using the `thousands_separator` parameter (default is a comma). This will be used
to format the output of the conversion result:

    ```
    [convert number=50 from="usd" to="gbp" thousands_separator="."]<h3>🧩 Using Templates</h3>
    ```

The template option allows you to specify other information to be output along with
the conversion result. None of the template will be output if any error occurs, 
including any error messages, allowing you to suppress any conversion text in the
case of a problem.

The template text must include `%result%` where you wish the output to appear.

Here’s an example…

    ```
    The retail price is $49.99[convert number=50 from=“use” to=“gap” template=" (approx.%result%) GBP”].
    ```

Normally, this would print a result such as…

    ```
    The retail price is $49.99 (approx. 79.11 GBP).
    ```

However, if an error occurs then it will print as…

    ```
    The retail price is $49.99.
    ```

You may also include the template between opening and closing shortcode tags. For
example…

    ```
    The retail price is $49.99[convert number=50 from=“use” to=“gap”] (approx. %result% GBP)[/convert].<h3>Using the Function Call</h3>
    ```

If you wish to perform a currency conversion within your theme, rather than within
a post or page, then you can use a PHP function call. The function name is `get_conversion`
and will return the result back.

 * All of the shortcode parameters are valid, except for the template which isn’t
   required
 * The parameters are specified in any order and are separated with an ampersand
 * You should not add quotes around each parameter value, as you do with the shortcode

For example…

    ```
    <?php echo get_conversion( 'number=49.99&from=gbp&to=usd' ); ?><h3>🌍 Global conversion variables</h3>
    ```

For the use of developers, 2 global variables have been added which, if assigned
within your site code, will override the conversion codes.

The variables are `global_convert_from` and `global_convert_to`.

This is useful if, say, you have multiple versions of the site in different languages–
you can then assign these global variables depending on which site is being viewed
and all currency will be converted based upon these settings.

These will only override the options screen and not specific parameters specified
with a shortcode or function call.

## Screenshots

[⌊The options screen with help tab open⌉⌊The options screen with help tab open⌉[

The options screen with help tab open

[⌊The exchange rate screen (length truncated)⌉⌊The exchange rate screen (length 
truncated)⌉[

The exchange rate screen (length truncated)

## Installation

Open Currency Converter can be found and installed via the Plugin menu within WordPress
administration (Plugins -> Add New). Alternatively, it can be downloaded from WordPress.
org and installed manually…

 1. Upload the entire `artiss-currency-converter` folder to your `wp-content/plugins/`
    directory.
 2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress administration.

Voila! It’s ready to go.

## Reviews

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f55aa7f0c3f4389500b47480e8f4d575aa1f751f31cc8a42be02dfc07e68dcbd?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Excellent plug in! 👊😎🤙](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/excellent-plug-in-%f0%9f%91%8a%f0%9f%98%8e%f0%9f%a4%99-2/)󠁿

 [TitusAKK](https://profiles.wordpress.org/titusakk/) January 17, 2026

Super simple & useful. Awesome stuff!

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/119e1175899a2644732b4b2c270fa37a9661ea06e66bbf68a47e72c0f595b1c6?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Great help!](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/great-help-265/)󠁿

 [sadev](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sadev/) October 17, 2024

Good customer service

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/9c63fcc99a7b2f7eb046bf4f559793969d914ebe22e03c42c78ddf28d8226388?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[WordPress hidden gem](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-hidden-gem/)󠁿

 [jotooga](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jotooga/) November 22, 2021

Efficient, clean, and super useful. Thank you

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/82fcc1b0d90d7cfc87bcd9756375e0fd86e4a2a8c5a6f9b72a02ae1ffc44b7f0?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Simple and effective](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/simple-and-effective-1332/)󠁿

 [masvil](https://profiles.wordpress.org/masvil/) October 29, 2021

Simple, effective and without any backlink. Thank you!

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/65a031d97c1d5a6ddbfad49f4be71fb8454a4eaeb1e9487e0dc52f9577723ee4?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Perfect](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/perfect-6837/)󠁿

 [opicron](https://profiles.wordpress.org/opicron/) January 30, 2020

Not bloated and to the point. A developers dream! Thanks for your contribution to
the Wordpress ecosystem.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b793da4e48d524b0bcdd81869410c861fb7576974db29a10135d634b7e7a8aac?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Amazing!](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/amazing-1975/)󠁿

 [Nader.Rad](https://profiles.wordpress.org/naderrad/) November 17, 2018

It may not be rich in features, but it's a clean and straightforward plugin that
is very flexible. I could finally add the type of currency conversion that I wanted.
My values are stored in shortcodes (the shortcoder plugin). Now, I have a second
shortcode to display the normal value in Euros, and then create a tooltip with converted
values in six other currencies. Well done David!

 [ Read all 18 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/reviews/)

## Contributors & Developers

“Open Currency Converter” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ Joe ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/morehawes/)
 *   [ David Artiss ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/dartiss/)

“Open Currency Converter” has been translated into 1 locale. Thank you to [the translators](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/artiss-currency-converter/contributors)
for their contributions.

[Translate “Open Currency Converter” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/artiss-currency-converter)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/artiss-currency-converter/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/artiss-currency-converter/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/artiss-currency-converter/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/artiss-currency-converter/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 1.5.0

 * Enhancement: Added thousands_separator parameter to shortcode and options screen.
   Thanks to [samlaflam](https://wordpress.org/support/users/samlaflam/) for the
   [suggestion](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/remove-or-change-thousands-indicator-2/).

#### 1.4.9

 * Maintenance: Added deploy script and bumping version number.

#### 1.4.8

 * Maintenance: The plugin has been adopted, so the adoption and shut-down notices
   have been removed, as well as various plugin meta updated for the new owner

#### 1.4.7

 * Maintenance: Added notices about the plugin closure

#### 1.4.6

 * Bug: Fixed a bug where an empty array wasn’t recognised as such, causing cascading
   errors

#### 1.4.5

 * Enhancement: Improved the help on both admin screens
 * Maintenance: Added donation links back in
 * Maintenance: Added in some missing flags
 * Maintenance: Improved the README instructions, based on feedback
 * Maintenance: Added Github links to plugin meta
 * Bug: Fixed `Use of undefined constant global_convert_from` PHP warning

#### 1.4.4

 * Maintenance: Removed donation links

#### 1.4.3

 * Enhancement: The shortcode is now loaded at all times, as loading only outside
   of admin didn’t add any performance improvement
 * Maintenance: Updated this README to better reflect the new plugin directory format
 * Maintenance: Corrected links to artiss.blog
 * Maintenance: This plugin now requires a minimum WordPress level of 4.6, so changes
   were made to accommodate that, including the removal of various language features
 * Maintenance: Added in a couple of missing country flags

#### 1.4.2

 * Maintenance: Updated API URL, including new SSL addresses

#### 1.4.1

 * Maintenance: Updated branding, inc. adding donation links

#### 1.4

 * Enhancement: Validated, sanitized and escaped the user data being sloshed around
   the admin screens
 * Enhancement: Modified some INCLUDES so that the plugin folder wasn’t hardcoded.
   Also replaced the deprecated WP_PLUGIN_URL with plugins_url
 * Enhancement: When the API key hasn’t yet been specified, the prompt will appear
   when in the settings screen as well
 * Maintenance: Updated branding, including removal of donation links
 * Maintenance: Removed the occ- prefixes from the file names
 * Maintenance: Modified administration screens so that they use the same coding
   standard as the core screens
 * Bug: Fixed some links that were not correct
 * Bug: Resolved some PHP errors
 * Bug: Fixed an issue with the default options when migrating from an earlier version
   of the plugin

#### 1.3.1

 * Maintenance: Added a text domain and domain path, as well as correcting the domain
   name.

#### 1.3

 * Enhancement: Added some swizzy new currency flags.
 * Enhancement: Now handles commas in your provided currency amount. It even adds
   them in the result. Nice.
 * Maintenance: New name and less advertising. We’re nice like that.
 * Maintenance: Removed the specific admin menu because, well, it wasn’t needed.
   Moved the plugin options to the general Admin Options and exchange rates to Tools.
 * Maintenance: Added support for WordPress 4.3 admin menu changes.
 * Maintenance: Re-written the README and on-screen options to be clearer and, more
   importantly, make sure people realize you can get the API data for FREE!
 * Bug: We’ve been on PHP error hunt… we’re not scared.. we went and found some 
   big ones… FIXED!

#### 1.2

 * Enhancement: Added message to admin screen if App Key not set
 * Maintenance: Updated advertising engine code to latest version
 * Maintenance: Updated README Parser function name
 * Bug: Corrected the user permissions

#### 1.1.1

 * Bug: Error on activation when installed alongside certain other plugins which
   share a particular function

#### 1.1

 * Enhancement: Country flag icons, where appropriate, are now shown on the rates
   screen
 * Enhancement: Added global variables for overriding default currencies
 * Enhancement: Conversion in rates screen now shows results as 2 DP
 * Maintenance: Advertisements now appear in the options screens, but implemented
   option to switch off if donated
 * Maintenance: New App Key requirements implemented
 * Maintenance: Put in place minimum values for caching – no longer able to switch
   off
 * Bug: Fixed internationalization, including rates screens which was not being 
   translated

#### 1.0.1

 * Fixed bug where currency output that contained a thousand separator was being
   interpreted as an error message!

#### 1.0

 * Initial release

## Meta

 *  Version **1.5.0**
 *  Last updated **1 year ago**
 *  Active installations **900+**
 *  WordPress version ** 4.6 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **6.8.11**
 *  PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
 *  Languages
 * [English (UK)](https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/artiss-currency-converter/)
   and [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/artiss-currency-converter/).
 *  [Translate into your language](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/artiss-currency-converter)
 * Tags
 * [cash](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/cash/)[conversion](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/conversion/)
   [convert](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/convert/)[currency](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/currency/)
   [money](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/money/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://frp.wordpress.org/plugins/artiss-currency-converter/advanced/)

## Ratings

 4.7 out of 5 stars.

 *  [  17 5-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/reviews/?filter=5)
 *  [  0 4-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/reviews/?filter=4)
 *  [  1 3-star review     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/reviews/?filter=3)
 *  [  0 2-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/reviews/?filter=2)
 *  [  1 1-star review     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/reviews/?filter=1)

[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ Joe ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/morehawes/)
 *   [ David Artiss ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/dartiss/)

## Support

Got something to say? Need help?

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/artiss-currency-converter/)