How to Convert Currencies in Firefox Automatically

When shopping online, you may occasionally use foreign web stores. Foreign shops give you the opportunity to purchase items that may not otherwise be available in your area. The downside with foreign stores, however, is that they may not offer the ability to see prices for items in your local currency. The lack of local currency support can make it hard for you to understand how much you’ll actually be paying for products.

Thankfully, there are Add-ons for Firefox that can automatically convert currencies for you. For example, SCs Currency Converter, available here, allows for automatic currency conversions from the US dollar, British Pound, and the Euro to any of 164 different currencies from around the world.

How to convert currencies in Firefox automatically

To add SCs Currency Converter to Firefox, click on the “Add to Firefox” button on the Add-on store page, then click “Add” when asked for confirmation. When you first install the Add-on it will automatically open the settings so you can configure conversions to your preference. The most important setting to configure is the top one, “Convert to”. Select your local or preferred currency from the “Convert to” drop-down list.

If you want to configure the other options, they start with “Round price” which automatically rounds prices to the nearest whole number, you’ll likely want to turn this option off. You can configure the currency symbol, position, and if it’s separated by a space from the price. For prices in the thousands or higher, many countries use separators, to make the number easier to read; you can configure what character, if any, is used. Some countries use a full stop as a decimal separator, while others use a comma, you can select which you prefer. “Add custom style to converted prices” adds a subtle indicator to all converted prices helping make you aware that the price was converted from the original. “Show exchange rate update notifications” displays occasional notifications when currency conversion rates change.

Once you’ve configured the conversions settings to your preference, you don’t have to fiddle with it at all. Any currencies displayed in your browser will be converted automatically, and the exchange rates will automatically be updated.

If you want to see the original value of a converted price, you can just hover your mouse over the converted value, and the original price will be shown in a tooltip. Alternatively, you can click on the Add-on’s icon in the top-right corner to open the popup and then click “Turn off”.