Setting up a functional roblox currency display script is one of those foundational steps that separates a "test project" from a game people actually want to play. Think about it—every time you hop into a simulator or an tycoon, what's the first thing you look at? It's that little counter in the corner of your screen showing you exactly how rich (or poor) you are. If that number doesn't update smoothly or looks like a mess of unformatted digits, the whole game feels a bit unpolished.
In this guide, we're going to walk through how to create a currency display from scratch. We aren't just going to copy-paste some ancient code from a 2018 forum thread; we're going to build something that actually looks good and runs efficiently. Whether you're making a simple clicker or a complex RPG, the logic remains pretty much the same.
Why a Custom Display Matters
You might be thinking, "Hey, Roblox already has the leaderboard at the top right, why do I need a custom UI?" While the default leaderstats are great for quick debugging, they're pretty limited. They're tiny, you can't style them, and they don't exactly scream "unique brand identity."
By creating your own roblox currency display script, you gain full control over the player experience. You can use custom fonts, add "tweening" animations (where the numbers slide or pop when they change), and format huge numbers so they don't overflow the screen. Nothing kills the vibe of a game faster than seeing "1,540,230,102" stretched across half the display when "1.5B" would have looked so much cleaner.
Step 1: Setting Up the Leaderstats
Before we can display anything, we need something to track. If you haven't already set up your currency in the backend, your UI script won't have anything to talk to. This part happens in a Script (not a LocalScript) inside ServerScriptService.
Most developers use the standard leaderstats folder because it's easy and works natively with many Roblox systems. You'll want to hook into the PlayerAdded event, create a folder named "leaderstats," and then put an IntValue or NumberValue inside it. Let's call it "Gold" or "Coins." Once that's done, the server is officially tracking how much money each player has.
Step 2: Designing the UI
Now for the fun part: making it look pretty. Head over to StarterGui and insert a ScreenGui. Inside that, add a Frame to hold your display, and inside the frame, add a TextLabel.
Here's a pro tip: don't just leave the TextLabel as a boring white box. Use the UICorner object to round the edges, maybe add a UIStroke for a nice outline, and pick a font that matches your game's theme. I'm a big fan of "Gotham" or "Fredoka One" for simulators. Position it somewhere it won't get in the way—usually the bottom center or top left works best.
Make sure you name your TextLabel something sensible like "CurrencyLabel." It makes things a lot easier once we start writing the roblox currency display script logic.
Step 3: Writing the Scripting Logic
To make the UI actually show the player's money, we need a LocalScript. You should place this script inside the TextLabel itself or the ScreenGui.
The most "rookie" way to do this is using a while wait() do loop. Please, for the love of all things holy, don't do that. It's a waste of resources. Instead, we want the script to listen for changes. We use an event called GetPropertyChangedSignal or simply .Changed.
Your script needs to find the local player, locate their leaderstats folder, and then find the specific value (like "Coins"). Every time that value changes, the script will trigger a function that updates the Text property of your TextLabel. It's efficient, it's clean, and it won't lag your game when you have 50 players in a server.
Step 4: Making the Numbers Look Professional
If your game involves any kind of progression, players are eventually going to have thousands or millions of coins. Seeing "12534" is fine, but "12.5k" is much better. To achieve this, you'll want to add a small function to your roblox currency display script that handles abbreviations.
You can create a list of suffixes like "K", "M", "B", and "T". The script basically checks how large the number is, divides it by the corresponding power of ten, and tacks the letter on the end. It sounds complicated, but it's just a bit of math. Adding this small touch makes your game feel significantly more "premium."
Step 5: Adding That Extra Juice (Animations)
Static numbers are boring. When a player picks up a coin, they want to feel that impact. This is where TweenService comes in. Instead of the text just instantly snapping from 10 to 20, you can make the text label pulse or "pop" slightly.
In your script, when the value changes, you can tell the UI to scale up to 1.2x its size for a fraction of a second and then shrink back down. It's a subtle effect, but it's incredibly satisfying for the player. It provides immediate visual feedback that they've earned something.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
I've seen a lot of people struggle with their roblox currency display script because of one simple mistake: timing.
When a player first joins the game, the leaderstats folder doesn't exist instantly. It takes a few milliseconds for the server script to create it. If your LocalScript tries to find "Coins" the exact microsecond the player loads in, it's going to throw an error because the folder isn't there yet. Always use WaitForChild() when you're looking for the leaderstats or the currency value. It'll save you a lot of "Attempt to index nil" headaches in the output log.
Another thing to watch out for is security. Remember, the LocalScript is only for displaying the money. Never, ever let the LocalScript decide how much money the player has. A exploiter can change their local script easily, but they can't change the actual value stored on the server. The UI should always just be a "mirror" of what the server says is true.
Putting It All Together
Once you've got the leaderstats running on the server, the UI laid out in StarterGui, and the LocalScript handling the updates and formatting, you've got yourself a professional-grade display.
It's tempting to just use a basic script and call it a day, but taking the extra twenty minutes to add number formatting and a little bit of TweenService animation really pays off. It shows your players that you care about the details.
The beauty of a well-written roblox currency display script is that it's modular. Once you've written a good one, you can just save it to your toolbox and drop it into every new project you start. It's one of those "set it and forget it" systems that serves as the backbone of your game's economy.
So, get in there and start tinkering. Don't be afraid to break things—that's how you learn the logic behind the UI. Experiment with different colors, try out some crazy animations, and make that currency display something that players actually enjoy looking at while they're grinding away in your game. Happy building!