Understanding Algerian currency: DA, cents, millions

If you travel to Algeria soon or discuss money with Algerians, one thing will quickly rob you: No one really talks in dinars. Prices are in cents, wages in millions, cars in billions. However, the official currency, the Algerian dinar (DZD), has only one legal unit.

Why this paradox? And most importantly, how do I get there?

The basic rule: 1 DA = 100 cents

The Algerian dinar (DA or DZD) is divided into 100 cents, exactly like a euro is divided into 100 cents. In everyday life, you will rarely be asked "how much does this kilo of tomatoes make dinars?". We'll tell you:

"That's 30,000 cents, brother. »

Either 300 DA.

This is where it's going: Algerian popular language counts almost everything in centimes, not dinars. If you forget it, you may pay 100 times too much or think that an apartment costs the price of a coffee.

Daily language: all in cents

Here are some concrete examples that you will often hear:

Yes. What they say to you, in cents, in dinars.

"5 000" for a sandwich
"30.000" for coffee in Algiers

"200 million" for a car - 200 million cents - 2 million DA (2 million DA)
"8 billion" for an apartment" 8,000,000 cents" 80,000,000 DA (80 million DA)
"I earn 14 million a month" - 14 million cents - 140,000 DA

Simple tip: divide the advertised number by 100 to get the value in dinars. And if we talk in "millions" or "billions", it's almost always in millions/billions of cents, so divide it by 100 more.

Why this system?

The use of the cent as a unit of account comes from inflation and habit. At independence, the dinar was worth much more than today, and counting in cents for small transactions made sense. Over time, the penny disappeared in the room, but habit remained — and spread to the large amounts.

Today, saying "3 billion" to talk about 30 million dinars is so anchored that no one thinks about correcting. For a foreign traveller or a member of the diaspora returning home, it can be a source of costly quiproquos.

The official rate and the square rate

Another subtlety: there are two exchange rates** in Algeria.

The official rate: that of banks, of the Bank of Algeria, about 150 DA for 1 EUR (May 2026).
The parallel market rate ("Port Said Square" in Algiers or "pegasus" in Oran): between 277 and 280 DA for 1 EUR (May 2026), depending on the day.

The diaspora that brings euros back to the country almost always changes them to the square: it gets 60 to 80% more than in a bank. It's not illegal for an individual who changes his own savings into cash, but it's unofficial.

If you pay a stay in Algeria in EUR via a platform like Algeria Tourism, you usually get a rate close to the parallel, which makes the trip very accessible.

The app that avoids all calculations: Sa'r

To never deceive you again, we created Sa'r — DZD Converter, a free app thought for the Algerian diaspora. It:

Display the purchase and sale price to the square (both rates as at the exchanger)

Includes cents, millions and billions without mental calculation

Converts to 10 currencies (EUR, USD, GBP, CAD, CHF, AED, SAR, TRY, MAD, TND)
Updating rates 24 times a day
No data collection, works offline via local cache

Download Sa'r

-
(https://apps.apple.com/en/app/sar-converter-dzd/id676426654)
(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.algerietourism.sardzd)

In summary

1 DA = 100 cents but Algerians count in cents daily
"200 million" in conversation = 2 million dinars = about EUR 7 200 in square
Two rates coexist: official (banks) and parallel (square), with ~70 % difference
To avoid mistake, use Sa'r: available web, iOS and Android, free

Now you speak the real Algerian language of money. Have a good trip!