Two Cities, One Sign Budget.
San Antonio spreads out. Loop 1604 keeps pushing north, the medical center never stops growing, the military bases move people through town on their own schedule, and downtown runs on visitors year round. Our prepared DIY LED sign kits ship anywhere in Bexar County with the LEDs already mounted inside the welded aluminum sections. It goes out the same whether you are downtown or way out past the loop.
This is a value town and it always has been. Paying full installed price for a lit cabinet does not fit how business gets done here. We build the frame to your size, ship it in pieces, and you keep up to 60% depending on your project by putting it up yourself.
The Lighted Sign Cabinet, And The Price Difference
Shipping To San Antonio And Every Town Around It
Kits ship to Alamo Heights, Schertz, Converse, Universal City, Leon Valley, Helotes, Live Oak and Selma — and everywhere in between. If FedEx delivers there, your sign kit can too.
San Antonio runs on repeat business from neighbors and first-time business from visitors, and a lit sign is the only part of your storefront that speaks to both at once. The regular sees it from habit; the tourist sees it because it is the brightest readable thing on the block. Get your address's sign rules confirmed and your approved size in writing first — the cabinet is welded to that number and cannot be trimmed later.
Call it what you like — an illuminated cabinet sign, a light box sign, or an outdoor lighted sign box — it’s the same product: an aluminum LED sign cabinet, built in our shop and shipped to your door as a ready-to-assemble kit.
Every prepared kit includes: an aluminum frame cut to your size with welded corners, LEDs mounted inside, and a 12-volt power supply with wiring hardware as listed in your written quote. Sign faces and graphics are available separately through DIY Graphics.
Programmable LED Message Center Signs
A lot of San Antonio owners shopping for a lighted sign are really after the changeable kind — a programmable LED sign that shows something different tomorrow than it does today. That product goes by a pile of different names: an electronic message center (EMC), an LED message board, an outdoor LED display, a scrolling LED sign or a digital marquee sign. They all describe the same thing — a grid of LEDs you update yourself from a phone, tablet or computer.
The usual setup on a San Antonio storefront or roadside pole is both signs together: the lighted cabinet up top carrying your business name permanently, and the message center below it carrying today’s special, price, hours or announcement. One says who you are. The other says what is happening right now.
Check this before you order. Many towns around San Antonio regulate electronic message centers separately from static signs, and limits on brightness, hold time, dwell time and animation are common. Confirm the rules with your local township or zoning office first — the same as you would for any freestanding sign. Easy financing available; ask about it when you request your written quote.
How Your Kit Gets To San Antonio
Distance is the reason ground shipping wins here. San Antonio sprawls past 1604 in every direction, and a freight delivery to a shop out toward Helotes or Converse means coordinating a truck that does not want to make the drive. Roughly 95% of our kits go FedEx Ground on the route that already covers those addresses daily.
What shows up. Four long boxes on a standard cabinet, six where splice joints keep a longer frame inside ground shipping limits. Each welded section is cut to your size with the LEDs mounted inside it, and the power supply and mounting hardware ride in the same boxes. One delivery, no separate parts crate showing up a week behind the frame. What lands is the whole job, ready to bolt together.
Delivery day. No dock, no liftgate, no four-hour window. A lot of San Antonio's small businesses are in older buildings on tight lots with a single alley behind them, and nothing about a pallet fits that. Boxes do. One person can move them, which means the delivery does not need a second employee standing around for it.
Open the boxes the day they land. Look the sections over even if the cartons look perfect, and do it before install day rather than the morning of. Photograph anything crushed, torn or bent and keep the packaging exactly as it arrived — that is what a carrier claim is built on. Finding a problem the day a box shows up is a phone call; finding it with a crew standing on a ladder is a lost day.
Where to put it. Aluminum handles South Texas heat and does not rust, so the frame is not the concern. The LEDs and the power supply are, and they ship in cardboard — keep those boxes indoors until install day. San Antonio can also turn a clear afternoon into a flash flood in half an hour, so nothing gets left sitting in a low spot behind the building.
Measure Twice. Order Once.
Your kit is cut to a size, welded, and pre-lit before it ships, so the size has to be right the first time. In San Antonio that means three phone calls before you order, not after.
1. Ask what you're allowed
Start with the City of San Antonio's development services department if you are inside city limits, or Bexar County if you are not. The independent enclaves complicate this more than most Texas metros — Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Olmos Park, Castle Hills and Leon Valley all sit inside the metro and all run their own sign codes. Ask for the maximum sign area and height for your zoning district, whether your sign counts as wall-mounted or freestanding, and what setback applies. Sign area is usually tied to your building frontage, so the answer is specific to your address — not to the block or to the business next door.
2. Ask your landlord
If you're in a plaza or center, the landlord's sign criteria sit on top of the city code and are often stricter. Cabinet depth, face color, letter height and mounting method are all commonly spelled out. Get the criteria sheet in writing before you pick a size — it is cheaper than rebuilding a cabinet that the center won't approve.
3. Ask about engineering and wiring
A freestanding or pole sign in Bexar County generally requires foundation and structural drawings sealed by a Texas-licensed engineer for the wind speed the local code specifies. The lighting typically gets reviewed on its own permit rather than under the sign permit, and downtown or historic districts may add design review on top of both. Plan on a licensed electrician for the final hookup and inspection either way. We build the cabinet; the permit, the footing, the disconnect and the sign-off are local work done by local people.
DIY Kit vs. Hiring A San Antonio Sign Company
The short answer: a full-service sign company sells a finished project — survey, fabrication, installation — and prices it that way. We are not a San Antonio sign installation company. We build the lighted sign cabinet itself, ship it to your door, and coach you while you or your contractor handle the install. That one difference is where the savings come from.
| What happens | Full-Service Sign Company | DIY Sign Guy Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Who builds the cabinet | They do | We do — cut to your size, LEDs mounted inside |
| Who installs it | Their crew | You, or a local contractor you hire |
| 4′ × 8′ lighted sign example* | $3,112 | $984 kit + your installation |
| Permits & inspections | Usually handled for you | You check with your township — we help plan a cabinet that fits the rules |
| Best fit | Complex installs, no time to coordinate | Owners and contractors comfortable with bolts, a level, and an electrician for hookup |
* Example comparison based on the specifications shown on our pricing page. Savings are potential, not guaranteed; prices subject to change.
Lighted business sign kit pricing shipped to San Antonio
| Frame depth | Price per foot of frame length | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 4-inch — most popular | $41 per foot | Wall-mounted storefront signs |
| 7-inch | $47 per foot | Wall installs and double-pole signs |
| 10-inch | $67 per foot | Pylon and single-pole roadside signs |
Every kit is pre-lit with a 12-volt power supply included as quoted. Sign faces and graphics are separate. Prices subject to change without notice — get your written quote.
Straight Answers For San Antonio Businesses
Is a historic district going to be a problem?
It may add a review step rather than a flat no. Older parts of San Antonio carry design guidelines that can affect size, brightness and mounting. Find out what applies to your address before you settle on dimensions, because the cabinet is welded to the size you send us and changing it after the fact means building a new one.
What comes in the boxes besides the frame?
The welded aluminum sections with the LEDs already mounted inside them, the 12-volt power supply as quoted, and the mounting hardware, all packed together. Faces and graphics are not included — those are a separate product on our DIY Graphics page. Nothing ships in a second crate later.
Does San Antonio require a permit for an illuminated sign?
Plan on yes. Sign permits generally go through the City of San Antonio inside city limits or Bexar County outside them, and the lighting is commonly reviewed under its own electrical permit. If you are in one of the enclave cities like Alamo Heights or Castle Hills, their code applies instead. Confirm your approved size in writing before ordering.
Do I need an electrician or can I wire it myself?
You need a licensed electrician. These kits are not UL listed, and the final tie into building power has to be done and inspected properly under the local code. Your side of the job is the assembly, the mounting and the faces. Treat the electrician as a line item in the budget, not an afterthought at the end of the install.
How much does a lighted business sign cost in San Antonio?
Less than most owners expect — because you skip the full-service labor. Our aluminum LED sign cabinet kits run $41 per foot of frame length in the 4-inch depth, $47 for 7-inch and $67 for 10-inch, pre-lit with the power supply included as quoted. As an example comparison, a 4' x 8' lighted sign quoted at $3,112 by a full-service company runs about $984 as a kit — savings are potential, not guaranteed. Sign faces and graphics are separate, prices are subject to change, and every kit is quoted in writing to your exact size.
Do you install signs in San Antonio?
No — we are not a San Antonio sign installation company, and that is exactly why the price works. We build and ship the lighted cabinet; you or a local contractor handle the mounting, with a qualified electrician for the electrical hookup. Real guidance from the builder comes with every kit, and your local township sets the permit and inspection rules.
Do you sell programmable LED message center signs in San Antonio?
Yes. An LED message center — also called an electronic message center, an EMC, a programmable LED sign, an LED message board or a digital marquee — is an outdoor display built into a sign that you change yourself from a phone, tablet or computer. It ships to San Antonio the same way our lighted cabinets do, and it is quoted in writing to your size. Many towns regulate message centers separately from static signs, so confirm brightness, hold time and animation rules with your local township before ordering. Easy financing available — ask when you request your quote.
What is the difference between a lighted cabinet sign and an LED message center?
A lighted cabinet sign shows one fixed printed face and lights it from behind — it carries your business name permanently. An LED message center shows changeable messages you update whenever you want. Most businesses run both on the same structure: the cabinet on top for the name and logo, the message center below it for today's special, price or hours.
What is an illuminated cabinet sign?
An illuminated cabinet sign — also called a light box sign — is an aluminum box with lighting inside and translucent faces: the classic lighted sign above a storefront. Ours ships as a prepared kit with the frame cut to your exact size, LEDs already mounted inside, and a 12-volt power supply included as quoted.
Answers by Dean, the DIY Sign Guy — building signs since 2004.
Get A Written Price For San Antonio, TX
Tell me what you need and I’ll send you a straight, written quote — from the guy who actually builds it. No showroom visit, no pressure.