What Size Neon Sign Do You Need? A Wall-by-Wall Guide

The most common regret we hear from neon buyers is not the design, the color, or the price. It is “I should have gone bigger.” A neon sign photographed on a white product page always looks larger than it will on your actual wall, and a sign that is two sizes too small reads as an accessory instead of a centerpiece. Here is how to get the size right the first time, using the exact size ladder we sell.

Our size ladder, and what the numbers mean

Every premade LED neon sign at GetQuickSigns comes in seven widths. Depending on the design, the ladder is either 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 inches, or 20, 25, 30, 33, 40, 47, and 59 inches. The number is the longest side of the sign, usually the width. Height scales with the design’s proportions, so a wide one-line phrase will be shorter than a stacked two-line design at the same width.

Price scales with size because you are paying for tube length and acrylic. A concrete example from the catalog, the Chill Zone sign: $224.99 at 20 inches, $344.99 at 30 inches, $584.99 at 40 inches, and $944.99 at 50 inches. The space-themed Apollo runs the other ladder: $219.99 at 20 inches, $329.99 at 33 inches, $749.99 at the full 59 inches.

The 10 foot rule

Signage pros size text by viewing distance: every 1 inch of letter height stays comfortably readable out to about 10 feet, per Signs.com’s letter height guide. A 20 inch neon sign typically has letters in the 3 to 5 inch range, which reads great from a desk or a hallway but gets lost across a large open room. If people will see your sign from 15 feet or more, start your search at 30 inches. We use the same math for storefront signage in our guide to business sign sizing.

Wall-by-wall recommendations

These are the sizes we actually recommend when customers send us photos of their walls:

• Shelf, desk, or dresser: 20 inches. It will sit or hang at eye level, viewed from a few feet.
• Above a headboard or couch: 30 to 35 inches. Rule of thumb from picture hanging applies to neon too: aim for one half to two thirds the width of the furniture below.
• Office or salon feature wall: 35 to 40 inches, centered at eye level, about 57 to 60 inches from the floor to the sign’s midpoint.
• Home bar, gym, or garage wall: 40 to 47 inches. These rooms have longer sightlines than you think.
• Storefront, lobby, or event backdrop: 50 to 59 inches. This is the size that shows up in photos taken from across the room, which is the whole point of a backdrop.

Three mistakes to avoid

Sizing to the sign, not the wall

Painter’s tape is your friend. Tape the sign’s actual rectangle on the wall, walk to where people will normally stand, and be honest. Thirty seconds of tape beats a return shipment.

Ignoring letter count

Width gets divided among the letters. “Bar” at 30 inches has huge letters. “Welcome to the Johnsons” at 30 inches does not. Long phrases need the 40 inch and up sizes to stay readable, which is one reason wedding name signs skew large.

Forgetting the outlet

The power cord runs from one end of the sign to the nearest outlet. Measure that run before you fall in love with a spot ten feet up a stairwell wall.

When in doubt, go up one size

We have processed plenty of “wish I went bigger” emails over the years and almost zero “too big” ones. The step up one size typically costs $40 to $80 in the small and mid range of the ladder, and it is the cheapest upgrade in the whole product. LED neon is also dimmable with the included remote, so a bigger sign can always be turned down; a small sign cannot be turned up.