What is the de facto method for indicating price graphically?

I've seen the "$" sign used to indicate price range from $ (for low) to $$$ (for high) like below at TripAdvisor:

Price indicators on TripAdvisor

But is this well-understood by customers? What alternatives exist for indicating price visually without cluttering the UI with things like "Low", "Medium" and "High" which are difficult to discern when scrolling through a long list?