Digital Signage With No Monthly Fee per Screen: Free Plans and One-Time Licenses Compared (2026)
Quick answer: yes, in three ways. A permanent free plan: DigitalSignage.com gives the first 3 screens free forever, with no credit card, no ads and no watermark; ChannelOS gives 1 screen with a banner, OptiSigns 3 screens with its logo, PiSignage 2 Raspberry Pi players. A one-time license: DigitalSignage.com's mediaSERVER is a one-time $895 on-premise server, and Xibo is free software to self-host with one-time player licenses of $28 to $85 for its commercial players. Or a yearly rather than monthly meter: PiSignage at $35 per player in year one, then $20 a year. Past 3 screens on a hosted service, the lowest published rate is $3 per screen per month. Every figure below is the vendor's published 2026 price from the State of Digital Signage Pricing 2026 dataset (11 vendors, CC BY 4.0, re-verified October 4, 2026).
This guide is published by DigitalSignage.com (MediaSignage Inc., which has run the hosted platform since 2006), one of the vendors compared. Last updated October 14, 2026.
Permanent free tiers compared
Each row is the vendor's own pricing page, read on October 4, 2026.
| Vendor | Free plan | Branding on screen | What ends it | Paid rate after | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalSignage.com | First 3 screens, forever, 1 GB cloud storage | None: no ads, no watermark, no logo | A 4th screen; from then on every screen is billed | $3 per screen per month on mediaCLOUD Plus+, volume pricing in the public calculator | pricing |
| PiSignage | 2 players, forever | None | A 3rd player | $35 per player in year one, then $20 a year | pricing |
| OptiSigns | 3 screens, 1 GB, 25 basic apps; OptiSigns, Windows, Linux and Raspberry Pi players only | OptiSigns logo | A 4th screen, or removing the logo | $10 Standard to $45 Enterprise (minimum 25 screens) | pricing |
| ChannelOS | 1 screen, forever | ChannelOS banner | A 2nd screen, or removing the banner | Solo $5 per screen per month billed yearly, $6 monthly | pricing |
| Yodeck | 1 screen with Basic features, only while the account has exactly 1 screen; new accounts since March 2, 2026 first get a 30-day period on up to 5 screens | None published | A 2nd screen | $8 Basic, $12 Premium, $16 Enterprise (raised April 1, 2026) | pricing |
| PosterBooking | 10 screens for 3 months, new customers only | Watermark | The 3-month period | $52 per month for 10 screens, $6.49 per screen from the 11th | pricing |
| Xibo | No cap, self-hosted | None | Nothing; Xibo Cloud is $4.90 per display per month if you want hosting | $0 self-hosted; one-time licenses for its commercial players | pricing |
| Anthias (Screenly OSE) | No cap, one Raspberry Pi per screen | None | Nothing | $0; the commercial Screenly product is separate | GitHub |
ScreenCloud (14-day trial, then $20 per screen per month billed annually), NoviSign (30-day trial, then $14 billed annually) and Rise Vision (30-day money-back guarantee, about $11 per display per month) publish no permanent free plan. Sources: ScreenCloud, NoviSign, Rise Vision.
One-time licenses compared
mediaSERVER (DigitalSignage.com). The on-premise edition of the platform: the same SignStudio editor and SignPlayer apps, served from a server you own inside your own network, with no cloud dependency and no monthly fee per screen. The server license is a one-time $895; each player also needs a license, sold separately with volume discounts, and a per-license updates-and-support fee is listed by the year on the mediaSERVER price page. You supply and run the server. It suits organizations whose policy keeps content on their own network, and large networks where a one-time cost beats a meter over several years. See the cloud vs on-premise guide.
Xibo, self-hosted. The Xibo CMS is open-source software (AGPLv3) you install on your own server, with no stated display cap. Windows and Linux players are free; Android ($28), ChromeOS ($49), LG webOS ($85) and Samsung Tizen ($85) players are one-time perpetual licenses, and Raspberry Pi is not supported. You install, host, update and secure the server, or pay $4.90 to $12.60 per display per month for Xibo Cloud. Detail: Xibo pricing 2026.
Anthias (Screenly OSE). Free software that runs on each Raspberry Pi, with no central dashboard: every Pi is managed on its own.
What free usually costs
- Branding on the screen. OptiSigns' logo, ChannelOS' banner, PosterBooking's watermark. DigitalSignage.com and PiSignage put nothing on the screen.
- A cap of one. Yodeck and ChannelOS free tiers are a single screen, and Yodeck's exists only while the account has exactly 1 screen.
- A clock. PosterBooking's free period ends after 3 months; Yodeck's 30-day period drops the account to 1 screen.
- A player per screen. A $30 to $60 Android TV stick, an $81 to $137 Raspberry Pi 5 kit, a $300 to $700 Chromebox, or a PC or Mac you already have, behind the TV you own. OptiSigns' free plan runs only on its own hardware and Windows, Linux and Raspberry Pi players; PiSignage and Anthias are Raspberry Pi only.
- A server and someone to run it. Xibo and Anthias cost nothing in software because you are the host; mediaSERVER is one-time, but the server is yours.
- An OS license you did not plan for. Kiosk mode on Chrome OS or ChromeOS Flex needs a paid Chrome Enterprise Kiosk license per device, about $25 per device per year at one US reseller.
- Electricity. About $75 per screen per year at 12 hours a day, from the cost guide: over three years, more than a hosted plan's $3 per screen per month.
Worked example: 1, 3, 5 and 10 screens
Software only, year one, at each vendor's published rate. Hardware is the same for every column: reuse the TV and add a $30 to $60 Android TV stick or an $81 to $137 Raspberry Pi 5 kit per screen (Raspberry Pi only for PiSignage and Anthias).
| Screens | DigitalSignage.com (cloud) | PiSignage | ChannelOS Solo (yearly) | Yodeck Basic | OptiSigns Standard | Xibo self-hosted | mediaSERVER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0 | $0 | $0, with the banner | $0 after the 30-day period, Basic features | $0, with the logo | $0 on a Windows or Linux player, $28 once on Android, plus your server | $895 once plus 1 player license |
| 3 | $0 | $35 in year one, $20 a year after | $120 a year | $288 a year | $0, with the logo | $0 or $84 once, plus your server | $895 once plus 3 player licenses |
| 5 | $180 a year | $105 in year one, $60 a year after | $240 a year | $480 a year | $600 a year | $0 or $140 once, plus your server | $895 once plus 5 player licenses |
| 10 | $360 a year | $280 in year one, $160 a year after | $540 a year | $960 a year | $1,200 a year | $0 or $280 once, plus your server | $895 once plus 10 player licenses |
How to read it. DigitalSignage.com is free only up to 3 screens; once an account has 4 or more, every screen is billed at $3, so 5 screens are $180 and 10 are $360 a year. PiSignage deducts its 2 free players and ChannelOS its 1 free screen; Yodeck's is not deducted because it survives only while the account has exactly 1 screen. OptiSigns is shown at the Standard rate on every screen once the account outgrows its free plan, the convention in the OptiSigns pricing guide. Xibo's column prices only the one-time Android licenses; mediaSERVER's per-player licenses are on its price page.
When the monthly fee is the cheaper answer
For most networks of 4 to 50 screens the honest arithmetic favors the smallest meter rather than no meter. Ten screens on DigitalSignage.com cost $360 a year with hosting, updates, backups and every player app included. Self-hosting Xibo saves that $360 only if the server, its updates and its security cost less than $30 a month in staff time; mediaSERVER makes sense when policy requires on-premise hosting or the network is large enough that a one-time cost beats the meter over three to five years. Price both with the public calculator; the same arithmetic at scale is in the cheapest way to run 50 screens.
Related guides
- Best free digital signage software 2026
- Digital signage cost per screen 2026
- The cheapest way to run 50 digital signage screens in 2026
- Cloud vs on-premise: how to decide
- Xibo pricing 2026 and PiSignage pricing 2026
- Free plan changelog 2026
- State of Digital Signage Pricing 2026 dataset
Try it on your own screens, free
DigitalSignage.com, which publishes this guide, runs a permanent free plan: the first 3 screens are free forever (no credit card, no ads, no time limit), then from $3 per screen per month. The free SignPlayer runs on Windows, Mac, Android and Android TV, Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi, iPad or any modern web browser. Start free · 2026 pricing · Free plan details
Frequently asked questions
Is there digital signage software with no monthly fee?
Yes, three kinds. Permanent free plans: DigitalSignage.com gives the first 3 screens free forever with no ads, no watermark and no credit card; ChannelOS gives 1 screen with a banner, OptiSigns 3 screens with its logo, PiSignage 2 Raspberry Pi players. One-time licenses: DigitalSignage.com's mediaSERVER is a one-time $895 on-premise server, and Xibo is free to self-host with one-time player licenses of $28 to $85 for its commercial players. Yearly rather than monthly: PiSignage at $35 per player in year one, then $20 a year.
Can I buy digital signage software once instead of paying a subscription?
Yes. mediaSERVER, the on-premise edition of DigitalSignage.com, is a one-time $895, with per-player licenses sold separately at volume prices and no monthly fee per screen. Xibo's CMS is free to self-host, its Windows and Linux players are free, and its Android ($28), ChromeOS ($49), LG webOS ($85) and Samsung Tizen ($85) players are one-time perpetual licenses. Anthias is free on a Raspberry Pi with no central dashboard. In every case you host, update and secure the server yourself.
Which free digital signage plans have no watermark or ads?
DigitalSignage.com's free tier has no ads, no watermark and no vendor logo on the first 3 screens, forever, with 1 GB of storage. PiSignage's 2 free players also carry no watermark but run only on Raspberry Pi. The others brand the screen or expire: OptiSigns puts its logo on its 3 free screens, ChannelOS shows a banner on its 1 free screen, PosterBooking watermarks its 10 screens and ends the free period after 3 months, and Yodeck's 1 free screen lasts only while the account has exactly 1 screen.
What does free digital signage usually cost in practice?
Free software plus something else: vendor branding on the screen (OptiSigns logo, ChannelOS banner, PosterBooking watermark), a 1-screen cap (Yodeck, ChannelOS), a time limit (PosterBooking's 3 months, Yodeck's 30-day period), a player per screen at $30 to $60 for an Android TV stick or $81 to $137 for a Raspberry Pi 5 kit, your own server and admin time for Xibo or Anthias, and about $75 a year in electricity per screen at 12 hours a day. On DigitalSignage.com the free tier is 3 screens with no branding, so the real cost is the hardware.
What is the cheapest way to run 5 or 10 screens without a monthly fee?
Strictly no monthly fee: self-host Xibo with free Windows or Linux players, or with Android players at $28 one time each ($140 for 5, $280 for 10), or run mediaSERVER for a one-time $895 plus per-player licenses. Cheapest in dollars, with a small meter: DigitalSignage.com at $3 per screen per month once an account has 4 or more screens, $180 a year for 5 screens and $360 for 10, with no server to run. PiSignage is $105 in year one and $60 a year after for 5 Raspberry Pi players, $280 then $160 for 10, because the first 2 players are free.
This guide is maintained by MediaSignage Inc., the operator of DigitalSignage.com, which is one of the vendors compared. Every competitor figure links to its source in the dataset (version 2026-10-04, re-verified October 4, 2026). Last updated October 14, 2026.