Digital signage cost: every item in a project, explained

The cost of digital signage is not just the price of the software. A complete project adds up several items: some are paid once, at installation, others come back every month or every year. Depending on the number of screens and the hardware chosen, the software weighs very little in the budget, or on the contrary becomes the largest item after a few years.

• The screen: from a consumer TV to a high-brightness window display, it is almost always the biggest expense at purchase.
• The mount and installation: wall bracket, floor stand, suspension in a window or from the ceiling, power and network cabling, labor.
• The player: often built into professional displays, otherwise a small device to add.
• The software: free, a per-screen subscription or a license, depending on the vendor.
• The content: the time spent creating it in-house, or the work of a graphic designer.
• Maintenance: replacing a faulty screen, trips to the site, the time spent keeping an eye on the fleet.

The cost of hardware and installation depends too much on the location, the brand and the supplier for a general figure to mean anything: two shop windows of the same size can call for very different equipment. This page therefore explains what makes each item vary, so you know what to ask for and what to compare. Only the Smart-Signage software has a fixed price, taken from the pricing page.

The price of a digital signage screen depends first on its type, well before its size. A professional display is designed to run sixteen hours a day or continuously, and stays under warranty for that use. A window display reaches a brightness several times higher to stay readable in the sun, and that shows in its price.

To compare two screens, read the datasheet: brightness in cd/m², intended daily running time, length and terms of the warranty.

Screen size should follow the viewing distance, not the budget available. A screen too small for the distance it is viewed from forces you to enlarge the text and show less; a screen too large for a small space is tiring to look at. The selection criteria are detailed in our digital signage guide.

Installing a digital signage screen is the item that varies most from one project to another. A screen fixed to a wall at eye level, next to a power outlet, can be put up yourself in an hour. A screen suspended in a shop window, from the ceiling or several meters high calls for a professional installer, sometimes a lift, and often a new power or network connection.

What affects the cost of installation:

• the type of mount: fixed or tilting wall bracket, articulated arm, floor stand, suspension in a window or from the ceiling;
• the nature of the wall or ceiling: a load-bearing wall, a light partition or a suspended ceiling do not call for the same work;
• height and access: beyond what a stepladder can reach, extra equipment and time are needed;
• power and network: an outlet and a network cable already in place make everything simpler, creating them adds an electrician's visit;
• the number of screens installed in a single visit: grouping the screens of one site reduces the travel time per screen.

The player is often the simplest item, because it is already inside the screen. Most professional displays run Android or LG webOS (the latter with the Enterprise plan), on which the Smart-Signage app installs directly. You only need to add an external player for a screen without a usable operating system, such as an older TV or a monitor.

The compatibility page lists the supported devices. LG webOS and Samsung Tizen screens are driven by a native app, reserved for the Enterprise plan.

The software is the only item with a fixed, public price. Smart-Signage bills per device, according to its class, with no commitment: you add or remove licenses at any time.

Prices excl. VAT. The Free account cannot be combined with paid licenses. From 50 licenses of the same type, a discount becomes possible on request.

The billing model matters as much as the listed price. A per-screen subscription follows the size of the fleet: it stays low for a shop and grows with the network. A license bought once and for all weighs more at the start but does not always include updates. Open-source software costs nothing in licenses, but requires a server and maintenance time. To compare two offers, bring them back to the cost over three years, for your number of screens.

A screen without up-to-date content is useless, and this is often where the real budget drifts away from the planned one. If visuals are made in-house, with the software's editor and the help of AI, they only cost time, but that time comes back every week. Handed to a graphic designer or an agency, they become an item in their own right, to plan for from the start.

Maintenance mostly shows after a few years: a screen that fails out of warranty, a player to replace, a trip to a remote site. Software that flags offline screens remotely cuts down on these trips, because you know what is wrong before you set off. The larger and more spread out the fleet, the more this item counts.

Two projects of the same size can have very different budgets. The gaps almost always come from the same factors, which are worth identifying before asking for quotes.

• Screen size, chosen according to viewing distance: each step up in size costs more, especially above 55 inches.
• Brightness: a sunny shop window demands a high-brightness display, far more expensive than an indoor screen.
• 16/7 or 24/7 use: beyond a few hours a day, a professional display is needed, and beyond sixteen hours, a screen designed for continuous operation.
• The type of mount: a simple wall bracket has nothing in common with a suspension in a window or from the ceiling.
• Power and network access: an outlet and a cable already in place, or an electrician's visit to add.
• The number of screens: it lowers the installation cost per screen when visits are grouped, but increases the software cost linearly.

• A consumer TV in a shop window. Its brightness of 300 to 400 cd/m² makes it unreadable behind sun-exposed glass, precisely at the hours when passers-by are most numerous. The saving at purchase is paid for in visibility.
• The warranty. A consumer TV's warranty generally covers only home use, roughly 6 to 8 hours a day. A shop open ten hours a day already falls outside it: if the screen breaks down, the warranty claim may be refused.
• Hidden costs. The network cable that has to be run, the outlet to move, the forgotten external player, the extra storage for video, the time spent creating content: each is modest, their sum is not always.
• The software's entry price. A low price for the first screen can climb quickly with paid options or an imposed tier. Do the math for the number of screens you will have in two or three years.
• The cost of leaving. Switching software means rebuilding your content and reconfiguring every screen. A free tool that becomes a dead end at the second screen costs more than it seems.

A boutique or an agency wants a screen visible from the street, switched on during opening hours. This is the case where the screen weighs most in the budget and the software least: a single screen fits within the free plan.

What to plan for:

• a high-brightness window display, sized for the distance at which passers-by will see it, with a built-in player;
• a window suspension or stand, and an installation that takes into account the height of the glass and the heat behind it;
• a power outlet and network access as close to the window as possible;
• the software: the Free plan is enough for one screen, with no time limit.

The "Powered by Smart-Signage" badge, which appears after 30 days on a free account, may be unwelcome on a carefully designed window. If so, a Premium license removes it, for €9 excl. VAT per screen per month.

A restaurant installs two screens above the counter to show its menu, which changes between lunch and dinner. The screens stay on all day: professional indoor displays are the right choice.

What to plan for:

• two professional indoor displays of the same size and brand, so the menu forms a consistent whole;
• two aligned wall mounts, installed in a single visit, with the cables hidden in a trunking;
• one outlet per screen, or a shared power supply planned above the counter;
• the software: the Free plan covers up to 3 screens, with schedules that switch the menu according to the time of day.

A fourth screen moves the whole fleet to Premium, at €9 excl. VAT per screen per month. Worth knowing before adding a screen in the dining room or on the terrace.

A retail chain equips ten stores with two screens each, twenty screens in all, managed from head office. The software becomes a significant recurring item, and the question of how head office and stores share the work comes up.

What to plan for:

• twenty professional indoor displays, the same model in every store, to simplify content and replacements;
• installation organized as a tour, store by store, rather than as separate visits;
• a prior survey of each store: location, outlet, network, daylight;
• the software: twenty Premium licenses, each at €9 excl. VAT per screen per month or €99 excl. VAT per year;
• a permission model: who publishes at head office, what each store is allowed to change.

The software is paid per screen, with no tiers: the twenty-first screen costs the same as the first. If the network needs hierarchical accounts between head office and stores, or SSO with Microsoft 365, that is the Enterprise plan, on a custom quote.

1. List the locations and, for each one, its exposure to light, the viewing distance and the opening hours.
2. Work out the type and size of screen for each location, then check whether it includes a compatible player.
3. Have a professional quote the installation and cabling, grouping the screens of each site.
4. Add the software: free for up to 3 screens, then one license per screen, as shown on the pricing page.

The safest approach is still to start small: a free account and a first screen let you validate the content and the location before equipping a whole site. The terms of the free plan are detailed on the free digital signage software page, and the use cases by industry show the usual hardware for each type of business.