Free digital signage comes in four forms, and each is free in a different way and breaks at a different point. Freemium plans like Yodeck, OptiSigns, and piSignage give you one to a few screens free, then charge when you add screens, want scheduling, or remove a watermark. Open-source software like Xibo, Anthias, and Concerto is free to run, but you host and maintain it yourself. Free trials like ScreenCloud, Rise Vision, and NoviSign give full access for 14 to 30 days and then stop. Do-it-yourself approaches like Google Slides, PowerPoint, and ChromeOS kiosk mode cost nothing in software but give you no fleet control. This guide covers every option, what you actually get, and the exact rule that forces you to pay.

Is free digital signage actually free, or just a trial?

The word free hides three very different things in this category, and vendor pages rarely make the difference clear. Free forever means an ongoing plan you never pay for, usually capped at one to a few screens. A free trial means full access for a fixed window, after which access ends. Open-source means the software costs nothing but you run it on your own hardware. Sorting the market by that distinction, the genuine free-forever plans are Yodeck, OptiSigns, piSignage, EasySignage, SignageSpace, OpenSign, PosterBooking, DigitalSignage.com, and info-beamer hosted. The trial-only products are ScreenCloud, Rise Vision, NoviSign, FrontFace, Screenly cloud, and CastHub. The open-source path is Xibo, Anthias, and Concerto.

Two things make this confusing. First, some products marketed as free are not. Rise Vision still runs free digital signage landing pages, but its help center says the free license has been discontinued and every display now needs a paid license. Second, some vendors contradict their own pages. PosterBooking’s free page says 100% free forever while its pricing page lists a three-month free trial and shows a watermark. DigitalSignage.com’s software page says you can manage unlimited screens for free, while its FAQ says the free plan is three screens. When a vendor’s own pages disagree, treat the limit as unconfirmed until you see it in the current pricing page.

The four types of free digital signage

1. Freemium tiers: free until you scale or want it to look professional

Freemium plans let a small deployment run indefinitely, then break at the first operational boundary. That boundary is almost always one of four things: a second or third screen, scheduling, storage and upload limits, or watermark removal. Yodeck now starts new accounts with a 30-day period of up to five screens, then drops to a free Basic plan of one screen, and the moment you add a second screen every screen becomes billable. OptiSigns free gives three screens but removes schedules, split screens, and several apps, and it does not run on Fire TV, Roku, smart TVs, ChromeOS, or Apple TV. piSignage gives two players free forever and charges from the third. EasySignage gives one screen with its logo on screen every ten seconds. SignageSpace gives one screen with a 4 MB upload cap, 200 MB of storage, and no scheduling. Freemium fits a single screen with simple content at one location. It stops fitting the moment you need a real production network.

2. Open-source: free software, your time and your servers

Open-source removes the subscription but replaces it with infrastructure and labor. Xibo is free under AGPLv3, but self-hosting means you run a web server and a database, handle backups, maintenance, and upgrades, and pay for commercial Android, Tizen, or webOS players if you want them. Anthias, the open-source Screenly project, runs on Raspberry Pi or x86 hardware that you install and maintain yourself, and Screenly itself tells you to use its paid cloud product if you need multi-screen management from one account or professional support. Concerto is a project-style web system under Apache 2.0 with no hosted option. Open-source fits a technical team that has IT capacity and wants control or data residency. It stops making sense when the hours spent maintaining it cost more than the subscription it replaced.

3. Free trials: full access on a timer

A free trial is the clearest kind of free, but many pages blur it into free digital signage. ScreenCloud gives a 14-day trial with three screens, Rise Vision a 14-day trial with no ongoing free option, NoviSign a 30-day trial with no credit card, FrontFace a 14-day evaluation of its on-premises software, Screenly cloud a 14-day trial whose free path is the separate open-source Anthias, and CastHub a 14-day trial with a card on file and nothing charged until it ends. The catch is time. When the trial ends, access ends, features shrink, or data can be deleted unless you upgrade. For a trial, the honest question is not what you get free forever, it is how much you can test before the timer ends and what survives afterward.

4. Do it yourself: Google Slides, PowerPoint, and ChromeOS kiosk

The cheapest option in software terms is not a signage platform at all. Google Slides can publish to the web and auto-advance, PowerPoint can save a self-running show, and ChromeOS kiosk mode can lock a device onto a web page. These work, and they cost nothing if you already have the software. The catch is workflow and accountability. There is no central CMS, no proof of play, no fleet monitoring, no roles or approvals, and no remote troubleshooting. DIY is genuinely the right call for one or two screens with stable content. It gets expensive in staff time the moment you need to update many screens reliably. The exact methods are below in the do-it-yourself section.

Free digital signage comparison table

Every plan below was checked against the vendor’s pricing and help-center pages on May 31, 2026. Free offers change often, so confirm current terms with the vendor before you decide.

Tool	Free type	What you get free	Hard limits and branding	What triggers payment	Paid entry price
Yodeck	Freemium	30-day period up to 5 screens, then 1 screen free	1 screen ongoing; adding a 2nd screen bills all screens	Second screen, or keeping premium features after day 30	$8 per screen per month
OptiSigns	Freemium	3 screens, 25 apps, 25 MB per file, 1 GB storage	No Fire TV, Roku, smart TVs, ChromeOS, Apple TV; logo bottom-right; no schedules or split screens on free	Scheduling, split screen, advanced apps, or unsupported devices	$10 per screen per month
piSignage	Freemium	2 players free forever, scheduling, split-screen, offline	Hard cap of 2 free screens; bring your own hardware	Third player	$35 first year per new player
EasySignage	Freemium	1 screen, 50+ apps, 200 MB storage, offline, Canva	1 screen, 1 user; logo on screen every 10 seconds	Remove watermark, add screens or users, advanced features	$10 per screen per month
SignageSpace	Freemium	1 screen forever, playlists, basic control	4 MB per upload, 200 MB storage, no scheduling, no channels, on-screen logo	Scheduling, channels, second screen, or removing branding	$5 per month per premium screen
OpenSign	Freemium	1 sign, basic playlists, basic scheduling, community support	1 sign; advanced playlists, analytics, custom branding, API are paid	More signs, branding, analytics, or API	$9 per month
PosterBooking	Freemium	Pricing page lists 10 screens, 4K, video wall, monitoring	Watermark on free; no scheduled playlists; pages disagree on whether free is a trial	Watermark removal, scheduled playlists, or 11th screen	$52 per month for 10 screens
DigitalSignage.com	Freemium	Free, ad-free, 1 GB storage, cross-platform player	Pages disagree: software page says unlimited, FAQ says 3 screens	Unclear; vendor pages conflict	Not transparently published
info-beamer hosted	Freemium	1 device free forever, 1 GB storage, REST API, EUR 5 credits	Usage-metered beyond free; negative balance shows a black screen	More than 1 device or 1 GB of storage	About EUR 7.75 per device per month
Xibo	Open-source	CMS and Windows player free under AGPLv3	You host the server, database, backups, upgrades; commercial players are paid	Wanting hosted CMS, commercial players, or a support desk	GBP 3.50 per display per month hosted
Anthias (Screenly)	Open-source	Free for Raspberry Pi and x86; images, video, web, scheduling, API	You install and maintain it; no managed multi-account model	Wanting cloud multi-screen management or support	$11 per screen per month (Screenly cloud)
Concerto	Open-source	Free web-based system under Apache 2.0	Self-hosted; you own deployment and upgrades	Wanting a managed or supported deployment	Not published
ScreenCloud	Free trial	14-day trial, 3 screens, 20 invited users	Premium apps excluded; access ends after trial	Keeping the account past the trial	$20 per screen per month
Rise Vision	Free trial	14-day trial; works with any hardware	Free license discontinued; all displays now need a paid license	Trial ends	$11 per display per month for K-12 and higher-ed Basic, $12 for business and government (pricing page, 2026-09-01)
NoviSign	Free trial	30-day trial, no credit card, hardware-agnostic	No verified ongoing free tier	Trial ends	$20 per screen per month
FrontFace	Free trial	14-day evaluation of the Windows and Android software	On-premises; licensed per player PC, not per display	Trial ends	$39.95 per license per month
Screenly cloud	Free trial	14-day trial; browser-based Screenly Anywhere	No ongoing free cloud tier; the free path is open-source Anthias	Trial ends	$11 per screen per month
CastHub	Free trial	14-day trial	No ongoing free tier	Trial ends	Flat-rate plan, see pricing
Google Slides, PowerPoint, ChromeOS kiosk	DIY	$0 in software if you already use them	No CMS, proof of play, fleet management, monitoring, or roles	Needing reliable operations across multiple screens	Cost is staff time

Free digital signage by device

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi is the most common free signage hardware because the strongest open-source options target it. Anthias is built for Raspberry Pi and x86 and is the most direct free Pi option, with images, video, web pages, scheduling, and a web dashboard. Xibo runs a Pi player against a self-hosted CMS. Concerto is web-based and can drive a Pi pointed at a browser. info-beamer also has a Pi standalone toolkit, but the free version is private, non-public use only and requires programming, so it suits developers rather than general signage. For a primer on players, see media players.

Android and Fire TV

Device support is where free plans quietly differ. OptiSigns free does not run on Fire TV, Roku, smart TVs, ChromeOS, or Apple TV, which rules it out for the cheap streaming-stick path many buyers assume. NoviSign’s trial runs on Android, Chrome, Windows, Samsung Tizen, Amazon Signage Stick, and LG webOS. piSignage works on hardware you supply. If you are planning around a specific device, check the free plan’s supported platforms before you commit, because a free plan that excludes your hardware is not free for you. See the Amazon Signage Stick guide for the commercial player option.

Browser-based and hardware-agnostic

Several options run in a browser, which removes the hardware question entirely. DigitalSignage.com offers a cross-platform browser player, Screenly Anywhere is browser-based, OptiSigns runs in the web and mobile apps, and SignageSpace ships players for macOS, Windows, Linux, and Android. Browser-based playback is the simplest way to test free signage on a screen you already have, though it still depends on keeping the browser awake and on the screen, which is its own small operational task.

How to do digital signage for free without any signage product

If you have one or two screens and content that rarely changes, you can run signage with tools you already own. Google Slides can publish to the web, produce a public URL, auto-advance on a timer, and restart after the last slide, which gives you a looping deck on any browser screen. PowerPoint can save a presentation as a self-running show that opens straight into slideshow mode, though the web version of PowerPoint cannot loop. ChromeOS kiosk mode, on a managed and enrolled device, can auto-launch a web page or app and lock the screen to it. None of these is a signage platform. They have no central management, no proof that content actually played, no remote monitoring, and no way to update many screens at once. They are the right answer at one or two screens and the wrong answer the moment you need repeatable operations.

When does free digital signage stop making sense?

Free is the right choice in three situations: a single screen, a short evaluation, or a technical team that can self-host. It stops making sense at three crossings. The first is the second or third screen, where freemium plans start billing every screen and DIY becomes hard to keep in sync. The second is the move from pilot to production, where you need scheduling, monitoring, user roles, and no watermark. The third is the point where the hours spent maintaining open-source cost more than a subscription. Past those crossings, the real decision is per-screen versus flat-rate pricing.

Per-screen pricing of $5 to $30 per screen per month is fine at a few screens, but the bill grows with every display. Flat-rate pricing charges a fixed fee for any number of screens, so it is usually cheaper from four or five screens up and it does not penalize you for growing. That is the model to look at when you outgrow free and expect to add screens. CastHub is a flat-rate option, see pricing and the cost per screen breakdown, and for tactics that cut hardware cost see how to save money on digital signage hardware. To compare platforms head to head, see best digital signage software.

Free vs paid digital signage software: what changes when you pay?

Paying removes the screen cap first and the watermark second. Yodeck bills every screen once you add a second, OptiSigns gates scheduling and split screen behind paid, Fugo removes its watermark only on a paid plan, and NoviSign ends the evaluation at 30 days. Paid entry rates run $8 to $20 per screen per month, or $12 a month flat on CastHub Basic.

Every rate in the table below comes from the vendor’s own pricing page on 2026-09-01. Read the middle column first, because the trigger matters more than the cap. Yodeck looks generous at one screen and then bills all of them at the second, while OptiSigns lets you keep three screens free and charges instead for scheduling. CastHub takes neither route, since CastHub has no ongoing free tier at all and starts at $12 a month for two screens after a 14-day trial.

Vendor	Free tier cap	What ends the free ride	First paid rate
Yodeck	1 screen forever, Basic features	Adding a second screen, which makes every screen billable	$8 per screen per month
OptiSigns	3 screens, 1 GB storage, restricted device list	Scheduling, split screen, or an unsupported device	$9 per screen per month on annual billing
Fugo	1 watermarked screen, indefinitely	Removing the watermark or adding a second screen	$20 per screen per month on Essential
NoviSign	30-day evaluation, then a logo and ads on slides	The 30-day evaluation ending	$14 per screen per month on annual billing, $16 monthly
Screenly	None, trial only	The trial ending	$15 per screen per month on Starter, capped at 5 screens
ScreenCloud	None, trial only	The trial ending	$20 per screen per month on Core, annual billing
CastHub	None, a 14-day trial with a card on file and nothing charged until it ends	The 14-day trial ending	$12 per month flat for up to 2 screens

The paid rates in that last column are entry tiers, not the tier most buyers end up on, and each one is a per-screen rate except CastHub. That distinction is what decides the bill as you grow: at 10 screens the per-screen entry rates work out to $80 on Yodeck, $90 on OptiSigns and $200 on ScreenCloud, against $35 a month on CastHub Pro. For the full cost math at 50, 100 and 200 screens, see the digital signage pricing guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is digital signage software actually free, or just a free trial?

Both exist. Genuine free-forever plans include Yodeck, OptiSigns, piSignage, EasySignage, and SignageSpace, usually capped at one to three screens. Trial-only products include ScreenCloud, Rise Vision, NoviSign, and Screenly cloud, which give full access for 14 to 30 days and then require payment. Open-source options like Xibo and Anthias are free to run on your own hardware.

Is Yodeck free?

Partly. New Yodeck accounts get a 30-day period with up to five screens, then drop to a free Basic plan limited to one screen. The moment you add a second screen, every screen becomes billable. So Yodeck is free for a single screen indefinitely, but not for a growing network.

Is Rise Vision free?

No longer on an ongoing basis. Rise Vision still markets free digital signage, but its help center states the free license has been discontinued and all displays now require a paid license. The only free use for new customers is a 14-day trial.

How many screens can I run for free?

It depends on the vendor. piSignage gives two screens free forever, OptiSigns gives three, and most others, including EasySignage, SignageSpace, and OpenSign, give one. Open-source options like Xibo and Anthias have no vendor screen cap, but you host and maintain them yourself.

What is the best free digital signage for Raspberry Pi?

Anthias is the most direct free option for Raspberry Pi, since it is the open-source Screenly project built for Pi and x86. Xibo and Concerto also run on Pi. All three are free software, and the cost is the time you spend installing, updating, and maintaining them.

Can I use Google Slides or PowerPoint for digital signage for free?

Yes, for one or two screens. Google Slides can publish to the web and auto-advance, and PowerPoint can save a self-running show, both at no extra cost. Neither is a signage platform, so you get no central management, no monitoring, and no way to update many screens at once. They work for simple, stable content and break down as you add screens.

Does free digital signage put a watermark on the screen?

Some do. EasySignage shows its logo every ten seconds on the free plan, OptiSigns shows a logo in the bottom corner, and PosterBooking and SignageSpace show on-screen branding on free. Open-source options like Xibo and Anthias add no watermark, because you run the software yourself.

When should I pay for digital signage instead of using free?

Pay once you cross one of three lines: a second or third screen, the move from a pilot to a production network that needs scheduling and monitoring, or the point where maintaining open-source costs more time than a subscription. At that stage, compare per-screen pricing against flat-rate pricing, since flat-rate is usually cheaper as the screen count grows.

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All screen limits, watermark policies, supported devices, and prices in this guide were checked against each vendor’s official pricing and help-center pages and were current as of May 31, 2026. Free offers in this category change often, and some vendors’ own pages disagree with each other, so confirm current terms directly with the vendor before deciding.