The yearly cost of one digital signage screen is the display, player and installation divided by their lifetime, plus the software price times 12, the share of content time, the power it draws and upkeep. This calculator adds those five parts for you and shows how much extra revenue the screens must bring in to pay for themselves.
The values shown are an example for a small shop. Replace them with your own quotes and invoices.
How it is calculated
- Display, player and installation per year = (display + player + installation) ÷ years until replacement.
- Software per year = software price per screen per month × 12.
- Content time per screen per year = hours per month × hourly cost × 12 ÷ number of screens.
- Power per year = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours per day × 365 × price per kWh.
- Cost per screen per year = the sum of the five parts above plus maintenance; per month is that ÷ 12.
- Extra sales needed per month = total yearly cost for all screens ÷ 12 ÷ gross margin.
What it leaves out
Taxes, financing, insurance, network upgrades and repairs after a fault are not included, because they differ per site. Sixteen:Nine's Dave Haynes lists the costs a signage business case should cover: hardware, software, installation including the first content, continuing content, and field operations such as repairs and visits. Enter any of these under maintenance or as extra hours. Content is the largest running cost in some networks, so be honest about the time it takes.
The software price is prefilled with Screenbird's price: EUR 12 per screen per month billed annually, EUR 15 billed monthly, excluding VAT, with every feature in one plan and a 7-day free trial that requires a credit card. Replace it with any quote you are comparing.
A fixed uplift percentage is the least certain number in any signage business case. A 2016 study in the Journal of Retailing found gains in hypermarkets, little in supermarkets and a negative effect in convenience stores, and a 2026 study in the Journal of Marketing measured the chance that a shown product is bought, not store revenue, with data supplied by a signage company. So this tool turns the question around: it shows what the screens must earn, and you judge whether that is realistic.
How much does one digital signage screen cost per year?
It depends on the display, the software and the content time. Enter your quotes above: the calculator adds display, player and installation over their lifetime, the software price times 12, a share of content time, power and maintenance.
How long does a digital signage display last?
ENERGY STAR describes consumer-grade signage displays at about 50,000 hours and commercial-grade ones at up to 100,000 hours. These are manufacturer ratings, not independent durability tests. A screen that runs 12 hours a day reaches 50,000 hours in about 11 years, and one that runs 24 hours a day in about 5.7 years.
Is the example realistic?
It is a plain example of a small shop, not a quote or an average. Prices differ per country and supplier, so replace each value with your own.
Sources: ENERGY STAR: Signage displays · Sixteen:Nine via Samsung Insights, 24 March 2017 · Roggeveen et al., Journal of Retailing 92(1), 2016 · Herhausen et al., Journal of Marketing 90(3), 2026