Digital Menu Boards with SignStudio: Setup Guide (2026)

Quick answer

A digital menu board on DigitalSignage.com is a TV or commercial display, a small player running the free SignPlayer app, and a menu designed in the browser in SignStudio. The first 3 screens are free forever, no credit card, no ads, no watermark, then from $3 per screen per month.

What a menu board needs

• Dayparting. Breakfast switches to lunch at 11:00 and dinner at 16:00 on every screen at once; locations can run different schedules.
• One price edit, every board. Each screen picks up the change on its next check-in.
• Sold-out control. Hide an item that ran out without redesigning the board.
• Offline playback. Images, videos and layouts are cached on the player; a Wi-Fi drop does not blank the board.
• Chain control. Sub-accounts, head-office templates, emergency override.

How other vendors compare: best digital menu board software 2026.

Build a menu board in SignStudio

1. Create a free account. Sign up with no credit card. The first 3 screens are free forever.

2. Install SignPlayer and pair the screen. Behind each TV put an Android stick, a Raspberry Pi, a PC or Mac, a Chrome OS device or an iPad. Open the free SignPlayer app; it shows a short code. In SignStudio, add a screen, enter the code and name it. There is no Fire OS, webOS, Tizen, BrightSign or Roku app.

3. Pick a menu template or layout. Start from a restaurant or menu board template, or build a multi-zone layout. Landscape suits a row of boards with one category per screen; portrait suits a narrow wall.

4. Enter items and prices. Type item names, prices and category headings into the text zones, then add photos of your best sellers and one promotion. A manager can keep prices current from a linked Google Sheet.

5. Set the dayparting schedule. Build each daypart as its own layout or playlist and give it a time slot in the scheduler: breakfast until 11:00, lunch until 16:00, dinner until close. Schedules can differ on weekends; a default menu covers any gap.

6. Mark sold-out items. Hide the item or show it as sold out from the editor; the change reaches the screen within minutes. With a POS integration, 86ing an item at the register can remove it automatically.

7. Publish and check it from the queue. Publish to the paired screens, then check names and prices from where customers order, at the brightest hour. Screen 4 onward is $3 per screen per month.

Keep prices in sync

• A Google Sheet. The kitchen types prices or today's specials into a sheet; the board shows them in the template's fonts and colors.
• A feed. Data providers pull prices and items from an XML or JSON feed, a CSV over FTP or a URL, or an API. Many POS systems export one of those; a price edited at the source updates every screen. See data integration.
• A POS API. Documented REST routes for Square (catalog, inventory and orders, with OAuth 2.0 and webhooks), Toast (Partner API, menus and items), Clover (REST API or a Clover App Market app) and Lightspeed (products and prices), plus Zapier or Make. A developer builds these; they are not one-click connectors, and POS integration is an Enterprise feature. Routes: POS integration.

Hardware and what it costs

Part	Option	Published figure
Display	The TV you already own	$0; many consumer warranties exclude commercial use
Display	43-inch commercial display	$300 to $500
Display	55-inch indoor commercial panel	$995 to $1,450
Player	Android stick or Raspberry Pi; up to $299 for a mini PC	$30 to $60
Drive-thru	Outdoor-rated panel, sealed enclosure	2,500 to 3,000 nits covered lane, 3,500 to 5,000 nits direct sun, IP65 or better; turnkey two-board projects $18,000 to $30,000

A three-board counter on TVs you own is about $100 to $180 in players and $0 a month in software. For long hours or a window-facing screen, use a commercial display rated for extended operation (brightness by environment). A drive-thru changes the hardware, not the software.

Chains: multiple locations

Sub-accounts and permissions give each location its own menu while head office controls templates and branding; a store manager edits only their own location. Emergency override can push a message to one site or all of them. Enterprise adds proof of play, white-label branding and SignDashboard multi-account management. If policy rules out the cloud, the on-premise mediaSERVER is a one-time $895 plus per-player licenses, with the same editor and players.

Calorie labelling

The FDA rule applies to restaurants and similar retail food establishments in chains of 20 or more locations. The locations must do business under the same name and offer substantially the same menu items. The rule requires calories for each standard menu item on menus and menu boards, including self-service items and food on display. It also requires two statements at the bottom of the board itself, one immediately above, below or beside the other: a succinct statement that 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice but calorie needs vary, and a statement that additional written nutrition information is available on request. The compliance date was May 7, 2018.

On a rotating board the calorie figure must sit with the item, and every panel that lists menu items must carry both statements. Detail: FDA menu labelling.

Readability rules

Size the text, not the screen. The typography and viewing distance guide gives the formula:

Minimum body text (pt) = 12 + 2.4 × viewing distance (ft)
Headline (pt)   = 2 × body text
Fine print (pt) = body text × 2 / 3

Point sizes assume a 1080p canvas. The cross-check is about 1 inch of letter height per 10 feet of viewing distance, and 1 inch per 20 feet as the minimum. A counter at 6 feet needs 24pt body text and 48pt headlines; at 10 feet, 36pt and 72pt. Test at the real distance before you publish.

Pricing for menu boards

The first 3 screens are free and each screen after that is $3 per month at the Plus+ starting rate:

• 3 boards, one location: $0 per month.
• 5 boards: 2 paid screens x $3 = $6 per month, $72 a year.
• 10 boards across three locations: 7 paid screens x $3 = $21 per month, $252 a year.

Free covers up to 3 screens with the same SignStudio and SignPlayer as the paid plans, about 90 percent of the features and 1 GB of storage. Plus+ adds 3 GB of storage, business-class support, all scene and animation templates, the scheduler, and QR and touch components; volume pricing is in the public calculator. Enterprise adds proof of play, white-label branding, POS integration and 25 GB of storage. On-premise mediaSERVER: a one-time $895 plus per-player licenses.

Run your first 3 menu boards for nothing. DigitalSignage.com gives 3 screens free forever, no credit card, no ads, no watermark, which covers a typical counter.
Create your free account DigitalSignage.com pricing

Frequently asked questions

How do I show a menu on a TV in my restaurant?

Plug a media player into the TV's HDMI port, install menu board software on it, and publish a menu from a web editor. With DigitalSignage.com you create a free account, pick a restaurant template in SignStudio, type in items and prices, install SignPlayer on an Android stick, Raspberry Pi, PC or Chromebox, and pair it with the code shown on screen. The first screen is typically live in about ten minutes; building the full menu with photos and prices takes longer than the hardware.

Can a menu board change from breakfast to lunch by itself?

Use dayparting: schedule the breakfast layout until a set time, for example 11 am, and the lunch layout after it. The player switches on its own at the scheduled minute, with nobody touching the screen. In DigitalSignage.com you build each daypart as its own layout or playlist in SignStudio and assign time slots in the scheduler; the same schedule can repeat daily or differ on weekends. Because the schedule is stored on the player, the switch happens even if the internet is down.

How do staff mark an item as sold out on the menu board?

Hide the item, or show it as sold out, from the menu board editor; the change reaches the screen within minutes. DigitalSignage.com's free tier lets staff hide an item that has sold out without redesigning the menu. With a POS integration, marking an item unavailable at the register (86ing it) can remove it from the board automatically. Hiding keeps the menu clean; a visible sold-out label tells customers the item exists and may return.

Will my menu board go blank if the Wi-Fi drops?

Not with a player that caches content. DigitalSignage.com's SignPlayer stores the current menu and schedule on the device, so the board keeps playing, including scheduled daypart changes, during an internet outage. What you lose while offline is the ability to push new changes and live data such as POS prices; those catch up when the connection returns. Wired Ethernet behind the counter is more reliable than Wi-Fi where you can run a cable.

Do I need a developer to connect my POS to a menu board?

Usually yes, unless your signage vendor ships a ready-made connector for your POS. Most modern POS systems expose an API that a signage platform can read for items, prices and availability. DigitalSignage.com documents REST integrations for Square, Toast, Clover and Lightspeed, plus CSV files over FTP or a URL and middleware such as Zapier or Make. These are build-it-yourself integrations, not one-click connectors, and POS integration sits in the Enterprise feature set. Details: POS integration.

Is there free digital menu board software?

Yes. DigitalSignage.com gives the first 3 screens free forever, with no credit card, no ads, no watermark and no time limit, which covers a typical two or three board counter. The free tier includes menu templates, dayparting and offline playback. Other free options have conditions: OptiSigns gives 3 screens with its logo on screen, ChannelOS gives 1 screen with a banner, and PosterBooking gives 10 screens free for 3 months with a watermark.

What does DigitalSignage.com cost for a restaurant with more than 3 screens?

Screens 1 to 3 stay free and screen 4 onward costs from $3 per screen per month on Plus+, with volume pricing from a public calculator. A 10-screen restaurant group pays about $252 a year in software, because the first 3 screens are free. Enterprise features used by chains, such as POS integration, proof of play and SignDashboard multi-account management, are priced through the same calculator. An on-premise mediaSERVER is a one-time $895 plus per-player licenses.

Do digital menu boards have to show calories?

Only for chains covered by the FDA rule. In the US it applies to restaurants and similar retail food establishments in chains of 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering substantially the same menu. Covered chains must show calories for each standard menu item on menus and menu boards, including digital boards. The compliance date was May 7, 2018. Independent restaurants below that threshold are not covered by the federal rule. Detail: FDA menu labelling.

Keep reading

• Best digital menu board software for restaurants in 2026
• Digital signage for restaurants and menu boards
• Typography and viewing distance
• Restaurants and menu boards FAQ
• POS integration
• Digital menu board product page

Maintained by MediaSignage Inc., the operator of DigitalSignage.com. Last verified October 4, 2026.