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Gas station digital signage

Quick answer: DigitalSignage.com runs gas station and convenience store screens from the free plan: the first 3 screens are free forever, then $3 per screen per month, so a c-store menu board, a counter screen and a window screen cost nothing in software. The forecourt is the hard part: any screen outside needs 3,000 to 5,000 nits under a canopy and 4,000 to 5,000 nits or more in direct sun, an IP65 enclosure at minimum and an operating range of -30°C to 50°C. Indoors, the money is in the menu board and the counter: dayparted food offers, the car wash upsell, the loyalty app, and prices fed from the POS.

Last updated October 22, 2026. Figures from our outdoor display, brightness, bandwidth and cost pages; product facts from the SignStudio scheduling and POS integration documentation.

Where screens go at a station​

PositionAudienceContentHardware class
Pump-topA driver standing still for 2 to 4 minutesCar wash upsell, coffee and food offer, loyalty app, safety noticeOutdoor, canopy-shaded
Forecourt or canopy edgeDrivers deciding whether to pull inFuel offer, food offer, car wash priceOutdoor, direct sun
C-store entrance and windowPeople walking inToday's deal, the combo, the lotteryWindow-rated brightness
Menu board above the food counterPeople orderingDayparted food menu, combos, calories where requiredIndoor commercial
Counter screen facing the customerAt paymentOne add-on, the loyalty code, the car washSmall indoor
Car wash entranceDrivers in the queueWash tiers, the monthly plan, instructionsOutdoor or sheltered

Pump-top and forecourt screens​

Pump-top media is often supplied by the pump manufacturer or a media network with its own screens and advertising; then the signage question is only the forecourt and the store. Where you add your own displays under the canopy, the rules on our outdoor display page apply:

  • Brightness: 2,000 to 3,000 nits in shade, 3,000 to 4,000 nits in partial sun and 4,000 to 5,000 nits or more in direct sunlight. The brightness standard puts a covered drive-through position at 3,000 to 5,000 nits. Consumer TVs at 300 to 400 nits are invisible in daylight and fail in weather.
  • Enclosure: IP65 as the minimum rating, IP66 for exposed, rain-prone sites, with an operating range of -30°C to 50°C.
  • Night: outdoor displays should drop to roughly 100 to 300 nits after dark; many jurisdictions limit the light a sign adds at the property line, and fuel price displays have their own local rules; check with your municipality or counsel.
  • Player: the free DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer drives an outdoor screen from a Windows, Android or Raspberry Pi player inside the enclosure or indoors with a cable run.

Budget $5,000 to $9,000 for an enclosed 43-inch outdoor LCD and $7,200 to $13,000 for 55 inches, or $8,000 to $25,000 all in with mounting and electrical work. Fuel prices on the canopy sign are usually a separate price-sign system; to repeat them on a signage screen, keep them in a Google Sheet or feed that SignStudio reads, and ask support (support@digitalsignage.com, live chat at https://chat.digitalsignage.com/ or +1-877-344-7446) about a specific price controller.

C-store menu boards and counter screens​

The convenience store is where signage pays: food service margins beat fuel, and the menu board is the sales tool:

  • Dayparting: breakfast sandwiches and coffee until 10:30, lunch combos until 2, dinner and snacks after. DigitalSignage.com includes scheduling and dayparting on every plan, including the free tier.
  • Prices from the POS: our POS integration page describes direct API connections (Square, Toast, Clover, Lightspeed), middleware, a shared database or a scheduled CSV or XML export; POS integrations are an Enterprise feature. Without one, the Google Sheets component shows a price list the manager updates from a phone.
  • Counter screen: one offer at the moment of payment: the car wash, the coffee with the sandwich, the loyalty app with a QR code. Counter displays are typically 24 to 32 inches.
  • Compliance: where FDA menu labeling applies to your chain, keep calorie information in a fixed zone that does not rotate away, and keep age-restricted promotion (tobacco, alcohol, lottery) within your state's rules; check with counsel.

Advertising revenue​

Stations with traffic sell screen time to beverage and snack suppliers, the car wash operator, local businesses and insurers. Our programmatic DOOH page covers how screen time is priced and sold. Two rules: keep an inventory of slots per screen per daypart, and keep proof of what played. Proof of play reports are an Enterprise feature on DigitalSignage.com and are what an advertiser asks for before paying.

Network and reliability​

A station runs 24 hours and the screens must not depend on the office PC. SignPlayer caches content locally and keeps playing through an outage, and it talks outbound over HTTPS on port 443 only, so the store firewall needs no inbound rules. Our bandwidth guide plans about 5 Mbps average per display with 50% headroom; only live content (weather, news, streams) needs the connection continuously. SignStudio player management shows each player's status and a remote screenshot, restarts it remotely and can schedule a nightly restart.

Cost at 3 screens free​

A single station with a menu board, a counter screen and a window screen pays nothing for software: the first 3 screens are free forever, no credit card, no ads, no watermark, with scheduling, dayparting and the emergency override included. A chain pays $3 per screen per month for every screen once an account has 4 or more; 10 screens are $360 a year and 50 screens $1,800. Indoor hardware is a TV or commercial panel plus a $40 to $100 Android stick or an $81 to $137 Raspberry Pi build; a commercial 55-inch panel is $995 to $1,450. Electricity is about $75 a year per indoor screen at 12 hours a day, and more for 24-hour and high-brightness screens.

Measurement​

The register already measures the store: food service sales per fuel transaction, car wash attachment rate, coffee units by hour, loyalty sign-ups per week. Compare a station with screens against one without for four weeks, and change one offer at a time.

16 content ideas for a station​

  1. Car wash with your fill-up, the price difference only.
  2. Breakfast combo until 10:30.
  3. Lunch combo until 2.
  4. Coffee refill price for members.
  5. The loyalty app with a QR code and the fuel discount.
  6. Two-for-one on the slow snack.
  7. Fountain drink size upgrade.
  8. Lottery jackpot tonight.
  9. Weather and road conditions for the route ahead.
  10. Restroom and air pump locations.
  11. Safety: no smoking, engine off, no phones at the pump.
  12. Propane exchange price.
  13. Windshield fluid and wiper blades in season.
  14. Monthly car wash plan against the single wash.
  15. Local sponsor slot: the nearby diner or hotel.
  16. Thank you, drive safely.

Frequently asked questions​

How bright does a gas station screen need to be?

Outdoors, 2,000 to 3,000 nits in shade, 3,000 to 4,000 in partial sun and 4,000 to 5,000 nits or more in direct sunlight by our outdoor display guidance; a covered canopy or drive-through position is 3,000 to 5,000 nits. A consumer TV at 300 to 400 nits is invisible in daylight. A screen inside the store needs 500 to 700 nits, and one facing out through the window 2,500 to 4,000.

What enclosure rating do forecourt screens need?

IP65 as the minimum, IP66 for exposed and rain-prone sites, with an operating temperature range of -30°C to 50°C. Budget $5,000 to $9,000 for an enclosed 43-inch outdoor LCD and $7,200 to $13,000 for 55 inches, or $8,000 to $25,000 all in with mounting and electrical work.

Can DigitalSignage.com run pump-top screens?

SignPlayer drives any screen it is connected to from a Windows, Android or Raspberry Pi player, so it runs displays you own under the canopy. Pump-top screens supplied by the pump manufacturer or a media network usually run that supplier's own system; ask support about a specific pump or price controller before planning around it.

How do c-store menu boards stay in sync with the register?

Through a POS feed. DigitalSignage.com documents POS integrations for Square, Toast, Clover and Lightspeed on its Enterprise plan, by direct API, middleware, a shared database or a scheduled CSV or XML export, with sold-out items hiding themselves. Without a direct integration, the Google Sheets component shows a price list the manager updates from a phone.

What does gas station digital signage cost?

Software is free for the first 3 screens on DigitalSignage.com, then $3 per screen per month for every screen once a chain account has 4 or more: 10 screens are $360 a year, 50 screens $1,800. Indoor hardware is a TV or a $995 to $1,450 commercial panel plus a $40 to $100 player; outdoor screens are $5,000 to $25,000 each installed.

Can a station sell advertising on its screens?

Yes, to beverage and snack suppliers, the car wash operator, local businesses and insurers, as fixed sponsorships or programmatic slots. Keep an inventory of slots per screen per daypart, and keep proof of what played: proof of play reports are an Enterprise feature on DigitalSignage.com and are what advertisers ask for before paying.

Do fuel price screens have special rules?

Fuel price displays are usually a separate price-sign system with local weights-and-measures and sign-code rules, and many jurisdictions limit the light a sign adds at the property line after dark. If you repeat prices on a signage screen, feed them from the same source as the price sign, dim at night, and check the local rules with your municipality or counsel.

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 with volume pricing via a public calculator. The free DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer runs on Windows, Mac, Android and Android TV, Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi, iPad or any modern web browser. Start free · 2026 pricing

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