TVpilot vs piSignage · prices checked 1 November 2026
piSignage alternative
for Raspberry Pi and more
piSignage is one of the most affordable ways to run Raspberry Pi screens: two players free, then a small yearly fee per player. People who look for a piSignage alternative usually like the price but want something different in the dashboard: more ready-made content, live data or simpler scheduling for a team. Here is an honest comparison, and piSignage wins on price in several cases.
Free plan, no credit card required. Paid plans from €5 a month.
The short answer
piSignage is free for 2 players, then charges $35 per player for the first year and $20 per year after that, with a self-hosted server option. It runs on Raspberry Pi 5, 4, 3 and Zero 2 W, the Amazon Signage Stick, Fire TV, Android TV, Chromecast, Linux and a browser. TVpilot is free for 1 screen and charges per plan: €5 a month for 3 screens, €2 per extra screen. For bare Raspberry Pi playback piSignage is often cheaper, especially after the first year. TVpilot adds a Designer, AI Studio, live plugins, team roles and an automatic TV on and off through HDMI-CEC, and needs no server of your own.
The monthly bill
What TVpilot and piSignage cost per month
The cheapest paid plan that fits the number of screens, before VAT, as each vendor publishes it.
1 screen
Free plan, forever, no credit card
Free, 2 players included
3 screens
Starter, 3 screens included
2 free + 1 player at $35 for the first year
10 screens
Starter: 3 included + 7 extra at €2
2 free + 8 players at $35 for the first year
25 screens
Pro: 10 included + 15 extra at €2, every Premium feature
2 free + 23 players at $35 for the first year
piSignage bills per player per year: $35 for a new player, then $20 a year to renew, shown here as a monthly amount. From the second year 10 screens cost about $13.33 a month and 25 screens about $38.33. TVpilot figures are monthly billing. Amounts in the currency each vendor publishes, before VAT.
Side by side
TVpilot vs piSignage at a glance
Prices checked on 1 November 2026, features on 1 November 2026, on piSignage's own website. Plans change, so check the current terms before you decide.
| TVpilot | piSignage | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 1 screen, forever, 250 MB storage, no credit card | 2 players, free forever |
| Pricing model | Per plan with screens included; extra screens €2 a month | Per player per year |
| Paid price | €5/month for 3 screens, €29/month for 10 with Premium | $35 per player for the first year, then $20 a year |
| Raspberry Pi | Any Pi with Raspberry Pi OS with a desktop, one command, HDMI-CEC TV on and off | Yes, its core platform: Pi 5, 4, 3 and Zero 2 W |
| Other players | Amazon Signage Stick, Fire TV, Android TV, Chromecast, iPad, any browser | Amazon Signage Stick, Fire TV Stick, Android TV, Chromecast, browser, Linux desktop |
| Hosting | Hosted by TVpilot in the EU | Hosted, or a self-hosted server |
| Content tools | Designer, AI Studio, live plugins, Canva, Google Slides, PowerPoint | Layouts with split screens, playlists and scheduling |
| Scheduling | Per-slide schedules, a calendar per screen, TV power schedule | Calendar scheduling months ahead, dayparting, TV-off schedules |
| Teams | Roles and locations on Pro; approvals and white label on Business | White-label server for partners |
| Switching | Upload your files in bulk or from Google Drive or Dropbox | Not applicable |
What really differs
Price: per player per year, or per plan
piSignage is hard to beat on price for plain playback. The first 2 players are free forever; every further player costs $35 for the first year and $20 a year after that. Ten screens cost $280 in the first year, about $23 a month, and $160 a year from then on.
TVpilot is free for 1 screen. Starter is €5 a month with 3 screens included and €2 per extra screen, so 10 screens cost €19 a month; Pro is €29 a month with 10 screens and every Premium feature. At small sizes and after the first year, piSignage is usually the cheaper of the two. What the extra euros buy on TVpilot is in the sections below.
Raspberry Pi: two players built for it
Both platforms take the Raspberry Pi seriously. piSignage supports the Pi 5, 4, 3 and Zero 2 W, stores files on the player so content keeps playing without internet, and has TV-off schedules. It also runs on the Amazon Signage Stick, a Fire TV Stick, Android TV, Chromecast, a Linux desktop and a browser.
On TVpilot you generate one install command in the dashboard and run it on any Raspberry Pi with Raspberry Pi OS with a desktop. It sets up Chromium kiosk mode, auto-start, a watchdog that restarts the player within about 10 seconds, a quiet boot and a hidden cursor. The Pi checks the power schedule every minute and switches the TV on and to standby through HDMI-CEC. Players update themselves at night and can be rebooted from the dashboard. A Pi 4 or 5 is recommended for smooth video.
What goes on the screen
piSignage focuses on playing your files well: playlists, layouts with split screens and region-wise content, and calendar scheduling with dayparting months ahead. A self-hosted server is available, and partners can run a white-labelled server on the same code base.
TVpilot adds the content around the files: a Designer with widget boxes, AI Studio for generated screens, Canva, Google Slides and PowerPoint links, and live plugins for weather, news, Google and Trustpilot reviews, calendars, Power BI, Shopify, bol.com, Mollie and SumUp dashboards, NS departures and ANWB traffic. Teams get roles and locations on Pro, and approvals, your own branding and a partner portal on Business.
Honest advice
Which one should you pick?
Choose piSignage if
- You only need your own images and videos on Raspberry Pi screens and want the lowest price.
- You run more than a handful of players and plan to keep them for years at $20 a year each.
- You want to run the server yourself.
- You use a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W as a player.
Choose TVpilot if
- You want a Designer, AI Studio and live plugins without building content elsewhere.
- You want the TV itself switched on and off on a schedule through HDMI-CEC.
- You want team roles, locations, approvals or a white-label partner portal.
- You prefer monthly billing to buying a licence per player per year.
Moving from piSignage to TVpilot
piSignage has no API key, only a login with your password, which TVpilot does not ask for. So there is no automatic import: download your files from piSignage and upload them in TVpilot under Media, many at once or straight from Google Drive or Dropbox. It takes a few minutes.
Your Raspberry Pi can stay. Flash a fresh Raspberry Pi OS with a desktop, run the TVpilot install command from the dashboard and the Pi pairs itself; your playlists are already waiting.
More on moving your content: switching to TVpilot. Every plan and what it includes: TVpilot pricing. Fourteen platforms side by side: digital signage software pricing compared.
Frequently asked questions
Is TVpilot cheaper than piSignage?
Not always. piSignage is free for 2 players and then $35 per player for the first year and $20 a year after that, so plain Raspberry Pi playback is often cheaper there. TVpilot costs €5 a month for 3 screens and €19 for 10 on Starter, with a Designer, AI Studio and live plugins included. Prices as published on 1 November 2026, before VAT.
Can I keep my Raspberry Pi?
Yes. TVpilot runs on any Raspberry Pi with Raspberry Pi OS with a desktop. One install command sets up kiosk mode, auto-start, the watchdog and HDMI-CEC TV power scheduling. Pi 4 or 5 is recommended for smooth video.
Can I import my piSignage playlists?
Not automatically. piSignage has no API key, only a login with your password, and TVpilot does not ask for passwords of other platforms. Download your files and upload them in TVpilot, many at once.
Does TVpilot play offline?
Partly. Players need an internet connection for content updates, keep following the schedule during an outage, and the Raspberry Pi player recovers by itself afterwards. piSignage stores files on the player for offline playback.
Can I host TVpilot myself?
No. TVpilot is hosted software. piSignage offers a self-hosted server if you want to run it yourself.
What does TVpilot cost?
TVpilot is free for 1 screen with 250 MB storage, forever and without a credit card. Starter is €5 a month with 3 screens included, Pro €29 a month with 10 screens and every Premium feature, and Business €99 a month with 25 screens. Extra screens cost €2 a month on Starter and Pro. Paying yearly gives 2 months free. Prices exclude VAT.
Also see
- Raspberry Pi digital signage
- Amazon Signage Stick
- AI Studio
- Pricing compared
- Yodeck alternative
- OptiSigns alternative
- Screenly alternative
- ScreenCloud alternative
- Xibo alternative
- Rise Vision alternative
- NoviSign alternative
- Fugo alternative
- OnSign TV alternative
- Revel Digital alternative
- Xogo alternative
- AbleSign alternative
- Samsung MagicINFO alternative
Sources
piSignage's own pages, read on 1 November 2026 (features) and 1 November 2026 (prices). TVpilot facts come from the product itself. piSignage is a trademark of its owner; TVpilot is not affiliated with piSignage.
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