If you're on the hunt for a digital signage solution, Yodeck's software is probably somewhere on your list. This legacy provider has been around since 2014 and powers 180,000 screens in 135 countries.
It's easy to see what makes Yodeck so popular — its pricing is surprisingly affordable. But that's not to say Yodeck lists everything on its pricing page. And we haven't even looked at its limitations yet.
That's why we collected everything you should know about Yodeck's pricing (including its plans, features, and unlisted fees) so you can make an informed decision. We also explore its most common limitations so you can check for red flags before purchasing a plan.
Pssst: not happy with what you see? We provide an alternative at the bottom of the guide.
Breaking down Yodeck pricing and plans
Yodeck has five different pricing plans: Free, Basic, Premium, Enterprise, and Custom.
We're covering their costs and features below so you'll know what to expect before signing on the dotted line.
Free plan
As the name implies, the Free plan is free. It doesn't cost anything to get started with Yodeck.
But keep in mind this is a free trial rather than a free plan. You can only test the platform with a single screen, and without a digital signage player, you can't actually display any files or content.
Yodeck does mention you can contact the sales team for a 'cost-less' trial to test your display. However, they'll be the ones verifying if your content displaying correctly — you still won't be able to see your content firsthand.
Basic plan
Yodeck's Basic plan starts at $8 per screen per month with no minimum screens. Paying annually costs $96 per screen and comes with a 'free' signage player: the 1 GB Yodeck player, which normally costs $79 (more on this later).
The Basic plan comes with all the, well, basics you'd expect from a digital signage tool. But you'll notice some of its best are stuck behind more expensive paywalls, including third-party apps with Microsoft and dashboard tools. And if you want more customization options, you'll need to upgrade to the Premium plan.
Premium plan
The Premium plan costs $11 per screen per month (or $132 per year). If you decide to pay annually, you'll get one 4 GB Yodeck player for every screen — although keep in mind you'll have to return the devices if you don't complete your one-year contract.
You can use the Premium plan to tap into more useful features, including TV dashboards and advanced options for playlists and media scheduling. However, most of Yodeck's best security features are hiding behind the Enterprise plan. You may need to take action by upgrading to the Enterprise plan.
Enterprise plan
It costs $15 per screen per month (or $180 per screen per year) for the Enterprise plan. With it, you can access all of Yodeck's many security options, including SSO and encrypted player storage.
There aren't any add-ons available with Yodeck, so what you see is what you get. But if you want a higher ceiling (like reselling or white-label options), you'll need to get in touch with the Yodeck sales team.
Custom plan
Yodeck’s customized plans can scale to any screen count or business type with the features and specifics you need. Thing is, there’s no pricing information available online. You can only get a quote by contacting sales.
A few possible features might include:
- Access to its white-label program
- Reseller opportunities
- Display content on more than 50 screens
Yodeck’s true costs: hidden fees to know
Yodeck is known for its transparent pricing, but like many digital signage platforms, there are a few extra costs that aren’t immediately obvious.
Here are some hidden or extra fees to watch out for:
- Players and hardware cost $79 plus shipping. Unless you subscribe to an annual plan, you’ll have to pay out of pocket for Yodeck’s digital signage players. This starts at $79 (not including shipping) for the 1GB Yodeck Player, and $119 for the 4GB version (an extra $40 per player). And since each player was designed to support one screen at a time, the lowest you can pay is $87 per screen per month.
- Canceling early forfeits your player. Yodeck's 'free' signage players are available with annual payments on any plan. However, you only own the media players after one full year of continuous payments. If you cancel before that, they're still Yodeck’s property, and you'll have to return them as per the company's terms of service.
- Third-party costs. If you want to integrate with third-party apps, you may need to have paid plans with other third-party providers. This is completely dependent on the apps you use and could range from a few dollars per year to several hundred dollars per user per month.
- Taxes and regional fees. This depends on the state and country where you live, but you may need to factor in VAT tax, sales tax, and other costs not directly included in your plan. Plus, Yodeck doesn’t list taxes and fees online, so you’ll need to contact the sales team for an all-inclusive quote.
Keep in mind that Yodeck's prices can change at any time. According to its terms of service, Yodeck reserves the right to change fees at any time with advance notice. This may or may not affect existing plan members — and it may or may not leave you with a nasty billing surprise.
6 things to keep in mind before committing to Yodeck
Suddenly on the fence about switching to Yodeck?
Here are a few other limitations you should keep in mind.
1. No mixing and matching plan types
According to an article on the Yodeck helpdesk, there's no way to combine different groups of screens under different types of plans. This means every screen in your network will need to share the same billing structure — even if you only want certain features to keep your costs low.
2. You can't display signage on the free plan
Remember the free plan we talked about earlier? Well, it only provides access to Yodeck's system, not screens. If you want to display your content on an actual TV, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan (which starts at $8 per screen per month).
3. Canceling your annual Yodeck plan is nonrefundable
Prepaid fees for unused subscription terms (aka annual plans) are non-refundable, even if you cancel early. This means if you pay for an annual plan and decide it's not right for you, canceling your plan won't bring your money back.
4. Limited support for TV dashboards
Yodeck can integrate with some third-party dashboards like Jira, Tableau, and Power BI. However, it’s missing key integrations with other must-have dashboard providers like:
- HubSpot
- Zendesk
- Klipfolio
- Splunk
- Looker
This might be a problem if you use other popular dashboard apps and need to share real-time data with frontline teams.
5. Unintuitive UI may have a steep learning curve
Past Yodeck users say the administrative UI takes a bit of getting used to. It may be difficult to troubleshoot problems or navigate to specific features or security issues (which is not ideal for pre-occupied business owners).
See for yourself how a few users have responded:
"There is a learning curve as there are so many features. It DOES take time to learn." — G2
"I wish the playlist section was a little more user friendly." — TrustPilot
"The ability to customize interface when it comes to themes would be one area to look into. Each user should have that ability, but don't." — Capterra
"I feel like there are so many capabilities and features that it makes it a little hard to learn and isn't always intuitive." — G2
6. Security issues might raise a few eyebrows
Digital signage security is a hot-button issue these days, and leaving anything up to chance could be a serious risk in the grand scheme of things.
Unfortunately, some past Yodeck users feel their content isn't safe based on the types of plans and protocols used.
Here's why:
- Some of Yodeck's popup windows use WSS instead of HTTPS. Some companies may not be comfortable with this, since WSS comes with its own set of vulnerabilities.
- Most of Yodeck's best security features are locked behind expensive upgrades. For example, security lockdown tools and user IP address whitelists are only available with an upgrade to the Enterprise plan.
- If you're using Yodeck to create TV dashboards, you should know it usually relies on public URLs to send data from one platform to another. This means your URL isn't private, and your data could technically be hunted down by unauthorized users and bad actors.
The good news is that Yodeck is mostly an outlier. Other digital signage companies (including Fugo.ai) rely on HTTPS protocols, offer accessible security features, and set up TV dashboards in isolated cloud environments so you never have to risk your data with public URLs.
Fugo: the best Yodeck alternative
Is Yodeck not quite what you expected?
Whether it's the pricing, the plans, or the baked-in limitations, you might find yourself needing a different digital signage provider.
The good news is that there are plenty of alternatives available — including modern digital signage solutions like Fugo.ai.
You can think of Fugo like Canva for TV screens: easy to use, easy to scale, and incredibly intuitive for everyone. We're proud to offer cutting-edge software that works both with and without digital signage players. Whether you're building company TV channels or displaying on-prem dashboards, we offer the security, bandwidth, and features you need to bring them to life (affordably).
No need to take our word for it, though.
Learn more about why businesses migrate to Fugo.ai.
