NoviSign vs Play: a fair comparison
NoviSign
NoviSign is an easy, Studio-based alternative with a 30-day free trial. Users, storage, proof of play and SSO cost more as you move past the Business plan.
Play vs NoviSign
Every project is different, so NoviSign may win for some teams while Play wins for others. NoviSign is known for Online Studio, templates, and solid review scores. This page is a fairer read on Business / Business Plus / Premium pricing (about $14 / $17 / $25), storage and user limits, support hours, Mac gaps, and how those stack against Play's Essential / Pro / Ultimate plans (about $8 / $12 / $16)—so you can decide with the same checklist on both sides.
Pricing
Both land in budget-to-mid digital signage. The gap is packaging—and how quickly users, storage, proof of play, SSO, and API climb NoviSign's ladder.
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From NoviSign's pricing page (annual billing): Business about $14 per screen per month (core studio, widgets, templates, scheduling); Business Plus about $17 (deeper integrations, proof of play / ad serving, device manager, videowall themes); Premium about $25 (admin tooling, SSO, API, approvals, brand kits, audit logs); Partners / Enterprise by call.
Licensing footnotes matter: storage language is often on the order of about 500 MB total storage per license pooling across licenses at Business-class packaging (confirm the live table); max upload and conversion pools scale per license; after trial, evaluation accounts can show NoviSign logo or commercials between slides if unpaid.
Older reviews (for example TechRadar) listed higher stickers—prices move. Trust the live NoviSign page.
Play: Essential / Pro / Ultimate from about $8 / $12 / $16. No storage or traffic limit per Play's pricing FAQ. First screen free after an approved review.
Apples-to-apples: NoviSign Business paired with Play Essential is the fair start. Matching NoviSign Business to Play Ultimate, or ignoring storage and user gates, is not.
Support
NoviSign: email and ticket support with broader weekly coverage messaging; phone commonly documented as Monday through Friday business hours (for example 8:00–5:00 on their pricing or support copy). Higher plans advertise premium support or a dedicated account manager. Quick-start guides are solid for self-serve.
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Play: live chat 24/7/365 plus phone during business hours.
If you only work weekday US hours, NoviSign phone may be enough. If screens fail Saturday night, compare chat coverage before you buy on Studio screenshots alone.
Content Development
NoviSign strengths: Online Studio, 500+ templates (per their marketing), 50+ widgets or apps, Canva and PosterMyWall-oriented paths, stock library messaging, and industry templates (menus, lobbies, healthcare).
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Caveats from review ecosystems: SelectHub and older write-ups have described the design studio as dated or historically Flash-leaning. Judge the current Studio in a trial. Other secondary complaints: missing undo or alignment friction (older), sluggish UI moments, scheduling learning curve.
Play: cloud slide and page editor aimed at non-designers editing real layouts in-product. Fair claim: NoviSign is Studio plus widgets; Play is slide editor plus plugins. Both beat upload-only tools.
Compatibility
NoviSign documents Android, Chrome OS, Windows, BrightSign, Amazon Signage Stick, Samsung Tizen, LG webOS, and various SoC TV brands. In our testing, Apple and Linux player support was weaker, so check it if Mac mini players or Linux appliances matter. Confirm the live matrix.
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Play treats Mac as a first-class path alongside Windows, Linux, Android, Fire / Signage Stick, Tizen, webOS, BrightSign, and more.
Teams
This is one of NoviSign's biggest sticker-versus-reality gaps.
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Lower plans historically and currently emphasize 1 user on Business-class packaging and limited seats on mid tiers; unlimited users, richer permissions, SSO, audit logs, and admin modules skew Premium-plus on the public story. Proof of play and ad serving depth are called out more strongly from Business Plus upward.
Play: unlimited users and role or sub-team collaboration are part of the standard collaboration pitch; analytics and audit logs come with Ultimate.
If three marketers and an IT admin all need logins on day one, price NoviSign Premium versus Play Pro or Ultimate—not Business versus a vague "Play flat rate."
NoviSign Digital Signage vs. Play Digital Signage: What are the Differences?
In the list below, we’ve made it easy to see the main differences between NoviSign Digital Signage and Play Digital Signage: pricing, terms, and what each can and can’t do.
| Feature | Play Digital Signage | NoviSign |
|---|---|---|
| Free screens | ||
| Pricing (monthly) | Monthly $8 Annually $7.20 | Business $14 Business Plus $17 Premium $25 |
| Supported OS |
|
|
| Country of origin |  USA |  Israel |
| Headquarters | USA | Israel |
| Established | 2013 | 2011 |
| Live chat 24/7 | ||
| Unlimited storage and traffic | ||
| Unlimited users and teams | ||
| Cloud-based editor (like PowerPoint) | ||
| Templates | ||
| Multi-zone playlists | ||
| YouTube | ||
| Social media | ||
| RSS | ||
| Streaming | ||
| HDMI (video) input | ||
| Works offline | ||
| Emergency strategy setup | ||
| API | ||
| Analytics | ||
| Audit logs | ||
| SSO | ||
| Touch interactive content |
What We Learned Testing NoviSign's Studio Against Play
Here at Play Digital Signage, we know every digital signage company feels different until you try it. We signed up, poked the UI, tested support, and read the plan matrix the way a buyer would.
What we liked: approachable Studio and strong template/widget story; competitive mid-market feature depth once you leave pure Business; a 30-day trial with serious time to evaluate; solid review-site reputation for ease and reliability.
What held us back relative to Play: Business plan user and storage gates bite multi-person teams quickly; proof of play, SSO, API, audit, and admin tooling skew upmarket; phone support is weekday-shaped versus Play's 24/7 chat; Mac and Linux player needs require matrix confirmation; older Flash or dated UI chatter means you should judge today's Studio yourself.
Who should pick which: Choose NoviSign if you like Studio and widgets, Android / Chrome / Windows / BrightSign / SoC paths, and will buy Business Plus or Premium when you need more users, integrations, proof of play, SSO, or admin tooling. Choose Play if you want a PowerPoint-like cloud editor, Mac player and editor paths, 24/7 live chat, unlimited storage and traffic, and Essential-class entry without 500 MB-per-license storage math.
Trial both with two admin users, a large video upload, and your real OS targets before you trust either marketing matrix.
Our customers love us!
- Organizations use Play to manage their screens.
- 2,500+
- Screens connected across businesses worldwide.
- 25,000+
- Average rating from 939 reviews on Capterra.
- 4.8 / 5
- Average rating from 273 reviews on G2.
- 4.7 / 5
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