Pickcel vs Play: a fair comparison
Pickcel
Pickcel offers strong in-product design with Artboard and broad device support. Professional starts near $13.50 per device, with storage and user caps.
Play vs Pickcel
Every project is different, so Pickcel may win for some teams while Play wins for others. Pickcel is known for Artboard, 60-plus apps, and mid-market packaging. This page is a fairer read on Professional / Business / Enterprise stickers (about $13.50 / $22.50 / custom), 3–8 GB storage caps, user seats, support tiers, and how those stack against Play's Essential / Pro / Ultimate plans (about $8 / $12 / $16) with unlimited storage FAQ language—so you can decide with the same checklist on both sides.
Pricing
Pickcel is more mid-market than "basic entry-level"—Artboard, 60+ apps, Wallcraft, and Enterprise on-prem/SSO paths exist for a reason.
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Common published figures (annual billing): Professional about $13.50/device/mo annual (~$15 monthly in some directories)—about 3 GB storage, 1 user access on several summaries, core Artboard/templates/apps; Business about $22.50/device/mo annual (~$25 monthly)—about 8 GB storage, up to 5 users, 4K, MFA, dashboards, sync, richer support; Enterprise custom—unlimited storage, on-prem, SSO, 20+ users, priority CSM. Fourteen-day trial commonly offered.
Play: Essential / Pro / Ultimate from about $8 / $12 / $16. No storage/traffic limit (Play FAQ). Review-for-free first screen.
Storage math matters: a 20-screen Professional fleet at 3 GB/screen is not "unlimited media library" economics. If you push lots of HD/4K video, model Business/Enterprise—or compare to Play's no-limit FAQ claim—before you standardize.
Support
Pickcel: live chat, email, phone, knowledge base, webinars. Pickcel's own pricing table associates 24x7 chat and stronger on-call / CSM motions with Business and Enterprise. Professional is thinner (email and chat support).
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In our testing, we tried Pickcel live chat and did not get a response in that session. That is one test, not a universal SLA—but it is why published hours and plan entitlements matter.
Play: live chat 24/7/365 plus phone business hours for customers (Play pricing FAQ).
Content Development
Pickcel strengths: Artboard in-product design, 100+ templates, in-app image editing, royalty-free/stock media access, 60+ content apps, campaign/emergency publish tools, Wallcraft video walls, Zoom/event streaming on higher plans.
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Gates: 4K media, advanced playlist/sync, API/Zapier, dashboard integrations, and some analytics/PoP/audit cells skew Business/Enterprise on Pickcel's matrix.
Play: cloud slide/page editor plus plugins. Fair split: both offer real in-product design—compare Artboard versus Play's editor with the same designer for an hour. Secondary reviews sometimes mention limited templates or dashboard sluggishness—treat as trial checklist items.
Compatibility
Pickcel lists Android, Windows, BrightSign, Linux, Samsung, LG, iOS, Fire TV Stick, Chrome OS, Mac OS, and more—a genuinely wide BYO story and a point in their favor.
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Play similarly covers Fire/Signage Stick, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Tizen, webOS, BrightSign, Chrome-based players, and more.
Hardware is unlikely to be the decider between these two; storage, users, support tiers, and editor feel will.
Teams
Pickcel: role/group management appears in the product story early; seat counts still matter (1 user language on Professional summaries versus about 5 on Business versus 20+ Enterprise). MFA shows on Business-plus; SSO / on-prem are Enterprise-class on the public matrix. SOC 2 Type II and ISO certification messaging is a real enterprise talking point.
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Play: unlimited users, roles, sub-teams; SSO and 2FA on every plan (Play pricing FAQ); analytics and audit logs on Ultimate.
If IT requires SSO plus on-prem, get Pickcel Enterprise numbers and ask Play for the matching security checklist—don't assume Professional Pickcel equals Ultimate Play.
Pickcel 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 Pickcel Digital Signage and Play Digital Signage: pricing, terms, and what each can and can’t do.
| Feature | Play Digital Signage | Pickcel |
|---|---|---|
| Free screens | ||
| Pricing (monthly) | Monthly $8 Annually $7.20 | Professional $15 Business $25 Enterprise Custom quote |
| Supported OS |
|
|
| Country of origin |  USA |  India |
| Headquarters | USA | India |
| Established | 2013 | 2014 |
| 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 Pickcel's Artboard 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: Artboard makes DIY design credible without Photoshop; wide hardware compatibility; clear Professional to Business to Enterprise ladder; security certifications and on-prem option for regulated buyers; reasonable mid-market pricing versus ScreenCloud/Raydiant-class tools.
What held us back relative to Play: per-screen storage caps on Professional/Business; user seat limits on lower plans; phone/CSM-style support gated upward; one live-chat test without a human reply (anecdotal); per-device cost climbs on large video-heavy networks.
Who should pick which: Choose Pickcel if you want Artboard plus templates/stock media, care about SOC 2 / ISO 27001 marketing, may need on-premise later, and your screen count fits per-device pricing with 3–8 GB storage budgets. Choose Play if you want unlimited storage/traffic, Essential-class pricing, Mac-friendly BYO, and 24/7 human chat without hoping chat is staffed during your trial window.
Run both trials with your heaviest video asset, two simultaneous editors, and a support question outside business hours.
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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Ready to see how easy it is to get content on your TVs? It's free to play around, and there is no credit card required, because we think our product speaks for itself!
