Comparison

Presently vs. OptiSigns: An Honest Comparison for Retail Stores

OptiSigns is one of the most widely used digital signage platforms — affordable, flexible, and backed by a huge integration library. Presently is purpose-built for independent retail stores that want audience-aware advertising without sourcing their own hardware. Here's how they compare.

Presently

Audience-aware, hardware-included, private by design. Built for independent retail.

OptiSigns

Affordable cloud-based digital signage with 500+ app integrations. Works with any hardware.

The Quick Answer

Which one is right for your store?

Choose Presently if:

  • You want audience-aware advertising that automatically shows the right ad to the right customer
  • You want hardware shipped pre-configured — no sourcing, no setup headache
  • Your store's internet is unreliable and you need offline-capable playback
  • Privacy is a selling point or legal concern for your store
  • You want everything in one subscription: hardware + software + support

Choose OptiSigns if:

  • Budget is your primary constraint — you need the lowest possible monthly cost
  • You already own compatible hardware (Android player, FireTV, Raspberry Pi)
  • You need specific integrations: social feeds, weather, live data, Google Slides
  • You manage signage across many locations and need multi-screen tools
  • You're comfortable with more configuration options and setup steps
Feature by Feature

Side by Side

Feature
Presently
OptiSigns
Starting price
$79/month all-in
Free (1 screen) / $10/screen/month Pro
Hardware included
Yes — shipped pre-configured
No — you source Android, FireStick, etc.
Setup time
~2 hours, no IT required
Varies — depends on device you choose
Audience-aware ad targeting
Yes — on-device CV, real-time
No
Works without internet
Fully offline-capable
No — cloud-dependent for management
Camera/biometric data storage
Never — nothing stored or transmitted
N/A — no camera integration
Dashboard access
Local network (addashboard.local)
Cloud-based web dashboard
Content scheduling
Time + audience rules
Time-based scheduling
Free tier
No
Yes — 1 screen free forever
App integrations
Limited (roadmap)
500+ (social, weather, data feeds)
Multi-screen management
Single-screen pilot
Yes — unlimited screens on paid plans
Support model
Founding customer direct support
Community + email + paid tiers
Target customer
Independent retail stores
Any business of any size

OptiSigns pricing sourced from their public pricing page. Presently pricing as of May 2026. Scroll horizontally on small screens.

Go Deeper

Where They're Fundamentally Different

Three areas where the products diverge in ways that matter for day-to-day store operations.

OptiSigns' free tier is genuinely free for one screen — but it requires a device. A capable Android media player runs $60–120. A FireTV Stick 4K is $50. A Raspberry Pi 4 kit is $80–150. Before you play a single ad, you've spent money on hardware. And that hardware is your responsibility to configure, update, and replace when it fails.

Presently's $79/month includes the device, shipped pre-configured. For a store owner whose time is worth anything, the setup labor alone at OptiSigns often exceeds the cost difference.

Year-one cost comparison (1 screen)

  • ·OptiSigns Pro ($10/mo) + Android player ($90 one-time) = $210 year one
  • ·OptiSigns free + Android player ($90) = $90 year one — but limited features
  • ·Presently ($79/mo, hardware included) = $948 year one
  • ·Presently adds: audience intelligence, offline operation, zero-config hardware

OptiSigns excels at displaying content on a schedule. You set time-of-day playlists, day-of-week rules, and it runs reliably. What it cannot do is adapt to the person actually standing in front of your screen right now.

Presently adds on-device computer vision. The device detects general demographic signals — approximate age range, gender — and selects the most relevant ad in real time. No image is ever stored or transmitted. It's the difference between broadcasting to a time window and speaking to the person in front of you.

The practical difference: Your 10am slot might show a breakfast promotion to a 70-year-old regular and a loyalty sign-up to a first-time visitor who walked in at the same time. OptiSigns shows both the same thing. Presently doesn't.

If you need social media feeds, live weather widgets, Google Slides, Instagram walls, or real-time data dashboards on your display — OptiSigns has all of that. It's a genuine strength of the platform.

Presently's integration roadmap is narrower today, but it's building toward the integrations that matter for independent retail: POS systems, loyalty platforms, and inventory-triggered content. If you need 500 integrations now, OptiSigns has a clear edge. If you need your ads to respond to who is actually in the store, OptiSigns can't get there.

Bottom line: OptiSigns is the better choice if integrations are the primary requirement. Presently is the better choice if audience-aware targeting and turn-key hardware are the priority.

The right tool for your store.

If you need audience intelligence, private-by-design architecture, and a true turn-key experience — Presently was built for you. If you need maximum integration flexibility at the lowest possible price, OptiSigns is a serious platform worth evaluating.

Join the Presently PilotSee How Presently Works

$79/month · Hardware included · Cancel anytime