Guides · By business

Digital menu boards for small restaurants: what you need and what it costs

Updated · Prices checked October 2026

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A digital menu board is a TV behind the counter showing your menu, controlled from a laptop or phone. Change a price or mark the soup as sold out, and every screen updates in seconds. No reprinting, no stickers over old prices.

For a single screen it can cost less than you’d expect. If you already own a TV and use a free software plan, the only thing you buy is the small media player that runs the menu.

What it costs: two typical setups

These figures come from our cost calculator using list prices checked in October 2026. Change any number there to match your own quotes.

Café, one screen Counter, three screens
Screens New 55” consumer TV, $400 New 55” commercial displays, $1,030 each
Media player Amazon Signage Stick, about $100 Amazon Signage Stick, about $100 each
Mount and cables $60 (our estimate) $60 each (our estimate)
Up front $560 $3,570
Software Yodeck Free, $0 Yodeck Basic, $8 per screen = $24/month
Total over 3 years $560 $4,434

The three-screen setup uses commercial displays because a counter menu is usually on 12 or more hours a day. Consumer TVs are generally rated for 6–8 hours a day; commercial displays for 16–24 hours, with longer warranties (CrownTV).

What you need

  1. A screen. A TV you already own is fine to start. For all-day use, a commercial display lasts longer.
  2. A media player, the stick or box that runs the menu. See our media player guide. In short, the Amazon Signage Stick is the easy choice, and you should avoid the newest Fire TV sticks unless your software supports them.
  3. Software, where you design the menu and push it to the screens.
  4. The menu design itself, made from a template, by you, or by a designer.

Choosing the software

There are two kinds, and both can work.

General signage apps with menu templates

These run any content (menus, promotions, social posts) and charge per screen:

  • Yodeck: free for exactly one screen, then $8–$16 per screen per month.
  • OptiSigns: free for up to three screens on Windows, Linux or Raspberry Pi players (with its logo on screen), then from $9 per screen per month billed yearly.
  • Kitcast: $7–$10 per screen per month billed yearly, with a 14-day free trial.
  • DigitalSignage.com: three screens free, then from $3 per screen.

Our free software comparison covers the limits on each free plan.

These focus on menu design and charge a flat monthly fee:

  • MustHaveMenus Pro: $41 a month billed yearly or $49 month to month, with more than 25,000 templates and animation tools (pricing).
  • TapHunter: $29 a month for digital drink menus, popular with bars and taprooms (TapHunter).
  • CherryMenu: $32 a month on its Standard plan, with a 30-day free trial (GoodFirms listing).

A menu tool makes sense if design is the hard part for you. A general signage app is usually cheaper per screen and also handles promotions and other screens around the shop.

Questions to ask before you pay

  • Scheduling: can it switch from the breakfast menu to lunch automatically?
  • Phone editing: can you change a price or mark an item sold out from your phone in under a minute?
  • Portrait screens: does it support a TV mounted on its side?
  • Player support: does it run on the media player you plan to buy?
  • Offline playback: if the Wi-Fi drops, does the menu stay on screen?

Setting it up, step by step

  1. Pick the software and check its device list. Then buy a media player it supports.
  2. Mount the screen where customers read it while queuing, not only when they reach the till. Keep it out of direct glare from windows.
  3. Connect it. A wired Ethernet connection is more reliable than Wi-Fi if there’s a network port nearby.
  4. Install the signage app on the player and pair it with your account. Most apps show a code on screen that you type into the dashboard.
  5. Build the menu from a template. Keep text large, use high contrast (light text on dark, or the reverse), and don’t crowd one screen. Two clear screens beat one cramped one.
  6. Test a power cut. Switch everything off at the wall and back on, and check that the menu returns by itself. If it doesn’t, see the autostart steps in the media player guide.

Do you need calorie counts?

In the US, the FDA’s menu labeling rule applies to restaurants that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and selling substantially the same menu items. Covered restaurants must:

  • show calories for standard items on menus and menu boards
  • display the statement “2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, but calorie needs vary”
  • offer more nutrition information in writing on request

Independent restaurants and small local groups aren’t covered by the federal rule (FDA menu labeling requirements). Check with your local health department too, as some places have their own rules.

The bottom line

  • One screen with a TV you already own: a $100 media player and a free plan gets you a working digital menu.
  • A full counter of screens running all day: budget around $1,200 per screen up front for commercial displays, plus $7–$20 per screen per month for software.

Run your own numbers in the cost calculator.