Anthias vs Xibo vs ScreenLite: Best Self-Hosted Digital Signage 2026

Digital signage powers everything from restaurant menu boards to corporate lobby displays and retail window screens. Commercial solutions like Screenly Pro, Yodeck, and Novisign can cost $10–$50 per screen per month — expenses that multiply quickly when you manage dozens of displays. Open-source alternatives give you full control over your content, zero per-screen licensing fees, and the ability to run everything on inexpensive hardware like Raspberry Pi devices.

In this guide, we compare the three most actively maintained open-source digital signage platforms in 2026: Anthias (formerly Screenly OSE), Xibo, and ScreenLite. Each offers a content management system (CMS) for scheduling and organizing media, plus player software to render content on displays.

Why Self-Host Your Digital Signage?

Before diving into specific platforms, it’s worth understanding why self-hosting digital signage makes sense for many organizations:

• Zero recurring costs — Commercial digital signage SaaS charges per screen, per month. Self-hosted solutions eliminate these fees entirely.
• Full data privacy — Your content, schedules, and analytics stay on your infrastructure. No third-party cloud provider can access what you display.
• Offline resilience — Self-hosted players cache content locally, so displays continue working even when the network goes down.
• Custom integrations — Open-source platforms let you build custom data sources, API integrations, and widgets without vendor approval.
• Hardware flexibility — Run players on Raspberry Pi, old laptops, Intel NUCs, or Android TV boxes instead of locked-in proprietary media players.

Whether you’re running a single information kiosk in a coffee shop or managing a network of 50 displays across a university campus, self-hosted digital signage gives you the tools to do it on your own terms.

Anthias (Formerly Screenly OSE)

GitHub: Screenly/Anthias · Stars: 3,488 · Language: Python · Last Updated: April 2026

Anthias is the open-source continuation of Screenly OSE, one of the longest-running digital signage projects. Originally developed by Screenly, Inc., it was rebranded to Anthias and continues under active community maintenance. It’s specifically designed for Raspberry Pi deployments, making it the go-to choice for low-cost, single-purpose signage players.

Key Features

• Raspberry Pi optimized — Runs on Pi 1 through Pi 5 with official image support via Raspberry Pi Imager and balenaHub
• Web-based CMS — Manage assets, playlists, and schedules from a browser-based dashboard
• Media support — Images, web pages, videos, and streaming URLs
• Balena deployment — One-click flash via balenaHub images for zero-configuration setup
• Asset scheduling — Set start/end dates and times for each piece of content
• Proof-of-play reporting — Track what content was displayed and when

Best For

Small-to-medium deployments using Raspberry Pi hardware. If you have a few displays and want a plug-and-play solution with minimal setup, Anthias is the simplest option. The balenaHub images mean you flash an SD card, insert it into a Pi, and you’re done — no SSH or command-line interaction required.

Limitations

• Raspberry Pi-centric — x86/PC support exists but requires manual installation on Debian
• No native multi-tenant or multi-organization support
• Limited widget ecosystem compared to Xibo

Xibo CMS

GitHub: xibosignage/xibo · Stars: 706 · Last Updated: March 2026

Xibo is the most feature-complete open-source digital signage platform available. It’s been in development since 2006 and powers thousands of commercial installations worldwide. Xibo uses a server-client architecture — a central CMS manages content and schedules, while lightweight player applications run on display devices across Windows, Android, Linux, and web platforms.

Key Features

• Multi-platform players — Official players for Windows, Android, webOS, Tizen, and Linux (via web browser)
• Layout designer — Drag-and-drop layout editor with regions for video, text, images, tickers, and datasets
• Dataset-driven content — Pull data from spreadsheets, databases, or APIs to create dynamic content (e.g., live menus, schedules)
• Command scheduling — Send commands to players (reboot, change layout, adjust volume) on schedules
• Multi-user roles — Granular permissions for content creators, approvers, and administrators
• Proof-of-play logging — Detailed audit trails for content display verification
• Template system — Reusable layout templates for consistent branding across displays
• Enterprise features — Multi-organization support, content approval workflows, and player auditing

Best For

Organizations that need enterprise-grade features: multiple users with different roles, complex layouts with mixed media, dynamic data-driven content, and support for diverse display hardware. Xibo is the choice for universities, hospitals, corporate offices, and retail chains.

Deployment Architecture

docker server runs as a Docker-based stack with MySQL, memcached, and an XMR (cross-media renderer) service for real-time player communication:

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46

version: "2.1"

services:
    cms-db:
        image: mysql:8.4
        volumes:
            - "./shared/db:/var/lib/mysql:Z"
        environment:
            - MYSQL_DATABASE=cms
            - MYSQL_USER=cms
            - MYSQL_RANDOM_ROOT_PASSWORD=yes
        mem_limit: 1g
        env_file: config.env
        restart: always

    cms-xmr:
        image: ghcr.io/xibosignage/xibo-xmr:1.2
        ports:
            - "9505:9505"
        restart: always
        mem_limit: 256m
        env_file: config.env

    cms-web:
        image: ghcr.io/xibosignage/xibo-cms:release-4.4.1
        volumes:
            - "./shared/cms/custom:/var/www/cms/custom:Z"
            - "./shared/cms/library:/var/www/cms/library:Z"
            - "./shared/cms/web/theme/custom:/var/www/cms/web/theme/custom:Z"
            - "./shared/cms/web/userscripts:/var/www/cms/web/userscripts:Z"
        restart: always
        environment:
            - MYSQL_HOST=cms-db
            - XMR_HOST=cms-xmr
            - CMS_USE_MEMCACHED=true
            - MEMCACHED_HOST=cms-memcached
        env_file: config.env
        ports:
            - "80:80"
        mem_limit: 1g

    cms-memcached:
        image: memcached:alpine
        command: memcached -m 15
        restart: always
        mem_limit: 100M

Deploy with:

1
2
3
4

mkdir xibo-cms && cd xibo-cms
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xibosignage/xibo-docker/master/docker-compose.yml
# Create config.env with your MySQL root password and CMS settings
docker compose up -d

The CMS will be available at http://your-server:80. Players connect by registering with the CMS URL and a unique hardware key.

ScreenLite

GitHub: screenlite/screenlite · Stars: 346 · Language: JavaScript/TypeScript · Last Updated: April 2026

ScreenLite is a modern, cloud-native digital signage platform built with Node.js, PostgreSQL, and React. It represents the newest entrant in the open-source signage space and brings contemporary architecture patterns like microservices, S3-compatible storage, and a decoupled frontend/backend.

Key Features

• Modern tech stack — Node.js backend, PostgreSQL database, Redis caching, MinIO object storage
• S3-compatible media storage — Use any S3-compatible backend (MinIO, AWS S3, Cloudflare R2) for media assets
• FFmpeg transcoding service — Built-in video processing service for format conversion and optimization
• API-first design — RESTful API with Prisma ORM, making integrations straightforward
• Prisma Studio — Built-in database management UI on port 5555
• Docker-native — Full Docker Compose setup with health checks for all services

Best For

Development teams that want a modern, API-first digital signage platform they can extend and integrate into existing infrastructure. ScreenLite’s architecturkubernetes ideal for organizations already running Kubernetes or container-based infrastructure.

Docker Compose Configuration

ScreenLite’s development compose file demonstrates its microservice architecture:

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75

services:
  server:
    build:
      context: ./server
      dockerfile: ./docker/Dockerfile.dev
    container_name: screenlite-server
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - ./server:/app
      - screenlite_storage:/app/storage
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:secretpass@postgres:5432/screenlite
      - REDIS_HOST=redis
      - REDIS_PORT=6379
      - STORAGE_TYPE=s3
      - S3_ENDPOINT=http://minio:9000
      - S3_ACCESS_KEY=screenlite
      - S3_SECRET_KEY=screenlitesecret
      - S3_REGION=us-east-1
      - FFMPEG_SERVICE_API_URL=http://ffmpeg-service:3002
      - FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3001
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy
      minio:
        condition: service_healthy
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "--spider", "-q", "http://localhost:3000/api/health"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 10

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secretpass
      - POSTGRES_DB=screenlite
    volumes:
      - screenlite_pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  minio:
    image: minio/minio:latest
    command: server /data --console-address ":9001"
    volumes:
      - screenlite_minio:/data
    environment:
      - MINIO_ROOT_USER=screenlite
      - MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=screenlitesecret
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "mc", "ready", "local"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

volumes:
  screenlite_storage:
  screenlite_pgdata:
  screenlite_minio:

For production deployments, use the included docker-compose.prod.yml which disables development volumes and enables proper networking:

1
2
3

git clone https://github.com/screenlite/screenlite.git
cd screenlite
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d

The web interface will be available at http://your-server:3001.

Feature Comparison

Choosing the Right Platform

Choose Anthias if:

• You’re deploying on Raspberry Pi hardware
• You want zero-command-line setup via balenaHub images
• Your needs are simple: images, videos, and web pages on a loop
• You have a small number of displays (1–10)

Choose Xibo if:

• You need multi-platform player support (Windows, Android, smart TVs)
• You require dynamic, data-driven content (live menus, schedules, dashboards)
• Multiple team members need different access levels
• You need content approval workflows
• You’re deploying at scale (10+ screens across multiple locations)

Choose ScreenLite if:

• Your team prefers modern JavaScript/TypeScript stacks
• You want S3-compatible object storage for media assets
• You need built-in video transcoding
• You plan to integrate signage into a larger application via APIs
• You’re already running containerized infrastructure

Related Reading

For building the dashboards and data sources that feed your digital signage displays, check out our guides on self-hosted homepage dashboards and self-hosted BI tools. If you need to monitor whether your signage players are online, our endpoint monitoring comparison covers tools that can alert you when a display goes offline.

FAQ

What hardware do I need to run self-hosted digital signage?

For the CMS (content management server), any machine with 2+ GB RAM and Docker support works — a basic VPS or old desktop is sufficient. For players, Anthias runs on any Raspberry Pi (Pi 3 or newer recommended), Xibo supports Windows PCs, Android devices, and Linux machines, and ScreenLite players run in any modern web browser. A $35 Raspberry Pi 4 can drive a single 1080p display smoothly.

Can I use self-hosted digital signage for free in a commercial setting?

Yes. All three platforms — Anthias, Xibo, and ScreenLite — are released under open-source licenses (GPLv3 for Anthias and Xibo, Apache 2.0 for ScreenLite) that permit commercial use without licensing fees. Optional paid support tiers are available from the commercial entities behind Anthias (Screenly, Inc.) and Xibo (Xibo Sign Ltd.), but these are not required.

How do displays stay updated if the network goes down?

Self-hosted digital signage players cache content locally. When a player first connects to the CMS, it downloads all scheduled assets to local storage. If the network connection drops, the player continues displaying cached content according to the last known schedule. When connectivity is restored, it syncs any changes. This is a critical advantage over cloud-only signage solutions.

Can I display live data (weather, social media, databases) on my screens?

Xibo has built-in support for dynamic datasets that pull from external APIs, RSS feeds, and spreadsheets — ideal for live menus, schedules, and social media walls. ScreenLite’s API-first architecture makes it straightforward to build custom data widgets. Anthias supports displaying web pages, so you can point a web widget at any externally hosted dashboard or data source, though it lacks native dataset integration.

Is it difficult to set up self-hosted digital signage?

Anthias is the easiest — flash a pre-built image to an SD card and insert it into a Raspberry Pi. Xibo requires Docker Compose setup on a server (about 10 minutes of configuration) and then player registration on each display device. ScreenLite also uses Docker Compose but has more services to configure (PostgreSQL, Redis, MinIO), making it better suited for teams comfortable with container orchestration.