The short version. easyCMS is built on Xibo, and we say so openly. We run Xibo 4.5 for you in Germany, add easyCMS Studio on top so anyone can use it from a phone, and sell it with one-time licences. If you already run servers and want full admin access, hosting Xibo yourself is a good choice, and we tell you when below.
This page is for people who have decided Xibo is the right engine and now need to decide how to run it.
Three ways to run Xibo
The software is the same on all three routes. What changes is who runs the server, who updates it, and how you pay.
| Xibo Cloud | Host it yourself | easyCMS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You pay | From 4,40€ per display per month, Professional plan (checked September 2026) | 0€ for the software, plus a server and your time | 49€ once with 1 display; 99€ once per extra display, or 66€ in the same order |
| 25 screens over five years | 6,600€ | Your server bill and your hours | 1,883€, paid once |
| Who runs the server and updates | The Xibo project | You | Us, in the EU |
| Who you call when something breaks | Their support, in their hours | Yourself | Our support, in our hours |
| Good for | Funding the people who write Xibo | Teams that already run Linux and Docker | Anyone who wants the screens without the server |
Cloud rates change, so check the current plan table before deciding. Above 25 screens, or for your own branding, the Enterprise account is 1,290€ a year, our only recurring plan. Every price is on the pricing page, and Xibo hosting cost compared sets out the five-year numbers for 1, 5 and 25 screens.
What easyCMS adds on top of Xibo
The engine is Xibo’s. What you buy from us is everything around it, and a much simpler way in.
easyCMS Studio
Our own front end, made for phones. Pick a design, change the words, tap Play on…. In English, French, German and Spanish. Meet Studio.
More than 200 templates
Menus, offers, notices, timetables, room signs and welcome screens for restaurants, shops, schools, clinics, hotels, gyms and more. See the templates.
Menus, prices and urgent notices
Change a price once in Menu & prices and every board follows. An Urgent notice reaches every screen in two taps.
Hosted in the EU
Your CMS runs at Hetzner in Falkenstein, Germany. For a Data Processing Agreement, email info@myeasycms.com.
Updates done for you
No Docker, no certificates, no upgrade weekends. We test and apply new versions; you just log in.
Add a screen yourself
Claim a new display at Add a display in a minute, without a support ticket.
Help when you need it
The guides and the assistant are free. An Expert Support Hour is 25€, refunded if the cause is a bug in easyCMS.
Players that arrive ready
The easyCMS Android player is 499€, arrives set up and includes the licence for its screen.
Your own brand
On Enterprise, easyCMS runs on your own domain with your logo, plus users and roles. See white label.
The full Xibo editor is still there, as the advanced editor, for anyone who wants to build a design from scratch. The features page lists everything.
What you give up
A managed service is a trade. These are the limits that matter most to Xibo users.
No admin access
You cannot reach Administration, Settings or the CMS log. That is how we keep the instance stable; if a setting needs changing, we change it.
Storage has a limit
1GB on the account, 5GB on PRO, 20GB on Enterprise. Self-hosted, your storage is your disk.
No SSO, API portal or marketplace
No SAML, no public API and no app-store app: Studio runs in your phone’s browser. No SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certificate either.
No free plan, no free trial
The entry point is 49€, once. To try Xibo for nothing, host it yourself.
When to host it yourself instead. If your team already runs Docker, backups and patching as routine, if your screens have no route to the internet, if policy says the database must sit on your own servers, or if you want to change the code, self-host Xibo and keep your money.
Why our licence costs more than a Xibo player licence
You can buy a commercial Xibo player licence for less than 99€, and you have read that correctly. But a player licence still needs a CMS to talk to, which means hosting one or paying monthly for one. Our licence is the seat on a hosted, updated EU CMS, with the player licence included where the platform needs one.
Open source, in plain words
Xibo is open-source software under the AGPL licence, so the engine does not depend on us: if easyCMS stopped tomorrow, it would still exist and anyone could run it. Your photos, videos and PDFs stay ordinary files, so keep the originals somewhere outside the CMS and a future move is easy.
For your IT team
Players pull their content over an encrypted connection and accept no inbound connections, so there is no inbound port to open. Each display must be authorised before it receives anything, and content is cached, so screens keep playing if the connection or our hosting goes down. The detail is in network requirements and troubleshooting offline displays.
Questions about running Xibo
Is easyCMS the same software as Xibo?
Yes. easyCMS runs Xibo 4.5, hosted and supported by us. We add Studio, the templates, the hosting, the updates, help when you want it, and players that arrive set up.
Who upgrades it?
We do. Updates are free with every account, tested by us before they reach you. You never plan a maintenance window.
Can I move my own Xibo CMS to easyCMS?
Ask us first. Email info@myeasycms.com with your Xibo version and number of displays, and we will tell you honestly what moves easily and what does not.
Which players work?
Android, Windows, LG webOS and Samsung Tizen, plus Linux on Enterprise. See the players page.
Is there really no monthly fee?
Not for the account, the PRO account or the licences: they are paid once. Enterprise, at 1,290€ a year, is the only recurring plan. More at digital signage with no monthly fee.
Talk to us
The deciding question is rarely price. It is who gets the call when a screen goes blank on a Monday morning. If that person exists and has the time, host it yourself; if not, tell us how many screens you have and we will give you one price, paid once.
Email info@myeasycms.com, call +48 509 937 137, or use the support request form. To see the first hour, read getting started with easyCMS.