# Your agent runs it. The stack is already built
> Canonical HTML: https://screenrig.ai/compare
Built for agents, from the control plane up. Your agent sets up the screen, builds the content, publishes it and proves it’s playing. The native Players and the infrastructure under them are already running.
**The short version**
- **Vs. a signage platform with an MCP server bolted on:** A person runs the editor. The agent drives it through the MCP server. On screenRIG, your agent runs the whole job, from enrollment to proof of play.
- **Vs. building it yourself:** Your team writes the Players and runs everything under them. On screenRIG, the installable Players and the stack under them are already running.
screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. [Pricing](https://screenrig.ai/pricing.md)
## Built for agents, not bolted on
One ask, three ways to run it: screenRIG, a signage platform with an MCP server bolted on, and building it yourself. Two run the same bakery job side by side, and a row of hands counts every step that lands back on you. The third is still building its first Player. This 2:00 film has chapters and a transcript. [Watch it, with the transcript](https://screenrig.ai/videos/compare) · [The film (MP4, 720p)](https://screenrig.ai/static-resources/videos/films/compare-720-148b964a.mp4)
## How is this different from human-oriented signage SaaS?
Most signage platforms were built for a person in an editor. Bolt an MCP server on and an agent can drive the editor; the rest of the job still lands on a person. screenRIG was built for the agent to run, from the control plane up. People can watch and edit pages in the dashboard.
- **Signage + MCP server:** a person operates. Person → editor → screens, with the agent working through an MCP server bolted onto the editor.
- **screenRIG:** your agent operates. Agent → control plane → screens, and people can watch and edit pages in the dashboard.
| Where it shows | Signage + MCP server | screenRIG |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Setting up a screen | Varies. Some need a person to sign up and hand the agent a key; others let the agent open a one-screen free account. | Your agent enrolls the project, pairs the screen from its code, and goes straight to content. |
| Making the content | Built in the editor, from its templates. | Your agent prepares media, slides and web apps. People can edit pages in the dashboard. |
| When something fails | An error written for a person, who works out the fix. | A stable code and what to do next, often the exact command. A retried write returns the first result. |
| What done means | Saved or rendered on the server, sometimes with a preview of what should be showing. | The Player confirms playback; a screenshot helps inspect the screen. |
| Pricing | Per screen, or a flat plan with a screen cap. A free account usually covers one screen. | screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. There is no per-screen fee. |
Platforms differ. Test yours: run one real task through its MCP server with no one helping, and count the steps a person still does. [Five questions to ask](https://screenrig.ai/compare.md#retrofit).
## Why not build the stack myself?
You can. Then your team owns everything a screen needs to keep playing, on every device, for as long as it’s on the wall. On screenRIG it’s already running, and your agent drives it through one plugin.
Players: the Player web app (PWA), Android on Google Play, Amazon Signage Stick, Apple TV, macOS, Windows, Linux and Raspberry Pi packages, BrightSign, and Samsung Smart Signage (Tizen). [Install the Player](https://screenrig.ai/docs/players.md)
| What a screen needs | Build it yourself | screenRIG |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pairing and access | Device enrollment, credentials and revocation. | The screen shows a code, and your agent pairs it to the project. |
| Delivery and offline replay | Downloads, retries and a cache on every device. | Each Player caches media and replays it locally, offline included. |
| Media formats | Transcoding for every decoder you support. | The CLI converts images and video before upload. |
| Health and recovery | Monitoring and remote fixes for screens nobody is near. | Health reports, offline events, remote reboot and display power. |
| Proof of play | Screenshots, play logs and the reports built on them. | Verified publishing, screenshots and per-play records with CSV export. |
| Kiosk apps | Hosting and versioning for web apps. | Immutable releases on their own origin, pinned per playlist. |
| State and events | A data store and an event pipeline for interactive screens. | Key/value state that survives releases, named events and signed webhooks. |
Choose something else when owning the screen runtime is the point. [Review the capabilities](https://screenrig.ai/features.md).
## What agent-native means
From the control plane up. An API, a CLI or an MCP server can be added to any product. Agent-native is how the product behaves when an agent runs it with no one watching: what each command returns, how failures recover, and how the agent proves the result. [Watch the introduction film](https://screenrig.ai/videos/introduction.md).
1. **The agent is the operator.** Enrollment creates the project. Once the screen is paired, your agent goes straight to content. Your dashboard invitation arrives by email; nothing waits on it.
2. **A machine-first control plane.** Commands answer in JSON with a request ID, or an error with a stable code. The agent reads its own permissions and each Player’s capabilities before it acts.
3. **Author locally, deploy remotely.** The CLI converts media, renders slides and packs web apps on the agent’s machine. The agent checks the result, then uploads it.
4. **Errors designed for recovery.** Every error says what was wrong and what to do, often with the exact next command. A stale write returns the current revision.
5. **Safe retries, partial progress.** Writes carry idempotency keys, so a rerun returns the first result. Fleet commands report each screen, and the agent retries only failures.
6. **Verify what is actually playing.** Assigned and playing are different states. Publishing says why a screen isn’t playing yet; a screenshot helps inspect the screen.
7. **A physical deployment target.** A coding agent’s web app becomes an immutable release on its own origin, pinned in a playlist and checked on the screen.
8. **Dashboard for visibility, agent for operation.** People watch screens, playback, usage and activity, take screenshots, and edit pages and playlists. The agent can create and publish content too.
[Read the agent workflow](https://screenrig.ai/docs/agents.md) · [Errors and retries](https://screenrig.ai/docs/cli.md#conventions)
## Can an agent use my existing signage system?
Run one real task through it, end to end, with no one helping. Count the steps that still need a person, and check how it’s priced. If it answers yes to all five, keep it.
1. Can your agent discover the tools it needs?
2. Can it use authorized access without a person pasting credentials?
3. Can it publish the content you actually show, including video and apps?
4. Can it update content safely without breaking what’s on screen?
5. Can it verify what played, with a screenshot or playback record?
## More comparisons
- [Anthias Alternative for Raspberry Pi Screens](https://screenrig.ai/compare/anthias-alternative.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Anthias is free too, but runs one screen per copy. See an agent build a library's screen loop from one chat.
- [Digital Signage MCP Servers Compared (Oct 2026)](https://screenrig.ai/compare/digital-signage-mcp-servers.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Ten signage MCP servers compared from their own docs on 27 Oct 2026: sign-in, plans, safety and one real job.
- [Free Digital Signage Software Compared](https://screenrig.ai/compare/free-digital-signage-software.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. 15 free signage options ranked on 2026-10-27, screenRIG first: free offers, trials and open source.
- [Free Yodeck Alternative for Small Shops](https://screenrig.ai/compare/yodeck-alternative.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. What Yodeck costs past one screen, and a counter promo your agent builds from one chat message.
- [OptiSigns Alternative With No Logo on Screens](https://screenrig.ai/compare/optisigns-alternative.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. OptiSigns' free plan puts its logo on your screens. See a café counter board your agent builds by chat.
- [Rise Vision Alternative for Schools](https://screenrig.ai/compare/rise-vision-alternative.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Rise Vision's K-12 prices beside a hallway board and a drill your agent runs from chat.
- [ScreenCloud Alternative for Office Screens](https://screenrig.ai/compare/screencloud-alternative.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. What ScreenCloud costs per screen, and an office wall your agent builds from the tools it already uses.
- [Screenly Alternative for Custom Screen Apps](https://screenrig.ai/compare/screenly-alternative.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Screenly's plans beside a screen app your agent builds: a now-serving board, changed with one message.
- [Xibo Alternative With No Servers to Run](https://screenrig.ai/compare/xibo-alternative.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Xibo is free if you host it yourself. See what that takes, and a hosted wall your agent builds.
## Try it on your actual screen
Pick a real menu, video or kiosk app. Install the official plugin and the Player. Tell your agent to publish it, then check the screenshot and playback records. screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more.
[Set up your agent](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start.md) · [Estimate your cost](https://screenrig.ai/pricing.md#estimate)