Digital Signage Leasing in Finland 2026: an 8-vendor comparison and when leasing actually makes sense

A Finnish SMB looking at digital signage for a shop, restaurant, construction site or office has two ways to finance the hardware: buy it outright, or lease it on a 36-month contract. Buying saves on total cost but ties up capital up front. Leasing spreads the cost into a predictable monthly bill that bundles the software licence, installation and warranty into one number, and ends in a free swap to new screens after three years. For most Finnish SMBs leasing is the right call when cash flow and the technology refresh matter more than squeezing the last few percent off the headline price.

This article covers, practically, what digital signage leasing actually means in Finland in 2026, how leasing differs from buying, what Finland's eight largest signage vendors are offering, and what to read in the contract before you sign.

What digital signage leasing actually means

Leasing is a financing model where a third party (usually a leasing company such as Grenke Leasing Oy, or a bank) owns the equipment for the duration of the contract. The customer pays a fixed monthly amount to the financing company, typically covering the hardware, installation, warranty, and in many cases the software licence. In Finland, the standard B2B leasing contract runs 36 months. It has been the industry default for IT equipment and digital signage alike for a long time.

InfoBox's leasing partner is Grenke Leasing Oy, which has operated in Finland since 2008. The Finnish head office is in Vantaa, with regional offices in Turku, Tampere, Jyväskylä and Oulu. Finland is one of seven countries where Grenke's new business exceeded €100 million in 2024, with +18.4% year-on-year growth. In practice this means contracts are approved quickly and your account manager is always Finnish-speaking.

In practice a signage leasing package contains four things: the display itself (a professional 4K screen, not a consumer TV), digital signage software, a wall mount or stand, and pre-installation so the software is already on the device when it powers up. Depending on the vendor the package can also include on-site installation, content production, or 24/7 monitoring. These extras push the monthly price up, so it pays to confirm which of them you actually need.

At end of contract the customer has three options: buy the device out at a residual value (usually €50-100 per screen), sign a new contract with a fresh, current-generation screen, or return the equipment to the leasing company. The technology-refresh option is one of leasing's most important advantages over buying: after 36 months you have a free choice to upgrade, whereas a screen you own is aging on your balance sheet.

Lease or buy: which makes sense, when?

The decision is not just a spreadsheet exercise. Cash flow, tax treatment, technology refresh and headline total cost all carry weight.

Cash flow. Five 55-inch professional screens in Finland in 2026 will cost you roughly €5,500-6,000 to buy outright, including stands and basic installation. The same package on InfoBox's leasing comes in at about €175/month × 36 months = €6,300. Total cost is roughly €300 higher on leasing, but the purchase does not have to come out of working capital on day one. For an SMB with a tight cash position, a predictable €175/month almost always beats a single up-front payment.

Tax treatment. In Finland, leasing payments are fully deductible as business expenses in the year they are paid. A purchased screen is movable property, depreciated over four years on a straight-line basis (or 25% declining balance). Leasing therefore delivers the tax benefit sooner, while ownership benefits the balance sheet. Confirm specifics with your accountant, but in practice leasing is usually simpler to handle for an SMB.

Technology refresh. The technical lifespan of a professional signage display is 5-7 years. A 36-month lease ends just before the technology starts to feel dated, letting you swap to new screens without aging hardware sitting on your balance sheet. If you buy, you use the screens for their full lifespan, which is cheaper but also locks you into older technology.

Total cost. Leasing in Finland is on average 10-30% more expensive over 36 months than the same package bought outright. That is the financing margin. For most SMBs the gap is smaller than the gain from steady cash flow and the end-of-contract refresh option. If you already have capital and plan to use the screens for the full lifespan, buying wins. Otherwise, lease.

What does a professional signage display cost in Finland?

Let's anchor the conversation with real numbers. The closest publicly listed prices for professional signage in Finland come from Samsung's QM and QB series and the LG Signage UL3Q series. Resellers (Atea, Dustin) list approximately:

• 43-inch professional display: about €600
• 55-inch professional display: €860-1,200 (Samsung QM55C / QB55B)
• 65-inch: about €1,600
• 75-inch: about €2,200
• 86-inch: about €3,500

Maxhub does not publish consumer-facing list prices for Finland because their channel is integrator-only. InfoBox's leasing prices for the Maxhub line, multiplied out over the full 36 months, sit in the same range as the Samsung and LG equivalents: a 55-inch ND55CMB screen bundled with InfoBox software and a wall mount works out at around €1,260 per screen over 36 months.

A consumer Android TV (Sony, Philips, TCL, Vestel) at the same size from Verkkokauppa.com is 30-50% cheaper, but it is not designed for 24/7 operation and its warranty usually does not cover continuous use. When a consumer TV is enough as a signage screen, the answer is not always "you must buy a commercial display".

Finland's eight largest providers: side-by-side

The Finnish digital signage market has, in practice, eight vendors covering every customer segment from a single-restaurant SMB to a national chain with hundreds of screens. Detailed per-vendor comparison pages are linked below.

See the full comparison hub, with all eight vendors lined up by price, features and customer support criteria.

Total 36-month cost: side-by-side

Let's run the numbers on a concrete scenario: five 55-inch screens for one SMB, used for 36 months. Here's what each vendor's package adds up to.

The comparison shows clearly that InfoBox's leasing is about 2.8× cheaper than Storefy's equivalent for a like-for-like package, and considerably cheaper than the quote-based full-service vendors. If you use your own TVs and just buy the software, the total drops below €2,000. The gap to the more expensive full-service vendors is explained by two things: InfoBox is an SMB-focused cloud platform with public pricing, and it does not include content production or on-site 24/7 support in the monthly fee.

What to check before signing a leasing contract

Five things are worth verifying before you sign.

• Contract length. 36 months is the Finnish B2B leasing default. Shorter (24-month) contracts are rare and the monthly fee goes up. Longer (48-month) contracts lower the monthly fee but lock you in past the point where the technology will already feel dated. 36 months is usually the right balance.
• End-of-contract buyout price. Check up front how much it costs to buy the screen out at the end of the lease. On InfoBox this is €50 per screen. With other vendors it can be several hundred euros. If they don't volunteer the number, ask.
• What's included in the monthly fee. Surprisingly often unclear. Is the software licence in the price? What about installation, warranty, monitoring, updates? A low monthly fee can become expensive fast if any of these are billed separately.
• Mid-contract price escalation. Some contracts allow the vendor to raise the monthly fee tied to inflation or an index. Check whether the fee is fixed for the full 36 months or index-linked. InfoBox's leasing fee is fixed for the entire contract.
• Exiting mid-contract. If your business situation changes mid-lease (a location closes, the company is sold, you need fewer screens), how do you exit? Exiting is usually expensive because you owe the remaining monthly fees or their discounted present value. Consider starting with a smaller pilot volume and expanding later.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Five years in the digital signage industry, the same mistakes keep coming up. Here are the most common ones and how to avoid them.

• Over-specified package. An SMB buys a full-service offer that includes content production and 24/7 monitoring when their own marketing team and basic support would have been enough. Content production alone can add tens of percent to the monthly fee. Start small and add what you actually need.
• Contract length that's too long. If a vendor pushes a 48 or 60-month contract, the reason is usually a lower monthly fee, but the risk is bigger: the technology ages and you stay locked in. 36 months is almost always the right choice.
• Surprise buyout price. At the end of the lease you discover that buying the screen out costs €600 per unit when you assumed it was symbolic. Confirm up front and include it in the total cost calculation.
• Side fees not in the headline price. A typical finance lease contract carries side fees that don't always make it into the headline quote. For example, monthly billing can add about 1.5% to the monthly fee, a contract amendment typically costs €200, late interest is around 11.5%, and a reminder fee is €10. Ask the vendor to share the leasing company's standard contract terms before signing.
• Hidden content or software costs. The leasing monthly fee may only cover the hardware and basic use, with extras (Power BI integration, advanced scheduling, user permissions) billed separately. Confirm which features are in, which are out.
• VAT missed from the calculation. In Finland, all leasing payments carry the standard VAT of 25.5% (as of 1 September 2024). If the vendor quotes an ex-VAT price, the actual cash outflow each month is 25.5% higher. The VAT is recoverable, but the cash-flow impact still needs to be planned for.

What InfoBox's digital signage leasing includes

InfoBox's leasing package is built to be a straightforward option for a Finnish SMB. The same Maxhub professional display (43-98 inches, 4K UHD, 500 nits, 24/7-rated) covers every use case, whether you are running a restaurant, a construction site, an office or a retail store.

The package, for 36 months, includes:

• Display: Maxhub ND43CMB (43"), ND50CMB (50"), ND55CMB (55"), ND65CMB (65"), ND75CMB (75"), ND86CMB (86") or ND98CMB (98")
• InfoBox software: Platform licence (€9/screen/month, or €7/screen/month at 10+ screens), all integrations included (Power BI, Lounastaja, Sitedrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Canva, YouTube)
• Wall mount: fixed professional-grade bracket
• Pre-installation: the screen arrives ready to use with InfoBox software already installed
• Delivery: included in the monthly fee

Pricing by screen size: 43" €29/screen/month, 50" €33/screen/month, 55" €35/screen/month, 65" €43/screen/month, 75" €51/screen/month, 86" €71/screen/month. All prices include the InfoBox software licence (€9/screen/month for 1-9 screens, €7/screen/month at 10+ screens). Billing is quarterly via Grenke Leasing Oy by default; monthly billing is available with a €7/month order-level surcharge.

At end of contract you buy the screen out at €50 per screen, or sign a new contract with a current-generation screen. See the packages and book a demo. Or check the InfoBox software pricing for your own TVs.

Should you lease? A decision matrix

Use this matrix as a quick filter. For most situations there is a clear answer.

• Small budget, no capital on hand: leasing is the right route, spreading the cost across months. InfoBox's leasing is the cheapest publicly listed option.
• You already own TVs: don't buy new screens. Take InfoBox's software only (from €7/screen/month on annual billing) and save thousands. This is how most of our customers start.
• You need professional displays but lack capital: InfoBox's leasing at €27-125/screen/month is the direct option. Maxhub professional display, software and pre-installation in the same monthly fee.
• You are a large chain or a public procurement office: ZetaDisplay, iDiD or Firstview offer full-service projects with content production and 24/7 monitoring included. The price is higher, but more responsibility shifts to the vendor.
• You are a retail chain: Storefy's package, with Adbot generating ad videos automatically from product data and ESL handling dynamic price labels, is a direct fit. High price point, but engineered for retail.
• You need many ready-built integrations: InfoBox includes Power BI, Lounastaja, Sitedrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Canva and YouTube at every tier with no separate implementation project.

For most Finnish SMBs the InfoBox route, either software-only on your existing TVs or the turnkey leasing on Maxhub professional displays, is the cheapest and simplest way to get started. A large chain or public procurement office may benefit from the full-service approach a vendor like ZetaDisplay offers, but the price is several times higher.