Brix vs Carousel

Carousel alternative. Just $6/month.

Same broadcast scheduling, same approval workflows, same MFA + SOC 2 — without the 30-player minimum and the BYO BrightSign tax. Live in 2 minutes, month-to-month, no minimums.

Save $1,920/yr on 10 screens vs Carousel Pro at $22 (30-player min)
Every feature on the base plan — no tier upgrades
Switch in under an hour — we'll handle the migration, free

7-day free trial · No credit card required · Live in under 2 minutes

Brix
$6/mo
Flat. Every feature.
vs
Carousel
$22
Carousel Pro
10 screens, 1 year Save $1,920
10 screens, 3 years Save $5,760
$6
Per screen, flat
73%
Cheaper than Carousel Pro
<1hr
Average migration
100%
Features included
Why people switch from Carousel

Carousel is sized for districts. Brix is sized for everyone.

Reason 1

$6 vs $22 — without the player minimum

Carousel Pro is $22/screen/month with a 30-player minimum — that's a $660/month floor before you've installed a single screen. Brix is $6/screen flat with no minimum. Run one screen, run one hundred — the per-screen rate doesn't change.

Reason 2

No 'contact sales' for storage

Carousel caps cloud storage at 50 GB on Core, 100 GB on Pro, 500 GB on Enterprise. Add another 100 channels of HD video and you're talking to procurement again. Brix is unlimited storage on every plan.

Reason 3

Month-to-month, not annual contracts

Carousel runs annual contracts as standard. Brix is month-to-month — flex up, flex down, no penalty. If signage doesn't pull its weight, you can stop paying next month, not next renewal.

Pricing

Their tiers. Then ours.

Carousel tier ladder

  • Carousel Core $25 (10-player min)
  • Carousel Pro — most popular $22 (30-player min)
Brix Standard
$6
per screen / month, flat
  • 10 screens / 1 yearSave $1,920
  • 10 screens / 3 yearsSave $5,760
  • vs Carousel Pro73% cheaper
Feature comparison

Every feature. Every tier.

69 features compared head-to-head. Brix is the column on the left — every cell, every tier. Tier badges show which Carousel plan is required to unlock the feature.

Feature Brix · $6 flat Carousel Core
$25
Carousel Pro
$22
Content & media
Image upload & playback
Video upload & playback
Document upload & display (PDF, Word, PowerPoint) MS Office bulletins
Web pages / HTML / web URL Web Bulletins
YouTube / live streaming
Authenticated / secured web pages Public + basic auth PartialPartial
+ 1 more comparable feature in Content & media
Layout & design
Multi-zone / split-screen layouts Unlimited Zones
Drag-and-drop layout editor
Pre-built templates (count) Curated set Templated bulletins
Auto-size text / responsive templates Auto Size Text
Lockable layouts
Canva integration
+ 1 more comparable feature in Layout & design
Scheduling & playlists
Build playlists
Day-parting / time-of-day scheduling Discrete Daily Start/End
Working hours / screen schedules
Tag-based playlists / sub-playlists Media/Player/Zone Tags
Advanced media scheduling rules Dynamic Playlists
Per-asset expiry Auto Content Expiration
+ 6 more comparable features in Scheduling & playlists
Apps & integrations
App count 9 + custom-built on request Bulletins library
Custom-built apps on request
RSS / news / weather feeds
Slack integration Webhook-based
Power BI dashboards Pro+ only
Zapier integration
+ 1 more comparable feature in Apps & integrations
Interactive & kiosk
Interactive kiosk app Touch on Windows/Android TV Interactive BulletinsPartial
Storage & limits
Cloud storage Unlimited 50 GB100 GB
Screen count limit Unlimited 10-player min30-player min
Per-file upload size limit No fixed cap
Vendor logo on screen (free of)
Users, roles & workflow
Multi-user accounts Unlimited UnlimitedUnlimited
Team workspaces / channels Unlimited Channels
Role-based access control Custom Roles
Custom branding (white-label admin) Channel Branding
Folders for presentations / schedules / displays
Multi-language UI
Analytics & reporting
Proof-of-play / impression reporting Impression Tracking
Time-segment / date-range reports
Email notifications on display online/offline Last Check-In Alerting
Live snapshot / channel preview Channel Preview
Remote management (RDM)
Manage screens from web / mobile
Remote reboot
Power schedule (auto on/off) Power Save
Remote troubleshooting / diagnostics Player Dashboard
Remote software updates / MDM-driven Remote Software Updates + MDM
Zero-touch player provisioning Zero-Touch Configuration
+ 4 more comparable features in Remote management (RDM)
Security & compliance
Multi-factor authentication (MFA / passkeys) MFA + Passkeys
Audit logs System Health ChecksPartial
IP allow-list / restrictions
Custom data residency US/EU on request PartialPartial
Data encryption (at rest + in transit) TLS-Secured
Player lockdown (kiosk mode / secure registration) Secure Player Registration
+ 2 more comparable features in Security & compliance
Hardware compatibility
Amazon Signage Stick (Fire OS) Default device
Android TV / Google TV Chrome EnterprisePartial
Windows PC PWA + Screen Saver
Samsung Tizen native (SoC TV)
LG WebOS native
Raspberry Pi
+ 1 more comparable feature in Hardware compatibility
Support
Knowledge base / docs Carousel Academy
Email support 2-day SLA1-day SLA
Phone support
Video / scheduled remote support Pre-Scheduled Remote
Same-business-hour SLA 2-day1-day
US-based support team
+ 3 more comparable features in Support
Deployment options
Cloud / SaaS
On-premise install On request
Private cloud Custom on request
Billing
Free trial duration 7 days
Month-to-month billing
Minimum screen count None 10 min30 min
Migration

Switch in under an hour. Free.

1

Export from Carousel

Export your Carousel bulletins and channel definitions. Carousel's web admin lets you bulk-download media; channel layouts can be screenshot or rebuilt manually.

2

Upload to Brix

Drag and drop your assets — or send us the export and we handle it.

3

Pair your screens

Code-based pairing on the same hardware you already own. No reflashing.

4

We rebuild your schedules

Free, regardless of plan or screen count. Most migrations live the same day.

Need help? We'll do the migration for you.

Free, regardless of plan or screen count. Send us your export and we'll have you live before your next standup.

Talk to a real human
The honest take

What Carousel gets right. And where the math breaks.

What Carousel gets right

Carousel is a real platform. SOC 2 Type II + HECVAT + CAIQ + SIG + annual pen test on every tier — that compliance posture is best-in-class for the K-12 and corporate-comms segment they're sized for. The BrightSign and Apple TV support is genuinely useful if you've already standardised on those players. Carousel Daily — their mobile companion app — is a thoughtful answer to 'how do you reach people who walk past screens without looking up.'

If you're a 200+ player district with a procurement team that has SOC 2 on the checklist and BrightSign on the loading dock — Carousel is built for that exact buyer.

Where the pricing math breaks

Carousel publishes Core at $25/screen/month with a 10-player minimum, Pro at $22/screen/month with a 30-player minimum (yes, the larger plan is cheaper per-screen because of the volume floor), and Enterprise as custom-quoted with a 200-player base. Storage tiers: 50 GB / 100 GB / 500 GB.

A 30-player Pro deployment is $7,920/year — the smallest commitment Carousel will accept at that tier. The same 30-screen deployment on Brix is $2,160/year. That's a $5,760/year gap, every year, with no minimums and no annual contract.

For a 10-screen pilot, Carousel forces you onto Core at $25/screen ($3,000/year). Brix is $720. Carousel is sized for buyers who already know they need 30+ players; it's not built for the operator running their first signage rollout.

When Carousel is the right choice

Carousel is the right call when you're a school district, government agency, or distributed corporate office that needs full vendor risk paperwork (SOC 2, HECVAT, CAIQ, SIG), Apple TV / BrightSign hardware support, and a 200+ player rollout where the procurement team writes RFPs.

For SMBs, gyms, restaurants, churches, salons, retail, manufacturing comms screens — the 30-player minimum and annual contract make Carousel a non-starter. Brix runs that same playbook for $6/screen with no minimums.

FAQ

Real questions. Real answers.

"

We have fewer than 30 screens. Can we even use Carousel?

Only on Core at $25/screen with a 10-player minimum. For under 10 screens, Carousel won't sell to you at all. Brix has no minimum — run a single screen at $6/month.

"

Does Brix support BrightSign or Apple TV like Carousel does?

BrightSign via web URL, Apple TV via PWA. Native is on the roadmap; not shipped today. If your fleet is already 100% BrightSign and you can't change it, Carousel has the edge there. Most operators end up running Brix on the $99 Amazon Signage Stick instead — same software experience, no BYO tax.

"

What about SOC 2 / compliance paperwork?

Brix has security controls in place; SOC 2 attestation is on the roadmap, not in hand today. If your procurement team requires SOC 2, Carousel has it and we don't — yet. Talk to us if it's a 6-12 month timeline; we may be able to align.

"

Can I move my Carousel bulletins to Brix?

Yes. Send us your media library and channel layouts. We rebuild your channels and schedules for free, including multi-zone layouts. Most migrations live in under an hour.

"

Carousel runs annual contracts. Can we switch mid-contract?

Many customers run Brix in parallel for the last few months and cut over at renewal. Brix is month-to-month — no penalty for starting early or stopping later.

Switch today

Stop paying for tiers. Start at $6.

Carousel customers move to Brix every week. The migration is free. The price is flat. The features are all included.