Dash vs Joan in 2026: Room Display Pricing and Features Compared

Summary: For room displays alone, Dash (made by us) is roughly 4 to 10 times cheaper per year than Joan, but the two are built for different jobs. As of October 2026, 2 to 40 displays cost about $96 to $1,915 a year on Dash Business ($3.99 per display per month), against an estimated $610 to $15,000 on Joan. Joan is the better fit if you need desk booking, visitor management, and digital signage in one platform, or if you can't run power to a display. Dash is the better fit if room displays are all you need.

Joan, made by Visionect, is a full workplace platform covering room booking, desk booking, visitor management, digital signage, and parking / asset management. Joan sells its own battery-powered e-paper displays ($399 to $899 each), which can run for 3 to 6 months per charge (Joan's best-case figures), but they are black and white and update slowly.

Dash is a meeting room display app that runs on iPads and iPhones, Android tablets and phones, Amazon Fire tablets, and PoE panels, including spare devices you already own. Dash displays in color on almost all devices, has on-display controls for booking, check-in, and extending or ending meetings, and offers a free read-only tier.

What is Joan?

Joan, made by Visionect, is a full workplace management solution. It includes products covering visitor management, digital multimedia signage, desk booking, and parking / asset management, as well as a meeting room booking solution.

Joan's room booking system works with its own proprietary e-paper-based room displays, and also has support for third-party tablets and room displays via a web app.

E-paper vs. tablets

Joan's proprietary e-paper displays are one of its key selling points. Unlike standard tablet displays, which emit light all the time, e-paper displays only use power when the information on the display changes. This means that Joan devices can have a very long battery life (on the order of months), so if you aren't able to mount your room displays near a power source, they can be a good option. They're also more visible than a standard tablet in direct sunlight, as e-paper screens reflect light instead of emitting it.

There are a few downsides to e-paper screens to consider:

• Slow response: E-paper screens can take a long time to update (up to three-quarters of a second for a full screen refresh), so the experience isn't nearly as responsive as a traditional tablet.
• Slow updates: In standard mode, Joan displays stay connected to the server, but in the battery-saving EcoSync mode they sync at intervals, so recent bookings might not appear until the next sync.
• No color: Joan's displays are black and white, so there's no color cue to see if a room is free or busy from a distance. Joan does offer a PoE mount for the 6 Pro that adds a colored LED status light, but at that point you may find that a standard tablet works better.
• Inconsistent battery life: Since e-paper screens use power every time they're updated, you'll get less battery life if your room has a lot of meetings, or if the display is used for booking often.

The cost

Hardware

Joan offers its own proprietary e-paper displays, and there are three models available (source: Joan store):

• $399 Joan 6 RE: A 6" room display that offers a battery life of up to 3 months.
• $749 Joan 6 Pro: A 6" room display that offers a battery life of up to 6 months.
• $899 Joan 13 Pro: A 13" room display that offers a battery life of up to 6 months.

There is also a discontinued Joan 13 model, which doesn't have a touchscreen, so it can only display information.

If you have Power over Ethernet (PoE) available nearby, Joan also offers PoE wall mounts ($239 for the Joan 6 Pro and $299 for the 13 Pro) that remove the need for regular charging. The 6" mount also includes a colored LED status light.

By comparison, Dash supports a wide range of consumer tablets and professional room displays. For example, you can purchase an Amazon Fire HD 10 for $150 or a PoE Texas room display device with PoE and a colored LED status light for $279.99. If you have spare devices, you can repurpose them as meeting room displays for no cost at all.

Subscription

Joan doesn't sell its solution in parts, so its pricing is based around a license that includes every feature, sized by the number of room display devices you have and the number of people with a Joan account. Some example annual subscription prices are:

Prices are current as of October 2026. Joan figures are estimates from its published USD pricing (annual billing; sources: Joan detailed pricing and Joan pricing), assuming no more accounts than each plan's allowance. Dash Business is $47.88 per display per year. Dash Enterprise is quoted per customer, and the figures shown use standard quoted rates of $72 per display per year for up to 19 displays, $66 for 20 to 24 displays, and $60 for 25 or more displays. See our pricing page for more information.

The Joan estimates are calculated from the base plan's annual price. Team includes 2 devices, Business 5, Organization 10 and Enterprise+ 20. We add extra devices as needed, with each extra device costing $10.99 a month ($131.88 a year):

• 2 devices: Team plan, $51 × 12 = $612.
• 7 devices: Business plan, $234 × 12 + 2 extra devices × $131.88 = $3,072.
• 15 devices: Organization plan, $529 × 12 + 5 extra devices × $131.88 = $7,007.
• 22 devices: Organization plan, $529 × 12 + 12 extra devices × $131.88 = $7,931.
• 25 devices: Organization plan, $529 × 12 + 15 extra devices × $131.88 = $8,326.
• 40 devices: Enterprise+ plan, $1,069 × 12 + 20 extra devices × $131.88 = $15,466.

The table rounds these to two significant figures, but the "cheaper" multiples are calculated from the unrounded costs.

Side-by-side

Which should you choose?

Choose Joan if:

• You also want desk booking, visitor management, digital signage, and parking / asset management in a unified platform from the same vendor.
• You can't run power or Ethernet to the room and want battery-powered displays, which can last months between charges.
• You want a low-power e-paper screen that stays readable in direct sunlight, and you're happy with a black-and-white display that updates slowly.

Choose Dash if:

• Meeting room displays are all you need, or you already have visitor management, digital signage, and/or desk booking from other vendors.
• You want to use iPads, iPhones, Android tablets and phones, or Amazon Fire tablets (including spare devices you already own), or low-cost PoE panels.
• You want a color screen that shows free or busy from down the hall, and the speed of an ordinary tablet.
• You use on-premise Exchange or CalDAV and you want to avoid exposing it to the internet.
• You want a cost-effective solution. In our examples, Dash is roughly 4 to 10 times cheaper per year, and you can start with the free read-only display.

Where Joan makes sense

Joan offers a complete workplace management solution, so if you're looking for features such as visitor management, a dedicated room and equipment booking app for staff, and digital signage, then Joan can be a good choice.

The clearest advantage of Joan is the long battery life of its display devices, making them ideal for locations where it isn't possible to run power. However, these devices come with trade-offs when compared to traditional room displays, so we recommend looking into running power at your location before making a final decision. If mains power isn't possible, running Ethernet cables for PoE can often be done quite cheaply, but Joan's mounts cost $239 to $299 each on top of the display cost.

Where Dash makes sense

Dash focuses on meeting room displays, so if you don't need Joan's other features (or if you already have other solutions for those), then Dash can be a good choice. Dash's room display app also offers more control: room booking, check-in, ending and extending meetings, and finding free rooms are all available directly on the Dash display (with a Dash Business or Dash Enterprise subscription) and are more configurable than Joan's equivalents. For example, Joan's 6 RE and 6 Pro don't allow you to book more than 7 days in advance, or add attendees when booking from the display. Dash allows both. Joan's e-paper displays are slower to respond than a tablet, and the lack of color cues makes it harder to tell if a room is busy or free from a distance, unless you use a Joan 6 Pro with its PoE mount.

For room displays alone, Dash is also far cheaper than Joan, with typical Dash subscriptions being a quarter or less of the cost of a Joan subscription for the same number of displays (with Dash Business being up to 10× cheaper). Even if you need to run power to your room displays, the savings can pay for the installation very quickly.

Common questions

How much does Joan cost?

Joan has four subscription tiers, and each includes a set number of devices (room displays or digital signs) and Joan accounts (which give you access to Joan's mobile and web apps). For example, its cheapest plan ("Team") starts at $51 per month and includes 2 devices and 20 Joan accounts. You can add more devices for $10.99 a month each and more accounts for $1.09 a month each, up to 5 devices and 50 accounts in total. If you need more, you'll have to purchase a more expensive plan. The "Business" plan costs $234 per month, and allows up to 12 devices. There are also "Organization" and "Enterprise+" plans that allow more devices for a higher price (source: Joan pricing).

Joan's displays cost $399 for the 6 RE, $749 for the 6 Pro and $899 for the 13 Pro. But you can also run Joan on other hardware using its web app.

Why is Joan more expensive than Dash?

Joan's price covers its whole platform, including desk booking, visitor management, digital signage, and parking / asset management, even if you just use room displays. Joan's FAQ says it offers "all solutions in one unified package" (source: Joan pricing), with pricing based on the number of users and displays. With Dash, you're paying just for meeting room displays.

Can I use my own tablets with Joan?

Yes, you can use Joan with your own hardware. Joan offers a web app that you can run on tablets and displays with a built-in web browser, and another web app designed for smart TVs and streaming devices. According to Joan, the tablet web app supports devices running Android 6 and above, and iOS 11 and above. Joan doesn't mention specific browser requirements for smart TVs, so we recommend testing on your device before you purchase a subscription.

Joan's tablet view is limited compared with a dedicated room display app like Dash. It shows the room's current status, with a basic schedule view and "Meet now" and "Meet later" buttons. Because it's a web app, you may need to adjust your tablet's settings or use a third-party tool to keep the screen awake. We recommend comparing the Joan web app with Dash's features.

How long does a Joan display's battery last?

Joan quotes up to 3 months of battery life for the 6 RE and up to 6 months for the 6 Pro and 13 Pro, assuming good Wi-Fi and five 10-hour working days per week. These are Joan's best-case figures: battery life can be reduced if your room is busy (because e-paper screens use power every time the screen updates), or if it has a weak Wi-Fi signal (because repeated reconnections drain the battery). Joan also has an EcoSync feature that extends battery life by syncing the room's schedule less often, but Joan's documentation isn't clear about whether its published battery life figures are for displays with EcoSync switched on or off.

You can connect the Pro models to permanent power over Ethernet (PoE) using the PoE wall mount accessory, which costs $239 for the 6 Pro or $299 for the 13 Pro. This removes the need to recharge your displays.

Does Joan work with on-premise Exchange?

Yes, you can use Joan with an on-premise Exchange server. Joan supports Exchange 2010, 2013 and 2016, but because Joan is a fully cloud-based solution, it needs to be able to reach your Exchange server from the internet. You'll need to give Joan a publicly accessible EWS address, and configure your firewall to allow inbound and outbound TCP connections on ports 80 and 443 from Joan's IP addresses. Joan also connects to only one calendar solution per account, so mixed environments need to be merged into one calendar.

Dash supports on-premise Exchange through the device's built-in calendar. Each display connects to your Exchange server directly, so you don't need to expose Exchange to the internet or allow special IP addresses through your firewall, as long as the display can reach it from your network. Our Exchange setup guide walks through the setup.

Do I need Dash Enterprise?

Dash Business and Dash Enterprise both include the same fully featured meeting room display app. Dash Business costs $3.99 per display per month ($47.88 a year). Dash Enterprise adds central configuration of your displays, room usage analytics, and a web app for smart TVs and other devices. If you don't need those features and are happy to configure each display individually, Dash Business is all you need.

We also offer Dash Free, a read-only room display that works well for businesses that only need a status display for their meeting rooms.

Does Dash replace Joan's desk booking and visitor management?

No, Dash doesn't include desk booking or visitor management. Dash is focused on meeting room displays and scheduling. If you need desk booking, visitor management or digital signage, you can consider a full workplace management platform like Joan, or you can pair Dash with other tools.

Can I try Dash before paying?

Yes, Dash is free to try. Dash's read-only display is free on unlimited screens and runs on almost any device (including spare devices you already own). The quick start guide walks you through the setup in about ten minutes.

We also offer a free one-month trial for both of our paid plans. To trial our Dash Business monthly subscription, just start a subscription from within the app. The first month is free, and if you cancel during that month you won't be charged. If you would like to trial our Dash Business or Dash Enterprise annual plans, contact us, and we'll arrange it.

Joan offers a free trial of its Team and Business plans, but no free tier.