# Portrait or landscape digital signage? What we learned from thousands of screens

> 13% of screens in our customer sample are portraits and the portrait share among cafe screens is more than four times that of corporate screens. Here’s what that means for your next menu board.

Source: https://signagespace.com/blog/portrait-or-landscape-digital-signage/

By SignageSpace · 2026-10-15

13% of [screens](https://signagespace.com/digital-signage-displays/) in our customer sample are portraits and the portrait share among cafe screens is more than four times that of corporate screens. Here’s what that means for your next menu board.

You’ve picked the spot for your screen. Perhaps it’s beside the coffee machine, behind the counter, or in the window where passersby can see today’s special. Now comes a surprisingly useful question: should it sit horizontally or vertically?

For a [cafe](https://signagespace.com/blog/cafe-signage/) or [restaurant](https://signagespace.com/blog/digital-signage-restaurants/) owner, that choice affects how your menu fits, how much room you have for photographs, and whether customers can read prices without stepping out of the queue. We wanted to understand what businesses actually choose.

Across thousands of paired screens, 13% are portrait: taller than they are wide. Among screens that checked in during the last month, that figure rises to 17%. Landscape remains the more common orientation. But look at where portrait screens appear, and the story becomes more interesting.

## Cafe screens have more than four times the portrait share of office screens

We grouped screens by the sector their accounts selected at signup.

**Sector**

**Portrait share**

Cafe

16.4%

Restaurant

15.5%

Education

4.2%

Corporate

3.7%

Other

11.2%

In this sector breakdown, 16.4% of cafe screens are portrait, compared with 3.7% of corporate screens; a difference of about 4.4 times. Restaurants sit close to cafes, at 15.5%.

That doesn’t mean most cafes choose portraits. Even here, landscape is far more common. It means vertical screens account for a noticeably larger share of café and restaurant installations than office installations in our sample. Why might that be?

Think about the wall beside your counter and what you want to put on it.

![](https://imagedelivery.net/7qGmGrk0AqikHI3DUynqiQ/fdb16001-cc05-4b0e-bb91-6b63882f2900/publichd)

## A coffee menu and a wide wall ask for different layouts

- Imagine a simple cafe menu;
- Espresso
- Flat white
- Cappuccino
- Today’s cake

A vertical layout gives that list room to run down the screen, with prices alongside it and a heading above. It may also suit a narrow wall segment beside the till. Now imagine a restaurant menu with three categories: burgers, sides, and drinks. A landscape layout gives those categories room to sit side by side. Neither orientation creates more screen area. Turning the same screen simply changes where the space is available. Portrait gives you more height for stacked content. Landscape gives you more width for columns and wide images.

That is one plausible explanation for the sector difference: the shape of the available space and the shape of the content may influence the choice. Our data records the orientation, however, not the customer’s reason for choosing it. For your own business, the useful question is:

*Which layout makes the next customer’s decision easier?*

## When portrait is worth trying

Portrait is a useful layout to test when your content naturally reads from top to bottom.

For a cafe, that might be a drinks list beside the ordering point. For a restaurant, it could be a short lunch menu near the entrance. For a salon or another service business, it might be a list of treatments and prices.

A window promotion can also work as a vertical composition: a headline, one strong photograph, an offer, and a clear next step. The key is to use the height thoughtfully. More room down the screen is not an invitation to squeeze in every product you sell.

Try putting your real content into a portrait layout. If names wrap awkwardly or prices become crowded, simplify the menu or test landscape before reducing the text size.

## When landscape makes more sense

Landscape is worth testing when customers need to compare categories across the screen or when your content is already designed for a wide frame.

Think of a menu board above a restaurant counter, with meals, extras, and drinks arranged in separate columns. Or a café display built around a wide photograph of the breakfast selection.

👉 Read next: [Restaurant digital menu board mistakes to avoid](https://signagespace.com/blog/menu-board-mistakes/)

An existing television can also make landscape a practical starting point, provided the location and layout work for the customer. There is no need to rotate a screen simply because the portrait looks different. Start with the information people need, then choose the frame that presents it clearly.

## What does the 17% active-screen figure tell us?

Portrait accounts for 13% of all paired screens in our analysis, rising to 17% among screens that checked in during the last month. That tells us portrait is more common within the recently active group.

It does not establish that portrait screens last longer, receive more attention, or perform better. To answer those questions, we would need to track installations over time and measure their outcomes.

For owners, the useful takeaway is modest: portrait is a format used in active installations, even though landscape remains the majority choice.

## Before you mount it, try the menu test

You don’t need an industry average to make the final decision. You need your menu, your space, and a view from where your customers stand.

1. **Build one realistic layout in each orientation.** Use actual item names, prices, photographs, and service descriptions.
2. **Compare them at the intended display size.** A layout that looks tidy on your laptop may feel crowded on the wall.
3. **Read them from the customer’s position.** Can someone in the queue find an item and its price comfortably?
4. **Check the awkward content.** Test your longest product name, your busiest menu section, and any offers with extra details.
5. **Choose the orientation before finalising the mount and templates.** Changing it later can mean both physical work and a content redesign.

If you install signage for cafés and restaurants, bring both versions to the customer. A familiar menu showing two ways makes the decision much easier than asking, “Portrait or landscape?”

## Choose the shape around the customer’s task

Our customer data shows that portrait is more common among café and restaurant screens than corporate screens. It does not show that portraits are universally better.

A vertical drinks list beside the till may be exactly right. So may a wide menu above the counter. Start with what customers need to see, give it enough room to be readable, and let that guide the orientation. Before you turn the screen, try turning the menu.

**👉 Start for free at**[signagespace.com](http://signagespace.com)