DOOH vs. Billboards 2026: Honest Comparison (Cost, Reach, ROI)

30-second takeaway: Billboards are cheap per impression but rigid. DOOH costs comparably (from 2 EUR/day), goes live 5 minutes after upload, and delivers real play logs. For short campaigns, A/B tests and small budgets DOOH wins. For pure long-term brand presence on huge formats, billboards can still make sense.

Is billboard advertising dead? No. But in 2026 the comparison is no longer "cheap vs expensive" – it is "rigid vs flexible". Here is when each channel actually makes sense, including the cases where DOOH is the wrong choice.

Unlike classic billboard operators such as Gewista or JCDecaux — which require 2-4 week minimum bookings plus print and pasting costs and only release rate cards on request — adyoutiser is a self-service DOOH platform from 1 day, from EUR 2/day, from EUR 9 CPM on 16 indoor screens, 5 minutes from upload to live.

Key differences at a glance

Classic OOH means printed paper or vinyl on fixed surfaces, booked via agencies like Gewista or Epamedia. Minimum runtime is usually 2–4 weeks. Print and pasting cost extra, and Austria charges 5 percent Werbeabgabe (Werbeabgabegesetz 2000). DOOH means ads on digital screens in cafes, coworking spaces, gyms and hotels. With Adyoutiser your campaign runs 5 minutes after upload, day-by-day from 2 EUR/day, from 9 EUR CPM. Same 5 percent ad tax applies.

Comparison table

When billboards win

Be honest: if you are a big brand with year-round high-traffic presence and a six-figure budget, classic OOH is often more efficient per contact. Same for political campaigns, large city-light formats at bus stops, or mega boards on highways. Adyoutiser has 16 screens (12 Vienna + 4 Bratislava). That is not a replacement for a 500-spot Austria-wide campaign. If you need that, go to Gewista – here is our Gewista comparison.

When DOOH wins

You launch on Thursday and want to be live Friday? Impossible with print, trivial with DOOH. You want to A/B-test two creatives and scale the better one? DOOH is one slider, print is two print runs. You have 200 EUR budget? DOOH gives you 50–100 days. Print gives you zero posters. Plus DOOH delivers play logs accurate to plus/minus 1 percentage point SOV.

Combine instead of choose

For most SMBs the honest answer is: combine. Print for permanent brand presence at one key spot, DOOH for promos, A/B tests, launches. See our DOOH vs Print pillar page and all comparisons.

Get started

If you want to try DOOH without committing to weeks: at Adyoutiser you can book from 1 day. Upload, wait 5 minutes, live. Stop anytime.

Min. runtime	2 weeks	1 day
Time-to-live	5–10 days	5 minutes
Entry price	200–500 EUR/week	from 2 EUR/day
CPM	4–8 EUR	from 9 EUR
Mid-flight changes	no	yes
Reporting	estimates	real play logs
Ad tax (AT)	(qualitative share)	5%
Reach per spot	high (street)	medium (indoor, qualified)
A/B testing	no	yes

DOOH vs. Billboard Advertising 2026: Which Channel Actually Pays Off?

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