Looking for a DesignMyNight alternative?
CaptiFi is guest WiFi marketing for venues, with prices published in six currencies, its WiFi device on every plan against a refundable deposit, every integration from Growth, and a 30-day trial on every plan.
Where CaptiFi differs from DesignMyNight
Above GBP5 a ticket, the CaptiFi Events fee is lower: 7.5%, 6% and 4.5% against 10%, 8% and 6%.
CaptiFi pays ticket money into the venue's own Stripe account.
Every guest who signs in to the venue's WiFi joins its CaptiFi guest list, whether or not they buy a ticket.
Your next CaptiFi event shows on the WiFi connected screen, and table bookings with deposits come with Growth.
When is DesignMyNight the right pick?
Venues whose main need is to be found. If strangers need to discover your event and the booking fee is the price of that reach, a discovery platform with editorial, social and newsletter placement does something CaptiFi does not. If that sounds like you, DesignMyNight may suit you. CaptiFi is built for venues that want published prices in their own currency, its WiFi device against a refundable deposit, and every integration from Growth.
The five-minute comparison
| Feature |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| UK booking fee on a GBP15 ticket | GBP1.13 (7.5%) | GBP1.50 (10%) |
| UK booking fee on a GBP45 ticket | GBP2.70 (6%) | GBP3.60 (8%) |
| UK booking fee on a GBP100 ticket | GBP4.50 (4.5%) | GBP6.00 (6%) |
| UK booking fee on a GBP2 ticket | GBP0.50 (50p minimum) | GBP0.20 (10%) |
| Card processing included in the fee | Yes | Yes: no card processing fees passed on |
| No fee on free tickets | Yes | Yes |
| Venue chooses to absorb or pass on the fee | Yes | Yes |
| Fee source and read date | CaptiFi fee schedule, checked 28 October 2026 | designmynight.com/work-with-us/tonic-ticketing, read 28 October 2026 |
| Monthly platform fee for ticketing | Included in the CaptiFi subscription | None: free for event organisers |
| Money paid into the venue's own Stripe account | Yes | Not stated on its website |
| Your event in front of a consumer audience | No | Yes: a discovery platform it says reaches up to 3.9 million a month |
| Guest WiFi data capture | Yes | Access Collins connects to Wireless Social guest WiFi |
| Ticket buyers added to your own marketing list | Yes | Sales can flow into Access Collins and the Acteol SE CRM |
| Email marketing and automations | Included | Not on its ticketing page; Access sells the Acteol SE CRM separately |
| Automated Google review requests | Yes | Not listed on its ticketing page |
| Door check-in from a phone | Yes | Free ticket scanning app |
| Your next event shown on the WiFi connected screen | Yes | Not stated on its website |
| Events widget for your own website | Yes | Yes |
| Bookings and reservations | table bookings with deposits, and reservation check-in, on Growth and above | Access Collins, from GBP149 a month per site |
Ready to switch?
A 30-day trial on every plan. The CaptiFi device on every plan, on a refundable deposit. No setup fee.
Want the numbers? See full CaptiFi pricing.
Last reviewed 28 October 2026. Competitor names and logos are trade marks of their respective owners and are shown only to identify the products being compared. CaptiFi is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any company named on this page. Feature and pricing notes describe each product as we found it on its own public website on the date shown, and may since have changed; check the vendor's current terms before you buy. If you work for one of these companies and something here is out of date, email hello@captifi.io. Trade mark notices.
Details about DesignMyNight are from its own website, checked 28 October 2026. Sources: DesignMyNight: Tonic Ticketing, DesignMyNight: venue exposure, The Access Group: Access Collins booking system, The Access Group: Acteol pricing.
What each platform takes from a ticket
DesignMyNight publishes its Tonic Ticketing fees: no fee on a free ticket, 10% at GBP39.99 and under, 8% from GBP40 to GBP69.99, and 6% at GBP70 and above, with no card processing fees passed on and the venue choosing whether to pass the fee to the buyer or absorb it. Tonic is free for event organisers to use. CaptiFi Events works the same way at 7.5% up to GBP20, 6% up to GBP50 and 4.5% above that, card processing included, and nothing on a free ticket. A 50p minimum applies, so on a ticket under GBP5 the CaptiFi fee is the higher of the two, at GBP5 the two match, and above GBP5 the CaptiFi fee is lower. Figures read on 28 October 2026.
| UK ticket price | DesignMyNight | CaptiFi Events | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | No fee | No fee | Level |
| GBP2 | GBP0.20 (10%) | GBP0.50 (50p minimum) | GBP0.30 less, because of the 50p minimum |
| GBP15 | GBP1.50 (10%) | GBP1.13 (7.5%) | GBP0.37 more |
| GBP45 | GBP3.60 (8%) | GBP2.70 (6%) | GBP0.90 more |
| GBP100 | GBP6.00 (6%) | GBP4.50 (4.5%) | GBP1.50 more |
On a sold-out 300-capacity night at GBP15 a head, the gap is about GBP111 on one event, and a sold-out ticketed night every week takes it past GBP5,700 a year. CaptiFi retail pricing runs in six currencies, and the fee bands have their own thresholds in each one.
Whose audience are you selling to?
DesignMyNight is a discovery site first. Its pitch to a venue is reach: your event goes in front of a UK audience the company puts at up to 3.9 million a month, with placement across its website, social media and newsletter. For a venue nobody has heard of yet, that reach can be worth the fee. Ticket sales can also flow into Access Collins, The Access Group's booking system, and Tonic is integrated with the Acteol SE CRM, so a venue already on those products keeps its buyers there.
CaptiFi starts from the people already in the building. Every guest who connects to your WiFi joins your guest list with their consent recorded, so by the time you announce an event you already have the people who come in. They buy on your own event page, the money goes to your own Stripe account, and the buyer lands back in your list tagged as a ticket buyer, ready for the next announcement. Your next event also appears on the WiFi connected screen, so someone at your bar tonight sees it.
Plenty of venues will use both: a discovery channel for the nights that need new faces, and their own page for the regulars.
What moving your ticketing to CaptiFi looks like
You start a 30-day CaptiFi trial and connect your own Stripe account for paid tickets, which is the step that makes your venue the merchant rather than the platform. You create the event, add ticket types that are paid or free, and publish it to your venue's own events page. Buyers pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, get an email with one QR code per ticket, and your door staff scan them from a phone. An events widget puts the same listings on your own website.
Free events need no Stripe account at all, so an RSVP night can go up on the first day. Events and ticketing is included on the CaptiFi Growth plan and above, so check the plan before you start the trial if ticketing is the reason you are here. Nothing stops you listing the same event on a discovery site while you build your own audience; the two are not exclusive, and the fee you pay only ever applies to tickets sold through that channel.
When DesignMyNight is the right answer
If your problem is that nobody knows the event is on, a discovery platform solves something CaptiFi does not attempt. CaptiFi has no consumer audience to put your event in front of, no editorial team and no nights-out newsletter. It sells tickets to the list you already have. If that list is small today, the WiFi will build it, but it will not fill a room this Friday.
There is also the plain platform cost. Tonic is free for event organisers and earns from the booking fee alone, so if tickets are the only thing you need, their platform costs you nothing to hold and CaptiFi costs you a subscription. The comparison worth making is the fee per ticket plus everything else that subscription does: the WiFi capture, the guest list, the email and the review requests.
For bookings, DesignMyNight's sister product, Access Collins, is a booking system The Access Group sells from GBP149 a month per site, and Tonic ticket sales can flow straight into it as bookings, so a venue can take its tickets and its diary from one supplier there. CaptiFi includes table bookings on the Growth plan and above, with a booking page per venue, a diary, enquiries and deposits paid into your own Stripe account, and it marks a booker arrived when they connect to your WiFi. If you already run a diary you are happy with, CaptiFi can import those reservations and check them in against your WiFi instead.
DesignMyNight alternative FAQs
How do the ticket fees compare with DesignMyNight?
The CaptiFi fee is lower on every ticket above GBP5, equal at GBP5 and higher below it, because of its 50p minimum. DesignMyNight charges 10% at GBP39.99 and under, 8% from GBP40 to GBP69.99 and 6% at GBP70 and above. CaptiFi charges 7.5% up to GBP20, 6% up to GBP50 and 4.5% above that. On a GBP15 ticket that is GBP1.13 against GBP1.50, on GBP45 it is GBP2.70 against GBP3.60, and on GBP100 it is GBP4.50 against GBP6.00. Neither passes card processing on, and neither charges on free tickets. Figures read on 28 October 2026.
Who holds the ticket money?
With CaptiFi, your venue does. Paid tickets are charged to your own Stripe account, your name appears on the buyer's statement, and Stripe pays you out on your normal schedule. CaptiFi never holds ticket money; the booking fee is taken from the payment as it settles.
Do I keep the ticket buyers' details?
Yes. Every buyer is added to your CaptiFi guest list and tagged as a ticket buyer, with marketing consent recorded only where they gave it, and you can email that segment on its own for the next event.
Can I run free events without connecting Stripe?
Yes. Free tickets and RSVPs never touch Stripe and carry no fee on either platform. Connecting Stripe is only needed before your first paid ticket goes on sale.
Does CaptiFi replace Access Collins for bookings?
It can. CaptiFi Table bookings, on the Growth plan and above, gives each venue a booking page and a form for your own website, a diary for the day, enquiries for larger parties and deposits paid online into your own Stripe account with no CaptiFi fee. Every booker joins your guest list and is marked arrived when they connect to your WiFi. If you would rather keep the diary you have, CaptiFi imports those reservations and marks them attended or no-show from WiFi sign-ins instead.