Best UniFi Captive Portal Software
Captive portal platforms that run on Ubiquiti UniFi, side by side with UniFi's own hotspot portal: who keeps a guest list, who sends email and review requests, and what each one costs.
CaptiFi runs on UniFi through its external portal option and keeps a guest list on every plan.
It works with UniFi consoles and controllers (UDM, UDM-Pro, Cloud Gateway and a self-hosted Network Server) and turns guest WiFi logins into a contact list, with each guest's marketing consent recorded. From Essentials, the same plan sends review requests and email campaigns; the integrations with Mailchimp, Toast POS, Twilio SMS and Leat loyalty come with Growth. Essentials is £49 a month, every plan starts with a 30-day trial (you add a card to start), and the CaptiFi device comes on every plan against a refundable deposit of £60.
CaptiFi is a guest WiFi marketing and captive portal platform for restaurants, bars, pubs, cafes, hotels, gyms, salons, retail and short-term rentals, built by CaptiFi Ltd in the UK and sold in GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD and NZD to venues worldwide.
UniFi Captive Portal Software Comparison
Competitor and vendor details are from each company's own website and documentation, checked 28 Oct 2026. Where a company's website doesn't mention something, the cell says so.
| Feature | CaptiFi | Beambox | Spotipo | UniFi's own portal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works with UniFi | Yes, through UniFi's external portal option | Yes, a cloud integration | Yes, UniFi is on its pricing page | Part of the UniFi Network application |
| Guest email capture | Every plan, with each guest's marketing consent recorded | Yes | Yes: email, phone, social, voucher, terms-only and password logins | No email field among its portal options |
| Automated review requests | From Essentials: Google, Tripadvisor and more | Review Automator on Pro | Not stated on its website | Not stated by Ubiquiti |
| Email campaigns | 1,000 emails a month on Essentials, 2,000 on Growth and 5,000 on Pro | Unlimited emails and automated behavioural emails on Growth | Syncs guests to Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, Zapier and more | Not stated by Ubiquiti |
| Toast POS integration | From Growth | Not stated on its website (Square POS is listed) | Not stated on its website | Not stated by Ubiquiti |
| Loyalty integration (Leat) | From Growth | Not stated on its website | Not stated on its website | Not stated by Ubiquiti |
| Text messages (SMS) | 250 free texts a month from Essentials | Twilio on Growth; 250 free SMS a month on Pro | Not stated on its website (phone login is listed) | Not stated by Ubiquiti |
| Other access point brands | Setup guides for 9 vendor ecosystems | Cloud integrations for UniFi, Meraki and Omada; self-install guides for Aruba, MikroTik, RUCKUS and Cambium | UniFi, MikroTik, Meraki, Aruba, Ruckus, Fortinet, Omada, DrayTek, Teltonika and more | UniFi hardware |
| Hardware | The CaptiFi device on every plan, refundable deposit of £60 | First Beambox device included with the trial; more for a one-off fee | Works with your existing router | Your UniFi console and access points |
| Billing | Monthly or yearly | Monthly or yearly | Monthly or yearly | Not applicable |
| Free trial | 30 days on every plan; you add a card to start | 30 days | 14 days, no card | Not applicable |
| Starting price | Essentials £49 a month, or £39 a month billed yearly | £29, £45 or £60 a month per location on monthly billing | $59 or $79 a month ($49 or $66 a month billed yearly) | Part of the UniFi Network application |
What CaptiFi adds to a UniFi network
UniFi integration
It works with UniFi consoles and controllers, the UDM, UDM-Pro, Cloud Gateway and a self-hosted Network Server among them, through the external portal option in UniFi's settings. A console stuck behind CGNAT or another router connects through the Remote Tunnel instead.
A guest list with consent
Guests give their name and email before they go online, and marketing consent is asked for separately, then recorded against each contact. Essentials covers up to 1,000 new guests a month, Growth 5,000 and Pro 15,000.
Review requests
From Essentials, CaptiFi sends each guest a review request after their visit, with links to Google, Tripadvisor and the other review sites you choose. The same plan covers email campaigns too (1,000 emails a month on Essentials, 2,000 on Growth and 5,000 on Pro).
Mixed hardware
UniFi at one site and TP-Link Omada at another? CaptiFi has setup guides for 9 vendor ecosystems (UniFi, Omada, Meraki, Aruba, MikroTik, Ruckus, Fortinet and DrayTek among them), and every venue sits in the same CaptiFi account.
Lite: £19.99 a month on your own network
Already run UniFi? Lite is guest capture and CSV export on the access points you have, 500 new guests a month, for one site. The splash page keeps CaptiFi branding.
Hardware Compatibility
CaptiFi has setup guides for 9 vendor ecosystems, so if you run UniFi today and add other hardware later, the same account covers it.
Already have WiFi hardware? We work with it.
CaptiFi has setup guides for 9 WiFi ecosystems. There's nothing to rip out: connect the access points you already have and you're live.
+ Cisco Catalyst
9 with setup guides
UniFi, Ubiquiti, Omada, TP-Link, Meraki, Cisco, Aruba, Instant On, HPE, MikroTik, RouterOS, RUCKUS, Fortinet, FortiGate, FortiAP and DrayTek are trade marks of their respective owners. CaptiFi is an independent guest WiFi platform that runs as an external captive portal on these vendors' access points and controllers. It is not made, certified, sponsored or endorsed by any of them, and vendor names appear here only to show compatibility. Setup guides describe each vendor's own configuration screens; where they differ, the vendor's documentation is the authority.
Don't have compatible hardware?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best captive portal software for UniFi? ▼
It depends on what you want the portal to do. UniFi's own hotspot portal covers passwords, vouchers, RADIUS, Facebook sign-in and paid access through Stripe, and it can hand guests over to an external portal server. Its list of portal options has no email field. CaptiFi plugs into that external portal option and keeps a guest list with each guest's marketing consent recorded, on every plan; from Essentials the same plan sends email campaigns and review requests. Essentials is £49 a month, every plan starts with a 30-day trial (you add a card to start), and the CaptiFi device comes on every plan against a refundable deposit of £60.
Can I capture emails from UniFi guest WiFi? ▼
Yes. With captive portal software like CaptiFi, you can require guests to enter their email address or phone number before accessing your UniFi WiFi network. The emails are captured automatically and can be used for marketing campaigns, review requests, and customer analytics.
Does CaptiFi work with UniFi Dream Machine and Cloud Gateway? ▼
Yes. CaptiFi works with UniFi controllers including the UniFi Dream Machine (UDM), UniFi Dream Machine Pro (UDM-Pro), UniFi Cloud Gateway and a self-hosted UniFi Network Server. It connects through the external portal option in UniFi's settings.
Does CaptiFi work with UniFi behind CGNAT or double NAT? ▼
Yes. A UniFi console behind another router, on an ISP using CGNAT, or behind an ISP router you do not control connects through the Remote Tunnel: the console dials out to CaptiFi, so no inbound ports or port forwards are needed. It runs on Dream Machines, Cloud Gateways and Cloud Key Gen2 and Gen2 Plus hardware, installs with a one-line command over SSH and reconnects by itself after a reboot. Consoles CaptiFi can reach connect with a UniFi API key instead. See the UniFi setup guide.
How much does UniFi captive portal software cost? ▼
CaptiFi Essentials is £49 a month, or £39 a month billed yearly, in GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD or NZD. Email campaigns and review requests come with Essentials and above; integrations and the API come with Growth (£89 a month), with no per-integration add-ons. The CaptiFi device comes on every plan against a refundable deposit of £60, and every plan starts with a 30-day trial. Beambox lists £29, £45 and £60 a month per location on monthly billing, with yearly plans also available, and a 30-day trial that includes the first Beambox device. Spotipo lists $59 or $79 a month, or $49 or $66 a month billed yearly, with a 14-day trial and no card needed. UniFi's own portal is part of the UniFi Network application. Competitor details are from each company's own website, checked 28 Oct 2026.
What is the difference between UniFi built-in guest portal and CaptiFi? ▼
UniFi's own hotspot portal decides who gets online: a password, vouchers, RADIUS, Facebook sign-in, paid access through Stripe, or a hand-off to an external portal server. Its list of portal options has no email field. CaptiFi uses that external portal option and adds a branded login page that collects each guest's name and email with their marketing consent recorded, review requests and email campaigns from Essentials, analytics, and, from Growth, integrations with Mailchimp, Toast POS, Twilio SMS and loyalty platforms like Leat.
Can I use CaptiFi with other access points besides UniFi? ▼
Yes. CaptiFi has setup guides for 9 vendor ecosystems: UniFi, TP-Link Omada, Cisco Meraki, Cisco Catalyst, Aruba Instant On, MikroTik, Ruckus, Fortinet and DrayTek. If your venues run different hardware, they all sit in the same CaptiFi account.
Sources: Ubiquiti, UniFi hotspot portal options; Beambox, Pricing, home page, Our pricing options, Which installation method is right for you? and Integrations and exporting; Spotipo, Pricing and CRM integrations; all read on 28 October 2026. CaptiFi's details come from our own pricing page. Product names are trade marks of their owners; CaptiFi is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
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