CaptiFi vs CaptiveWiFi - Honest Comparison (2026)

Quick verdict: CaptiFi or CaptiveWiFi?

CaptiveWiFi is a credible UK guest-WiFi platform with a genuinely free single-venue tier, a deep UK hospitality integration catalogue and a real community presence through its podcast. CaptiFi wins when a venue has no access point to bring (a plug-and-play starter device is included with a refundable hold), wants higher guest-capture allowances than a 1,000-message monthly feedback cap, operates or resells across borders (six retail currencies, published wholesale partner rates), or wants a review footprint it can actually check: as of August 2026 CaptiveWiFi holds a 4.0/5 Trustpilot score from just 4 reviews with none in the last 12 months, and a G2 profile with no reviews.

About CaptiveWiFi

What is CaptiveWiFi?

CaptiveWiFi is a London-based guest-WiFi platform launched in 2021 by founder Adam Forman. It pairs branded splash pages with a large catalogue of UK hospitality integrations (50 plus listed, including SevenRooms, Collins, ResDiary, Airship, Leat, Pepper, Como, Paytronix, me&u, Square, Klaviyo, Brevo, Mailchimp and Dotdigital) and lists 18 plus WiFi controllers on its integrations page (UniFi, Meraki, Ruckus, Aruba, Fortinet, Omada, Alta Labs, MikroTik, Cisco and others). There is a genuinely free single-venue Starter tier, and the Growth tier adds advanced splash pages, a Connected Page link-in-bio, guest feedback messaging (capped at 1,000 messages a month), unlimited team members, an API, webhooks and SSO. It is bring-your-own access point only with no hardware option, its partner programme is informal (email support), and its verified review footprint is thin as of August 2026: Trustpilot 4.0/5 from 4 reviews with none in the last 12 months, and a G2 profile with no reviews. The founder also hosts the Captive Conversations hospitality podcast (85 plus episodes), which gives the brand a real UK community presence. Customer-scale figures in its marketing are self-reported and not independently verifiable.

captivewifi.com

Side by side

Feature comparison

Feature
Starter device included (refundable hold)	Yes	No
Free forever tier	No	1 venue, basic splash
UniFi, Omada, Meraki, Aruba, MikroTik and Ruckus support (vendor-listed)	Yes	Yes
Works with no existing access point at all	Yes	No
Automated Google review requests	Yes	Yes
TripAdvisor review prompts	Yes	Yes
No monthly messaging caps	Yes	1,000 feedback msgs/mo on Growth
Toast POS integration	Yes	not listed
Square POS integration	Yes	Yes
SumUp integration	Yes	not listed
Klaviyo and Mailchimp sync (native)	Yes	Yes
SevenRooms / Collins / ResDiary / Airship connectors	No	Yes
Connected Page link-in-bio	No	Growth plan
Customer REST API and webhooks	Yes	Growth plan
Single sign-on (SSO)	No	Growth plan
White-label partner programme with published wholesale rates	Yes	informal, by email
Retail pricing in GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD and NZD	Yes	GBP, USD, EUR, AED shown
30-day free trial	Yes	free tier instead

Last reviewed 2026-08-31. Pricing and features change - check CaptiveWiFi's site for the most current information.

CaptiveWiFi strengths

A genuinely free forever Starter tier: one venue with basic splash pages at no cost
Deep UK hospitality integration catalogue (50 plus listed): SevenRooms, Collins, ResDiary, Airship, Leat, Pepper, Como, Paytronix, me&u, Square, Klaviyo, Brevo, Mailchimp, Dotdigital
Broad vendor-listed controller support: 18 plus on its integrations page, including UniFi, Meraki, Ruckus, Aruba, Fortinet, Omada, Alta Labs, MikroTik and Cisco
Sentiment-routed review requests: positive guests are routed to Google or TripAdvisor, negative feedback is captured privately
Growth tier bundles an API, webhooks, SSO, unlimited team members and a Connected Page link-in-bio at a competitive per-venue price
Founder-led community presence: the Captive Conversations hospitality podcast has 85 plus episodes
Published, transparent pricing shown in GBP, USD, EUR and AED

Where CaptiFi differs

Bring-your-own access point only: no hardware option at all, so a venue without a compatible AP must source and configure its own
Guest feedback messaging on the Growth tier is capped at 1,000 messages per month
The free Starter tier is one venue with basic splash pages and no integrations
Partner programme is informal (email support@captivewifi.io) with no published wholesale rates
Thin verified review footprint as of August 2026: Trustpilot 4.0/5 from just 4 reviews with none in the last 12 months (Trustpilot itself flags the sample as unrepresentative), and a G2 profile with no reviews
Heavily UK-centric: no US case studies or US-market content, and retail pricing is shown in GBP, USD, EUR and AED only
No Toast POS or SumUp integration listed on its integrations page as of August 2026 (Square is)

Who should pick what

Honest recommendations

Pick CaptiveWiFi if

Single UK venues that already own a supported access point, want to start completely free, and live inside the UK hospitality stack CaptiveWiFi connects to (SevenRooms, Collins, ResDiary, Airship, Leat, Pepper), especially operators who value its founder-led podcast community.

Pick CaptiFi if

Hospitality operators who want the hardware included (refundable hold), review requests sent to every consenting guest from the Growth plan, POS coverage across Toast, Square and SumUp, retail pricing in six currencies, and a formal white-label partner programme with published wholesale rates.

Pricing

Pricing side by side

CaptiFi

$59/month billed annually

or $69/month month-to-month

Hardware included (refundable hold)
Every integration included on Growth and above
30-day free trial.

See full CaptiFi pricing

CaptiveWiFi

As of August 2026: Starter is free forever for one venue with basic splash pages and no integrations. Growth is £33 per venue per month billed annually (£40 billed monthly; about $42/$50 USD, with EUR and AED prices also shown). Enterprise is custom. CaptiFi has no free tier but includes a starter device (refundable hold), keeps captured contacts without per-contact fees, publishes retail prices in six currencies (GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD), and offers a self-serve 30-day trial.

Last reviewed 2026-08-31. Check CaptiveWiFi's site for current pricing.

Proof

A real venue on CaptiFi

Case Study

PytchAir

hospitality

How Johnny Palmer turned guest WiFi on his Boeing 727 Airbnb into a direct marketing channel: 400+ guest emails captured monthly and a 35% return booking rate.

400+

Emails Per Month

35%

Return Booking Rate

Read the case study

The switch

How switching from CaptiveWiFi works

1

Start your free trial

Sign up in minutes. 30-day free trial. Hardware included (refundable hold), and nothing is billed during the trial.

2

Connect your WiFi

Point your existing access points at CaptiFi (UniFi, TP-Link Omada, Cisco Meraki, Aruba, MikroTik, Ruckus and more) or plug in the starter device we ship.

3

Switch off CaptiveWiFi

Rebuild your splash page, turn on email and review automation, and cancel your CaptiveWiFi subscription once you're confident.

Start Free Trial Book a Demo

Weighing up a move? Read the CaptiveWiFi alternative guide or see all comparisons.

Common questions

CaptiFi vs CaptiveWiFi FAQs

Is CaptiFi cheaper than CaptiveWiFi?

As of August 2026: Starter is free forever for one venue with basic splash pages and no integrations. Growth is £33 per venue per month billed annually (£40 billed monthly; about $42/$50 USD, with EUR and AED prices also shown). Enterprise is custom. CaptiFi has no free tier but includes a starter device (refundable hold), keeps captured contacts without per-contact fees, publishes retail prices in six currencies (GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD), and offers a self-serve 30-day trial.

When should I pick CaptiveWiFi over CaptiFi?

Single UK venues that already own a supported access point, want to start completely free, and live inside the UK hospitality stack CaptiveWiFi connects to (SevenRooms, Collins, ResDiary, Airship, Leat, Pepper), especially operators who value its founder-led podcast community.

When is CaptiFi the better choice?

Hospitality operators who want the hardware included (refundable hold), review requests sent to every consenting guest from the Growth plan, POS coverage across Toast, Square and SumUp, retail pricing in six currencies, and a formal white-label partner programme with published wholesale rates.