CaptiFi vs CaptiveWiFi
A balanced 2026 comparison: feature matrix, pricing, ideal-customer profiles, and an honest verdict on which platform fits your business.
Quick verdict: CaptiFi or CaptiveWiFi?
CaptiveWiFi is a credible UK guest-WiFi platform with a free single-venue tier, a deep UK hospitality integration catalogue and a podcast community. CaptiFi wins when a venue has no access point to bring (a starter device is included, refundable deposit), wants more than a 1,000-message monthly feedback cap, sells across borders in six retail currencies, or wants a review footprint it can check: as of August 2026 CaptiveWiFi has a 4.0/5 Trustpilot score from 4 reviews and no G2 reviews.
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.
Feature comparison
| Feature |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Starter device included (refundable deposit) | 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 31 August 2026. Pricing and features change: check the CaptiveWiFi 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)
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 deposit), 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 side by side
CaptiFi
£39/month billed annually
or £49/month month-to-month
- Hardware included (refundable deposit)
- Every integration included on Growth and above
- 30-day free trial.
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 includes a starter device with every plan (refundable deposit), 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 31 August 2026. Check the CaptiveWiFi site for current pricing.
Lite: £19.99 a month on your own network
Already have UniFi, Omada or Meraki? 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.
How switching from CaptiveWiFi works
Start your free trial
Sign up in minutes. 30-day free trial. Hardware included (refundable deposit), and no plan payment is taken during the trial.
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.
Switch off CaptiveWiFi
Rebuild your splash page, turn on email and review automation, and cancel your CaptiveWiFi subscription once you're confident.
Weighing up a move? Read the CaptiveWiFi alternative guide or see all comparisons.
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 includes a starter device with every plan (refundable deposit), 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 deposit), 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.
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 public website when we last reviewed it, and may since have changed; check the vendor's current terms before you buy. Trade mark notices.
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.