CaptiFi vs DesignMyNight
Features and prices side by side, with DesignMyNight's details taken from its own website, and a short verdict on which venues each one suits.
Quick verdict: CaptiFi or DesignMyNight?
DesignMyNight sells reach: Tonic Ticketing costs the organiser nothing to use and earns booking fees of 10%, 8% and 6%, with events put in front of an audience it puts at up to 3.9 million a month. CaptiFi Events sells from your own event page at 7.5%, 6% and 4.5% with card processing included, pays your own Stripe account and adds each buyer to the guest list your WiFi is building. If you need discovery, keep a discovery channel too.
What is DesignMyNight?
DesignMyNight is a UK nights-out discovery platform run by WFL Media Ltd, which is owned by The Access Group; its venue page says "We're not a listing site." Its ticketing product, Tonic Ticketing (Tonic Evo), is free for event organisers and earns from a booking fee the venue can pass to the buyer or absorb: no fee on free tickets, 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. Events sold through Tonic go in front of designmynight.com's audience, which the company says reaches up to 3.9 million people a month across the UK, with placement across its website, social media and newsletter. Ticket sales can go straight into Access Collins, the group's booking system, Tonic is integrated with the Acteol SE CRM, and its page talks about collecting data and contacting ticket holders. CaptiFi sells tickets from the venue's own event page, pays into the venue's own Stripe account and adds each buyer to the guest list its WiFi has built, at 7.5% up to GBP20, 6% up to GBP50 and 4.5% above.
Feature 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 |
Last reviewed 28 October 2026. Pricing and features change: check the DesignMyNight site for the most current information.
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.
DesignMyNight strengths
- A discovery audience: designmynight.com, which the company says reaches up to 3.9 million people a month across the UK
- Placement across DesignMyNight's website, social media and newsletter
- Free for event organisers, with no card processing fees passed on, and the venue chooses whether the buyer pays the booking fee
- A free ticket scanning app for the door
- Ticket sales can go straight into Access Collins as bookings, and Tonic is integrated with the Acteol SE CRM
Where CaptiFi differs
- 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.
Which venues each one suits
Pick DesignMyNight if
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.
Pick CaptiFi if
Venues with an audience of their own, or one they can build. CaptiFi turns the WiFi guests connect to into a guest list, sells tickets from your own event page at 7.5%, 6% and 4.5%, pays into your own Stripe account, and adds each buyer to the list you email next month.
Pricing side by side
CaptiFi
£39/month for Essentials, billed yearly
or £49/month billed monthly
- The CaptiFi device on every plan, refundable deposit
- Every integration included on Growth and above
- A 30-day trial on every plan; you add a card to start
DesignMyNight
Tonic Ticketing booking fees, from designmynight.com on 28 October 2026: no fee on free tickets, 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 no charge to the organiser for using it. Access publishes Access Collins, its booking system, from GBP149 a month per site, and the Acteol SE CRM at GBP165 a month per site. CaptiFi Events charges 7.5% up to GBP20, 6% up to GBP50 and 4.5% above, with card processing included and nothing on free tickets, on top of a CaptiFi subscription. A 50p minimum applies, so under GBP5 the CaptiFi fee is the higher of the two, at GBP5 they match, and above GBP5 the CaptiFi fee is lower: GBP1.13 against GBP1.50 on a GBP15 ticket, GBP2.70 against GBP3.60 on GBP45, and GBP4.50 against GBP6.00 on GBP100.
Last reviewed 28 October 2026. Check the DesignMyNight site for current pricing.
How switching from DesignMyNight works
Start your free trial
Start a 30-day trial on any plan. You add a card to start, no plan payment is taken during the trial, and the CaptiFi device ships on every plan against a refundable deposit.
Connect your WiFi
Point your existing access points at CaptiFi (UniFi, TP-Link Omada, Cisco Meraki, Aruba Instant On, MikroTik, Ruckus and more) or plug in the CaptiFi device.
Switch off DesignMyNight
Rebuild your splash page, turn on email and review automation, and cancel your DesignMyNight subscription once you're confident.
Weighing up a move? Read the DesignMyNight alternative guide or see all comparisons.
CaptiFi vs DesignMyNight FAQs
How does DesignMyNight pricing compare with CaptiFi?
Tonic Ticketing booking fees, from designmynight.com on 28 October 2026: no fee on free tickets, 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 no charge to the organiser for using it. Access publishes Access Collins, its booking system, from GBP149 a month per site, and the Acteol SE CRM at GBP165 a month per site. CaptiFi Events charges 7.5% up to GBP20, 6% up to GBP50 and 4.5% above, with card processing included and nothing on free tickets, on top of a CaptiFi subscription. A 50p minimum applies, so under GBP5 the CaptiFi fee is the higher of the two, at GBP5 they match, and above GBP5 the CaptiFi fee is lower: GBP1.13 against GBP1.50 on a GBP15 ticket, GBP2.70 against GBP3.60 on GBP45, and GBP4.50 against GBP6.00 on GBP100.
When should I pick DesignMyNight over CaptiFi?
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.
When should I pick CaptiFi over DesignMyNight?
Venues with an audience of their own, or one they can build. CaptiFi turns the WiFi guests connect to into a guest list, sells tickets from your own event page at 7.5%, 6% and 4.5%, pays into your own Stripe account, and adds each buyer to the list you email next month.
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.
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.