CaptiFi vs Social WiFi
A balanced 2026 comparison: feature matrix, pricing, ideal-customer profiles, and an honest verdict on which platform fits your business.
Quick verdict: CaptiFi or Social WiFi?
Social WiFi is a mature, globally sold guest-WiFi marketing suite with broad hardware support, WhatsApp marketing and built-in loyalty, from €29 a month in the eurozone and £49 in the UK. CaptiFi wins when you want the hardware included (refundable deposit), a 30-day trial, POS spend data and a Leat connector, or when you are a UK venue that wants PECR spelled out, which Social WiFi's pages do not do as of September 2026.
What is Social WiFi?
Social WiFi is a guest-WiFi marketing platform run by Social WiFi Sp. z o.o. of Warsaw, Poland, trading since 2013 according to its site footer, with sales offices listed in Los Angeles, Bogota and Jakarta and prices set by the visitor's location. It pairs GDPR-consented data capture at the WiFi login with email campaigns (including an AI Email Creator), WhatsApp and SMS marketing, a built-in loyalty module, automated review requests that send happy guests to Google, Tripadvisor or Facebook and steer unhappy ones into a private complaint inbox with AI-drafted reply suggestions, and ad audience integrations for Facebook, Google, TikTok, Snapchat and X. It runs on hardware you already own: its hardware integrations page lists 21 vendor ecosystems, including UniFi, TP-Link Omada, Cisco Meraki, Aruba, MikroTik and Ruckus, and it sells no device of its own. Its about page cites 8,000 plus clients in 113 countries (self-reported, read 29 September 2026), while its public review footprint is thin: we could find only a single G2 review, dated 2016, so we treat its ratings as unknown. There is no UK entity, UK phone number or PECR wording on the pages we checked, which matters for UK venues sending marketing email and SMS.
Feature comparison
| Feature |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Starter device included (refundable deposit) | Yes | No |
| Native UniFi support | Yes | Yes |
| Native TP-Link Omada support | Yes | Yes |
| Native Cisco Meraki support | Yes | Yes |
| Aruba / MikroTik / Ruckus support | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-venue dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-location analytics in one view | Yes | not stated |
| Real-time analytics dashboard | Yes | not stated |
| Full CSS control and custom fonts on splash pages | Yes | not stated |
| Set-and-forget marketing automation | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in email marketing automation | Yes | Yes |
| Automated Google review requests | Yes | Yes |
| Toast POS / spend-based segmentation | Yes | No |
| Leat / loyalty integration | Yes | own loyalty module, no Leat |
| Twilio SMS welcome messages | Yes | not stated |
| Mailchimp sync (native) | Yes | Yes |
| GDPR audit trail | Yes | not stated |
| 30-day free trial | Yes | 14-day trial |
| Monthly (no-annual-lock) plan | Yes | Yes |
Last reviewed 3 October 2026. Pricing and features change: check the Social WiFi site for the most current information.
Social WiFi strengths
- Broad bring-your-own hardware support: 21 vendor ecosystems listed on its hardware integrations page as of September 2026, including UniFi, TP-Link Omada, Cisco Meraki and Catalyst, Aruba, MikroTik, Ruckus, Fortinet and Juniper Mist
- Sentiment-routed review requests to Google, Tripadvisor, Facebook, Yelp and others, with a private complaint inbox and AI-drafted reply suggestions
- WhatsApp marketing alongside email and SMS, plus a built-in loyalty module, so a venue does not need a separate loyalty vendor
- Every feature is included in every package as of September 2026, billed monthly with a 14-day free trial and cancel anytime
- Wide CRM connector list (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, Brevo, Revinate, SalesManago and others) plus Zapier, webhooks and full API access
- A formal reseller programme with published discount bands (30% rising to 50% on volume) and a white-label option for a monthly fee
Where CaptiFi differs
- No hardware supplied: its hardware page says you can start "without the need to change your existing equipment" and its academy says you need to buy an access point, so a venue with no compatible AP must source and configure its own
- Prices are set by the visitor's location and hotel plans by room count, so the static page and the homepage figure (a "$29/mo" placeholder) do not show what your venue pays until the page script runs
- No UK legal entity, UK office or UK phone number on its contact and about pages, and no PECR wording anywhere we checked (its privacy policy, pricing page and its UK Data Protection Act article dated 14 April 2025) as of September 2026; UK venues sending marketing email or SMS should confirm how consent is handled
- Its pricing page advertises "Review gating - positive reviews go public, negative ones stay private"; Google's review policies bar selectively soliciting positive reviews, so check how the Google path is handled before relying on it
- No Toast, Square or SumUp POS connector and no Leat or similar third-party loyalty connector listed on its CRM integrations page as of September 2026, so there is no spend-based segmentation
- Public reviews are thin: we found a single G2 review, dated 2016, so there is no independent rating to weigh
Honest recommendations
Pick Social WiFi if
Venues outside the UK that already own a supported access point, want WhatsApp marketing and a built-in loyalty module in the same tool, and are comfortable with a Warsaw-based vendor and a 14-day trial.
Pick CaptiFi if
Venues that want a starter device included (refundable deposit), pricing published in six currencies with a 30-day trial, POS spend data from Toast, Square or SumUp, a Leat loyalty connector, Twilio SMS welcomes, and marketing consent captured explicitly at the splash page.
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.
Social WiFi
One plan with everything, priced by the visitor's location: £49 a month per venue in the UK, $69 in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, €29 in the eurozone and $49 in other USD markets, with hotels priced by rooms (£49 up to 20 rooms, £69 for 21 to 40, £419 for 481 or more), read in a rendered browser on 3 October 2026. The "$29/mo" on its homepage is a placeholder the page's script overwrites. 14-day free trial and cancel anytime. CaptiFi publishes every tier in six currencies (GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD), includes a starter device against a refundable deposit, and offers a self-serve 30-day trial.
Last reviewed 3 October 2026. Check the Social WiFi site for current pricing.
How switching from Social WiFi 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 Social WiFi
Rebuild your splash page, turn on email and review automation, and cancel your Social WiFi subscription once you're confident.
Weighing up a move? Read the Social WiFi alternative guide or see all comparisons.
CaptiFi vs Social WiFi FAQs
Is CaptiFi cheaper than Social WiFi?
One plan with everything, priced by the visitor's location: £49 a month per venue in the UK, $69 in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, €29 in the eurozone and $49 in other USD markets, with hotels priced by rooms (£49 up to 20 rooms, £69 for 21 to 40, £419 for 481 or more), read in a rendered browser on 3 October 2026. The "$29/mo" on its homepage is a placeholder the page's script overwrites. 14-day free trial and cancel anytime. CaptiFi publishes every tier in six currencies (GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD), includes a starter device against a refundable deposit, and offers a self-serve 30-day trial.
When should I pick Social WiFi over CaptiFi?
Venues outside the UK that already own a supported access point, want WhatsApp marketing and a built-in loyalty module in the same tool, and are comfortable with a Warsaw-based vendor and a 14-day trial.
When is CaptiFi the better choice?
Venues that want a starter device included (refundable deposit), pricing published in six currencies with a 30-day trial, POS spend data from Toast, Square or SumUp, a Leat loyalty connector, Twilio SMS welcomes, and marketing consent captured explicitly at the splash page.
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.