Best Guest WiFi Solutions for UK Pubs in 2026

If you run a pub in the UK and want to do something useful with your guest WiFi, there are more options than you might think. The problem is that most comparison articles are written by the platforms themselves, so you only hear one side of the story.

This guide covers six guest WiFi and captive portal platforms that are relevant to UK pubs in 2026. It includes our own product (CaptiveFlow), so take that into account, but we have tried to be genuinely fair about what each platform does well and where it falls short. Pricing, features, and hardware requirements are included for every option.

If you are new to guest WiFi marketing and want to understand how captive portals work before comparing platforms, start with our pub WiFi guide.

What to Look For in a Guest WiFi Platform

Before comparing individual platforms, here is what matters most for a UK pub:

Pricing transparency. Can you see the price on the website, or do you need to book a sales call? For a single-site independent, quote-gated pricing usually means the product is not aimed at you.

Hardware. Does the platform provide hardware, or do you need to supply your own? If you already run UniFi or Meraki access points, you want a platform that integrates with them. If you just have a standard broadband router, you need a standalone device.

GDPR compliance. UK pubs must separate marketing consent from WiFi access. The marketing checkbox must be unticked by default. Any platform that bundles the two together is not compliant.

What you actually get. Some platforms are focused WiFi marketing tools. Others bundle WiFi with bookings, payments, loyalty, reviews, and more. A pub that just wants to capture guest emails does not need a full hospitality suite.

Integrations. Can you export your data or connect it to Mailchimp, your email platform, or your CRM? Avoid platforms that lock your guest data inside their system with no export option.

CaptiveFlow

CaptiveFlow is our product, so take this section with that in mind. We built it specifically for UK hospitality venues that want simple, affordable WiFi email capture without the complexity of an enterprise platform or a full hospitality suite.

CaptiveFlow offers two hardware tiers. FlowBox Solo (£29 per month) is a standalone wireless access point that plugs into any existing broadband router. No managed network required. FlowBox Pro (£39 per month) integrates with existing UniFi or Meraki managed networks. Hardware is included with both tiers at no upfront cost.

The platform captures guest emails through a branded captive portal, tracks marketing opt-ins separately from WiFi access (GDPR compliant by design), and provides a dashboard showing connections, opt-in rates, and returning guests. Guest data syncs directly to Mailchimp or can be exported as CSV. The marketing consent checkbox is unticked by default and cannot be overridden.

The Shamrock Social in Nottingham captured over 500 marketing opt-ins in its first month with a 40% opt-in rate. CaptiveFlow does not include bookings, payments, loyalty, reviews, SMS marketing, or Google review automation. It does one thing: WiFi email capture.

Best for: independent UK pubs and small groups that want affordable, transparent WiFi marketing with hardware included.

See CaptiveFlow pricing and features

Purple

Purple is one of the longest-established names in guest WiFi, founded in 2012. It operates across 80,000+ venues in 170 countries and is used by major brands including Harrods and AGS Airports. Purple is an enterprise platform designed for large chains, airports, hospitals, retail estates, and transport hubs.

Purple offers a free Connect tier that provides a basic captive portal on compatible hardware (Cisco Meraki, HPE Aruba, Ruckus, Juniper Mist, or UniFi). The free tier does not include data capture for marketing. The paid tiers (Capture and Engage) unlock marketing data, CRM integrations, advanced analytics, and automation, but pricing is quote-gated and typically aimed at multi-site enterprise deployments.

Purple's unique feature is indoor wayfinding and mapping, which is not offered by any other platform on this list. It also provides advanced analytics including footfall heatmaps and dwell time, plus over 400 CRM and marketing connectors.

The trade-off for a single pub is complexity and cost. Purple does not provide hardware (you need compatible enterprise access points already installed), the paid tiers require a sales conversation, and based on third-party G2 reviews, SMB and mid-market venues consistently score Purple poorly on support, ease of use, and pricing transparency.

Best for: large hospitality groups, airports, and retail estates with existing enterprise WiFi hardware and a budget for advanced analytics.

Visit Purple's website

Beambox

Beambox is a US-based WiFi marketing platform used by over 12,000 businesses globally. It targets SMBs across hospitality, retail, gyms, and salons, and offers a plug-and-play device alongside integration with a wide range of managed network hardware (UniFi, Meraki, Omada, Aruba, MikroTik, Ruckus, and Cambium).

Beambox's standout feature is its Google review automation. When a guest connects to WiFi, Beambox can automatically prompt them to leave a Google review, which is a powerful tool for building online reputation. It also offers SMS marketing on the Pro tier, behavioural email marketing, and a broad set of integrations (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign, and others).

Pricing is in USD: the Grow plan starts at $25 per venue per month and the Pro plan at $45 per venue per month. The Grow plan includes basic captive portal and email capture but charges overage fees above 1,000 guests in the database. One plug-and-play device is included with the trial; additional access points cost extra.

For UK pubs, the main considerations are that Beambox prices in USD (so the actual GBP cost fluctuates with the exchange rate), the guest database overage fees can add up for busy venues, and the platform is not specifically designed around UK GDPR and PECR requirements.

Best for: SMBs globally (including UK) that want WiFi marketing with built-in Google review automation and broad hardware compatibility.

Visit Beambox's website

CaptiFi

CaptiFi is a UK-based captive portal platform and the closest direct competitor to CaptiveFlow. It targets UK pubs, restaurants, and hospitality venues with transparent pricing and a focus on GDPR compliance. CaptiFi ships a free device with every subscription and offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.

CaptiFi has a strong content presence, with detailed blog posts, competitor reviews, and a glossary of definition pages covering terms like "captive portal", "WiFi email capture", and "GDPR guest WiFi". Its content strategy is one of the best in the UK captive portal space.

CaptiFi's platform includes a branded captive portal, email capture, marketing automation, and integrations with major email marketing platforms. It also publishes honest competitor reviews (including reviews of Purple, Beambox, and Stampede with data from G2 reviews).

We have not used CaptiFi's product directly, so we cannot comment on the day-to-day experience. Based on their published content, they are a serious and transparent competitor in the UK market.

Best for: UK hospitality venues looking for a UK-based captive portal with transparent pricing and a free trial.

Visit CaptiFi's website

Stampede

Stampede is an Edinburgh-based all-in-one hospitality platform that bundles guest WiFi marketing with table bookings (0% commission), payments, loyalty, reviews, email and SMS marketing, and AI tools. It powers over 2,500 UK venues and is one of the most established names in UK hospitality tech.

Stampede is not just a WiFi platform. It is a full hospitality management suite. This makes it a strong choice for multi-site operators who want everything in one place and are willing to pay for it. The published Pro tier is £299 per venue per month. The Essential and Premium tiers require a quote.

For a single pub that only wants WiFi email capture, Stampede is significantly more product and significantly more cost than necessary. The annual cost for one venue on the Pro tier (£3,588) is roughly ten times what a focused WiFi marketing tool costs. Stampede also requires compatible hardware at the venue, which is not included in the subscription.

That said, Stampede's breadth is genuine. If you need bookings, loyalty, reviews, and WiFi marketing on one platform, it eliminates the need to manage multiple tools. The 0% booking commission is a real differentiator against paid booking platforms.

Best for: multi-site UK hospitality operators who want a full suite covering WiFi, bookings, payments, loyalty, and reviews in one platform.

Visit Stampede's website

Social WiFi

Social WiFi is a captive portal platform that supports over 30 hardware brands, making it one of the most hardware-agnostic options available. It offers email and social login, voucher-based access, SMS marketing, and integration with CRM and marketing tools.

Social WiFi does not publish pricing on its website. Getting a quote requires booking a demo. For a single-site independent pub, this typically signals that the product is aimed at a larger customer. However, the broad hardware compatibility means it can work with almost any existing WiFi setup.

Social WiFi is a reasonable option for venues that already have non-standard WiFi hardware and want a platform that integrates with it. For UK pubs specifically, the lack of published pricing and the demo-first approach may be a barrier.

Best for: venues with non-standard WiFi hardware that need a platform supporting 30+ AP brands.

Visit Social WiFi's website

Which Platform Should You Choose?

For a single UK pub with a standard broadband router and no managed network hardware, the simplest and most affordable options are CaptiveFlow and CaptiFi. Both are UK-based, price transparently, include hardware, and are built around UK GDPR compliance.

If you want Google review automation alongside WiFi marketing, Beambox is the strongest option, though you will need to manage USD pricing and potential guest database overage fees.

If you already run enterprise WiFi hardware (Cisco Meraki, Aruba, or Ruckus) and want advanced analytics or indoor wayfinding, Purple is worth evaluating, particularly on the free Connect tier.

If you want everything in one platform and have the budget for it, Stampede is the most comprehensive UK hospitality suite available, but at roughly ten times the cost of a focused WiFi marketing tool.

The right choice depends on what you actually need. Most independent pubs need WiFi email capture, a branded splash page, GDPR-compliant consent tracking, and a way to email their guests. That is a problem any of these platforms can solve. The differences are in pricing, complexity, and what else comes bundled.

For a deeper look at how WiFi marketing works for pubs, read our full pub WiFi guide.

Frequently Asked Questions