Best Captive Portal Software for UniFi: 9 Tools and How to Choose

Updated August 2026

Short answer: whether you run a single restaurant or a multi-location hospitality group, if you want UniFi guest WiFi that builds your email list and generates Google reviews, use MyPlace. If you’re an IT team that needs RADIUS-grade authentication, look at IronWiFi. If you just need terms-acceptance with no data capture, UniFi’s built-in portal is free and fine.

UniFi access points include a basic hotspot portal, but most hospitality businesses outgrow it quickly: it can’t validate emails, build a marketing list, or sync guest data anywhere useful. This guide compares 9 captive portal software options that work with UniFi guest WiFi, including the built-in option, and shows how to choose between them based on what you actually need: WiFi authentication methods, network access control, branding, data capture, or marketing workflows.

How we picked: MyPlace is our product, so read our entry knowing that. We’ve listed where each competitor genuinely wins, and every integration and pricing claim was verified against the vendor’s own pages in July 2026.

Choosing for marketing? Five things to check first

Captive portal software is usually evaluated as an IT purchase. If you run marketing for a restaurant group or hotel, the network side is table stakes; these five things decide whether guest WiFi produces anything you can use:

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• Branding and splash control: your logo, colors, offers, and terms on the login page, editable per location without a developer.
• Email validation: real-time verification at login, so you build a campaign-ready list instead of a file of typos and fakes.
• Review requests: automated Google review invitations after the visit, triggered by the WiFi login.
• CRM and email sync: guest data flows into the tools you already run campaigns from (HubSpot, Mailchimp, Klaviyo), not a CSV you export by hand.
• Multi-location management: one dashboard, per-venue splash pages, and roll-up reporting across sites.

The comparison table below covers all nine tools on these points plus the network fundamentals. MyPlace, CaptiFi, and Beambox are built around this marketing workflow; Spotipo, Splash Access, and IronWiFi are network-first; Purple and Cloud4Wi do both at enterprise scale.

Comparison at a glance

What to look for in a UniFi captive portal

You’ll see this category sold as captive portal software, hotspot management, or guest WiFi management. The job is the same: authenticate guests, control network access, and decide what happens to the data. Five things separate the tools:

Integration method. UniFi supports external captive portals through what Ubiquiti calls the One Way Method: the controller redirects guests to an external portal, the portal collects the login, then calls the UniFi API to authorize the device. Tools built on the official UniFi API work with cloud-connected and self-hosted controllers alike. Check the tool supports your setup: UniFi Dream Machine, Cloud Key, or self-hosted controller.

Authentication options. Email login is the standard for hospitality. Depending on the tool you can add social login, SMS, vouchers, PPSK, QR codes, or SSO through Microsoft Entra ID and Google Workspace. More options matter if you serve mixed audiences (guests plus staff, or members plus visitors).

Branding and splash page control. The splash page is the first thing every guest sees, so check how much of it you control: logo, colors, and imagery; custom terms and privacy text; offers or custom questions at login; and multi-language support for international guests. UniFi’s built-in portal covers basic logo-and-terms customization. Dedicated captive portal software adds per-location splash pages, seasonal updates without touching the controller, and brand templates you set once and roll out across every venue.

Network access control. Session duration, bandwidth limits, device limits per user, and guest isolation from your internal network. Any serious tool handles these; the difference is how much you can manage centrally across locations.

What happens to the data. This is where tools diverge most. Some validate emails in real time and sync to your CRM or email platform; others store a raw list you have to export. It matters more than it used to: 58% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from brands that use their data to personalize experiences (Trade Desk/YouGov). If the goal is marketing, data quality and integrations are the deciding factor, not the splash page.

1. MyPlace

MyPlace is a guest engagement platform built for hospitality: restaurants, hotels, bars, and entertainment venues running UniFi networks.

It connects to your UniFi controller through the official UniFi API or as an external portal (One Way Method), and works with the Dream Machine, Cloud Key, self-hosted controllers, and multi-site setups. No extra hardware. Guests log in with email or social accounts, emails are validated in real time, and returning guests reconnect automatically.

What separates MyPlace from network-focused tools is what happens after login: captured guest data feeds automated review generation (Google and TripAdvisor) and syncs to marketing tools like HubSpot, Mailchimp, and Klaviyo. Across 500+ locations, MyPlace customers collect verified guest emails at about $0.22 each, versus roughly $1.91 for manual collection methods. AVA MediterrAegean in Winter Park, part of the multi-venue Riviera Dining Group, generated 64 Google reviews in 30 days, 95% of them five-star. Session limits, bandwidth control, GDPR/CCPA consent records, and multi-location management are handled from one dashboard. If you don’t run your own controller, MyPlace offers hosted UniFi controllers for $10/mo.

Best for: hospitality businesses, from a single restaurant to a multi-location group, that want UniFi guest WiFi to produce emails and reviews, not just access.
Pricing: from $49/mo per location, 14-day free trial.

2. UniFi built-in hotspot portal

Every UniFi controller ships with a native hotspot portal. It handles the basics: a landing page, terms acceptance, simple password or voucher access, and payment options through the Hotspot Manager.

The honest assessment: it’s genuinely good for what it is, and it’s free. But it wasn’t built for marketing. There’s no email validation, no marketing-list management, no CRM sync, and limited branding control. Guest emails, where collected, sit in the controller rather than anywhere you can run a campaign from.

Best for: businesses that need access control and terms acceptance with zero budget, and don’t need the guest data.
Pricing: free with UniFi hardware.

3. Spotipo

Spotipo is a captive portal service with a strong UniFi focus. It supports external portal setups on UniFi with email and social login, voucher-based access, and paid WiFi options.

It’s a solid pick for guest WiFi access management, particularly if vouchers or paid access matter to you. Marketing depth is lighter than hospitality-specific platforms: check the integration list against the tools you already use.

Best for: UniFi operators who want vouchers or paid access alongside a branded portal.
Pricing: from $49/mo per location billed annually ($59 monthly), unlimited access points, capped at 2,000 unique guests/month on the entry plan.

4. IronWiFi

IronWiFi is a cloud RADIUS and captive portal service aimed at IT teams. It brings 802.1X, RADIUS authentication, and directory integrations (Google Workspace, Entra ID, Okta) to UniFi networks.

If your requirement is security-first network access control, per-user credentials, certificate-based auth, detailed logs, IronWiFi is built for exactly that. It’s not a marketing tool, and hospitality teams without IT support will find it heavier to run.

Best for: IT-managed environments where authentication rigor beats marketing features.
Pricing: guest WiFi from $13 per access point per month with a $65 monthly minimum.

5. Purple

Purple is an enterprise WiFi analytics and guest engagement platform used by large venues: stadiums, shopping centres, hospital campuses. It supports UniFi among many hardware vendors.

Purple’s strength is scale: enterprise SLAs, footfall analytics, and deployments across hundreds of sites. For a single restaurant group it’s typically more platform (and more procurement) than the job needs.

Best for: enterprise venues with dedicated IT and a need for location analytics.
Pricing: quote-based.

6. Cloud4Wi

Cloud4Wi is an enterprise guest WiFi platform focused on location analytics and customer journey data, supporting UniFi alongside enterprise vendors like Cisco and Meraki.

Like Purple, it plays best at enterprise scale, retail chains and large venues that want presence analytics tied to marketing. Smaller hospitality operators usually don’t need this weight.

Best for: multi-site enterprises wanting location intelligence with their guest WiFi.
Pricing: quote-based.

7. Beambox

Beambox is a WiFi marketing tool for small venues: a simple branded portal, email capture, and basic automated marketing. It works with UniFi through an external portal setup.

It’s an accessible entry point for a single cafe or bar. Trade-offs show up in data validation depth, integration range, and multi-location management as you grow.

Best for: single-site venues that want simple WiFi marketing fast.
Pricing: from €35/mo billed yearly (Beambox lists pricing in EUR).

8. Splash Access

Splash Access builds captive portal and splash page tooling specifically around UniFi, with support for the official UniFi API, vouchers, PPSK, and integrations for education and hospitality use cases.

Its UniFi specialization is the draw. Feature depth on the marketing side (review generation, validated email lists, campaign syncs) is where hospitality-focused platforms pull ahead.

Best for: UniFi-only environments wanting a portal specialist.
Pricing: not published, available on request.

9. CaptiFi

CaptiFi is a guest WiFi marketing platform for hospitality venues: branded portal, automatic email capture, automated Google review requests, and built-in email campaigns, with integrations like Mailchimp, Toast, and Twilio SMS.

It connects to existing UniFi setups through the external captive portal method and works with the UDM, UDM Pro, Cloud Gateway, and self-hosted controllers, with an optional plug-and-play device for sites that have no managed access points at all. Billing is month-to-month. Review requests cover Google, and pricing is tiered by monthly guest volume, so multi-location groups should check how the tiers work out across busier venues.

Best for: single venues wanting WiFi marketing month-to-month, or sites with no managed WiFi hardware at all.
Pricing: from £49/mo, tiered by monthly guest volume.

How to choose UniFi captive portal software

Match the tool to the job, not the feature list:

• You want marketing outcomes (email list, Google reviews, repeat visits), at one location or twenty: MyPlace.
• You want free and basic: UniFi’s built-in portal.
• You want vouchers or paid access: Spotipo or Splash Access.
• You want month-to-month billing or a shipped device: CaptiFi.
• You want enterprise authentication: IronWiFi.
• You’re an enterprise with analytics needs: Purple or Cloud4Wi.

Whichever you pick, confirm three things: it supports your controller type (UDM, Cloud Key, or self-hosted), it uses the official UniFi API or supported external portal method rather than firmware hacks, and the guest data ends up somewhere you can actually use it.

Frequently asked questions