Purple vs Beambox
Beambox and Purple both turn guest WiFi into a marketing and customer-data channel through a branded captive portal. Beambox is built for independent hospitality and retail venues, pairing a plug-and-play access point with email, SMS and review automation, and its standout is automated review generation. Purple is the broader platform: it covers the same guest-WiFi marketing ground but extends into staff and multi-tenant WiFi, footfall and dwell analytics, Passpoint/OpenRoaming, and the security and compliance posture that larger, multi-site organisations need.
Last fact-checked 2026-06-15. Beambox: all-in-one SMB guest WiFi marketing platform that turns captive-portal sign-ins into an email, SMS and review list..
Best for Purple
Multi-site brands, venues, airports, retail and enterprise IT teams that need guest plus staff WiFi, footfall analytics, marketing automation and multi-tenant or roaming connectivity under one platform.
Best for Beambox
Independent cafes, pubs, restaurants, salons, retail shops and small accommodation providers that want a low-cost, plug-and-play way to capture customer contacts from WiFi and run email, SMS and review campaigns.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | Purple | Beambox |
|---|---|---|
| Product surface Beambox is focused on guest-WiFi marketing; Purple spans guest, staff and multi-tenant networking. | Guest, staff and multi-tenant WiFi, captive portal, footfall analytics, marketing automation | Guest WiFi captive portal with built-in email, SMS and review marketing |
| Captive portal | Branded, customisable splash with multiple auth and data-capture options | Customisable, passwordless branded portal that recognises returning guests |
| Analytics Purple is geared to operational location analytics; Beambox to marketing-list insight. | Footfall, dwell time and location analytics for venues and multi-site estates | Visit frequency, timing and repeat-visit insight |
| Marketing automation Beambox includes review management as a core feature. | Purple Engage: WiFi-triggered email and SMS journeys, 70+ CRMs | Behaviour-triggered email and SMS, drag-and-drop designer, AI templates, automated reviews |
| Staff & multi-tenant WiFi | 802.1X staff WiFi plus iPSK Multi-Tenant WiFi | Not offered (guest marketing only; multi-location discounts, not multi-tenant) |
| Hardware / AP support | Cisco Meraki, HPE Aruba, Ruckus, Juniper Mist, Ubiquiti UniFi, Cambium, Extreme, Fortinet | UniFi, TP-Link Omada, Cisco Meraki, Aruba, MikroTik, Ruckus, Cambium; optional plug-and-play AP |
| Roaming / connectivity Roaming/Passpoint is a Purple differentiator. | Passpoint and OpenRoaming via SecurePass for seamless, secure roaming | Not advertised |
| Compliance | ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA, Cyber Essentials, B Corp | GDPR; no published ISO 27001 / SOC 2 |
| Pricing transparency | Published pricing and online calculator; free Connect tier | Published plans from $40/month (billed yearly); 30-day trial, no permanent free tier |
When Purple is the right call
Purple is the stronger fit when WiFi has to do more than feed a marketing list. If you run multiple sites or a large venue, need staff and guest networks plus iPSK multi-tenant WiFi, want footfall and dwell analytics to inform operations, require seamless secure roaming through Passpoint/OpenRoaming, or have to satisfy enterprise procurement on ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA and B Corp, Purple is built for that scale - with outcomes like a 57x return at Harrods across 80,000+ venues.
When Beambox is the right call
Beambox is a genuinely good fit for an independent venue that wants results without complexity. For a single cafe, pub, salon or shop, its plug-and-play access point removes the hardware hurdle, and the captive portal, email and SMS automation, AI campaign templates and automated review management come bundled at a low monthly price. If your goal is simply to turn WiFi sign-ins into a marketing list and online reviews, Beambox is straightforward and cost-effective.
Frequently asked
What is the main difference between Purple and Beambox?
Beambox is an SMB-focused guest-WiFi marketing platform centred on captive portals, email/SMS and review automation. Purple covers that and adds staff WiFi, iPSK multi-tenant WiFi, footfall and dwell analytics, Passpoint/OpenRoaming and enterprise-grade compliance, suiting larger and multi-site organisations.
Does Beambox include marketing automation?
Yes. Beambox offers behaviour-triggered email and SMS automation with a drag-and-drop designer and AI-generated templates, plus automated review requests, all driven by captive-portal sign-ins.
Is there a free version of either platform?
Purple offers a free Connect tier. Beambox does not have a permanently free plan; it offers a 30-day trial, after which paid plans start at $40/month billed yearly.
Where Purple beats Beambox
See the product hub and the industries where teams pick Purple over Beambox.
Compare Purple with other vendors
Still building a shortlist? See how Purple stacks up against the other vendors teams evaluate alongside Beambox, or browse every comparison on the captive portal software hub.
See Purple running on your infrastructure
Purple deploys as a cloud overlay on your existing access points - Cisco Meraki, HPE Aruba, Ruckus, Juniper Mist, Ubiquiti UniFi, Cambium, Extreme, and Fortinet. No hardware swap, and you can be live in weeks.
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