Purple vs Cloudi-Fi
Purple and Cloudi-Fi both deliver cloud-hosted captive portal and guest onboarding for large enterprises, but they pull in different directions. Cloudi-Fi sits next to the network-security stack: Zero Trust onboarding, IoT/OT profiling, and a native Zscaler integration, with per-country log storage for data-privacy compliance. Purple sits in the customer-engagement stack: marketing automation, footfall analytics, loyalty tie-ins, and vendor-agnostic iPSK multi-tenant WiFi on the same platform, with published pricing and a free tier.
Last fact-checked 2026-06-15. Cloudi-Fi: enterprise network access platform with strong compliance, multinational reach, and SASE / Zero Trust positioning.
Best for Purple
Multi-site retail, hospitality, stadiums, and MDU where WiFi is a customer-experience surface - captive portal, footfall analytics, marketing automation, loyalty integration, and multi-tenant iPSK all matter alongside compliance.
Best for Cloudi-Fi
Multinational enterprises rolling out compliant guest, BYOD, and IoT onboarding across hundreds of offices in many countries, especially those already standardised on Zscaler or a wider SASE stack and led by corporate IT security.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | Purple | Cloudi-Fi |
|---|---|---|
| Product surface | Guest, staff and multi-tenant WiFi, captive portal, RADIUS, analytics, marketing automation | Guest/BYOD/IoT onboarding, captive portal, cloud 802.1X, IoT profiling |
| Captive portal | Full portal builder with social login, SMS, email, voucher | Full portal with compliance-first onboarding flows |
| Compliance posture | ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA, Cyber Essentials, B Corp | GDPR; local log storage in 70+ countries (ISO 27001/SOC 2 not published) |
| DNS / content filtering Cloudi-Fi delivers filtering through SASE partners rather than as a native engine. | Via partner integration | Via SASE integration (Zscaler, Palo Alto, Fortinet) |
| Marketing automation | Purple Engage - email/SMS, loyalty, 70+ CRMs | De-emphasised on the current product line |
| Analytics | Footfall, dwell, repeat visits, cohort benchmarks | Network access visibility and compliance reporting |
| iPSK / multi-tenant | Yes - first-class product for MDU, coworking, student housing | Not advertised |
| Passpoint / OpenRoaming | Yes - via SecurePass, federation member | Not advertised |
| Hardware support | Cisco Meraki, HPE Aruba, Ruckus, Juniper Mist, Ubiquiti UniFi, Cambium, Extreme, Fortinet | Cisco, Cisco Meraki, HPE Aruba, Ruckus, Juniper Mist, Extreme, Fortinet, plus SASE partners |
| Enterprise references | McDonald's, Harrods, AGS Airports, Premier Inn | L'Oréal, Schneider Electric, ArcelorMittal and other multinationals |
| Pricing transparency | Published pricing calculator, free Connect tier | Sales-led; no public pricing or free tier |
When Purple is the right call
If the WiFi use case is customer-experience led - retail loyalty, hospitality personalisation, stadium fan data, multi-tenant buildings - Purple's marketing automation, footfall analytics, and vendor-agnostic iPSK are built for that, with proof like a 57x return at Harrods and 463% at Avanti West Coast. Teams that want to evaluate before they buy will prefer Purple's published pricing calculator and free Connect tier over a sales-only process, and Purple's iPSK multi-tenant WiFi is a product Cloudi-Fi does not advertise.
When Cloudi-Fi is the right call
If the driver is multinational compliance and you want guest, BYOD, and IoT onboarding sitting inside a broader security stack, Cloudi-Fi's positioning is strong. Its per-country log storage across 70+ countries and native Zscaler integration are genuine differentiators for corporate IT rolling out across hundreds of offices with SASE already in place. Where the brief is guest marketing, loyalty, or footfall analytics rather than security and compliance, Purple is the better fit.
Frequently asked
How does Purple compare on international compliance?
Both serve multinational deployments. Cloudi-Fi leads on per-country log storage across 70+ countries for data-privacy compliance. Purple carries ISO 27001 certification, Cyber Essentials, GDPR and CCPA alignment, and B Corp status, with EU, UK, and US data residency. For most enterprise compliance checklists either will pass; the question is usually specific regional requirements.
Does Purple do DNS filtering like Cloudi-Fi?
Neither ships a native DNS-filtering engine. Cloudi-Fi delivers content filtering through SASE partners such as Zscaler, Palo Alto, and Fortinet. Purple customers layer a specialist DNS filter (Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, NextDNS) on top, or use the Purple Shield add-on for content and malware protection.
Which is better for retail guest WiFi specifically?
Purple, in most cases. Retail leans on captive portal branding, first-party data, loyalty integration, and footfall analytics - all core to Purple. Cloudi-Fi can serve retail but leads with compliance and network security, which matter less in the merchandising-led retail stack.
Can we migrate from Cloudi-Fi to Purple?
Yes. A typical migration is two to four weeks for a mid-sized multi-site deployment: portal design parity, AP reconfiguration to point at Purple RADIUS, historical data export, and decommission of the old stack. Purple professional services run the cutover for enterprise customers.
Where Purple beats Cloudi-Fi
See the product hub and the industries where teams pick Purple over Cloudi-Fi.
Compare Purple with other vendors
Still building a shortlist? See how Purple stacks up against the other vendors teams evaluate alongside Cloudi-Fi, 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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