Shared Password, Router Hotspot, Cloud Captive Portal or PM-WANI: Which Guest WiFi Fits Your Venue?
There are four realistic ways to give customers WiFi in India, and each one is the right answer for someone. Here is what each actually gives you, what it costs you in effort, and where each one stops working.
A venue owner in India who wants to give customers guest WiFi has four realistic choices: put the password on the wall, turn on the guest hotspot built into the router, use a cloud captive portal, or join PM-WANI (Prime Minister’s Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) and offer public WiFi through an aggregator. Each is the right answer for some venues and the wrong answer for others. This guide compares them on what actually differs: whether you know who is online, whether you can limit one guest without affecting the rest, what records you keep, how much effort it takes, and whose name is on the screen.
The short answer: a shared password is the simplest option but tells you nothing about who is online. A router’s built-in hotspot adds a basic login page but little control or record-keeping. A cloud captive portal adds OTP login, per-guest limits, session records and your branding across all your locations. PM-WANI suits venues that want to sell WiFi to the public through a registered aggregator rather than run their own login.
The four options side by side
| Shared password | Router’s built-in hotspot | Cloud captive portal | PM-WANI hotspot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who is online? | Unknown | Usually a device list only | A verified phone number, email or voucher per session | Known to the aggregator (PDOA), not to you |
| Limit or block one guest | No, change the password for everyone | Sometimes, by device | Yes, per guest | Through the aggregator’s system |
| Session records | None | Basic, often on the router itself | Session and login records in a dashboard | Held by the PDOA for one year |
| Branding | None | Router maker’s default page | Your logo, colours and message | Standard PMWANI_ network name |
| Several locations | Separate every time | Configured router by router | One account for every location | Each hotspot linked to a PDOA |
| Effort to run | Lowest | Low to set up, manual afterwards | Set up once, managed from a dashboard | Set up with a PDOA |
| Typical cost | Nothing extra | Nothing extra | A subscription | No licence fee; revenue shared with the PDOA |
| Best for | A very small venue with no need for records | A single small site with a capable router | Hotels, cafes, restaurants, clinics, co-working spaces, multi-location brands | Shops and kiosks that want to sell WiFi to passers-by |
Option 1: a shared password on the wall
What you get. WiFi that works within minutes, at no extra cost.
Where it stops working. Everyone who has ever seen the password can use it, including former staff and the shop next door. You cannot tell who is online, so you cannot limit one heavy user without changing the password for everyone, and you have nothing to show if anyone asks who used your connection on a given evening. Guest WiFi logs in India explains why that last point matters under CERT-In’s (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) 180-day log directions.
Choose it if you are a very small venue, guests use WiFi rarely, and you have accepted those gaps.
Option 2: the router’s built-in guest hotspot
Many business routers have a hotspot or guest portal feature. Turn it on, and guests see a simple login or “click to connect” page.
What you get. A login step at no extra cost, and on some routers basic vouchers or time limits.
Where it stops working. The page carries the router maker’s look, not yours. Records, if kept at all, sit on the router, where they are hard to search and can be lost when it resets. Each router is configured separately, so a second location doubles the work. OTP by SMS or WhatsApp usually needs extra software anyway. Branded captive portal vs router login goes into the difference in detail.
Choose it if you have one small site, a capable router, and someone comfortable managing it.
Option 3: a cloud captive portal
A cloud captive portal runs the login page and the guest records in the cloud, and tells your router which devices to let online. What a captive portal is explains the mechanics.
What you get.
- A person behind every session, by mobile OTP, WhatsApp OTP, email OTP or vouchers. How OTP WiFi login works covers the flow.
- Per-guest limits on speed, devices and idle time, so one guest cannot slow everyone else.
- Session and login records in a dashboard, searchable and exportable.
- Your branding on the login page, per location.
- Every location in one account, with staff roles.
Where it stops working. It costs a subscription. It cannot make your internet line faster or fix weak access point coverage. And what it can enforce depends on your router, so confirm your hardware before you buy.
Choose it if guest WiFi is part of your service, you have more than a handful of guests a day, you have more than one location, or you need to know who used your network.
Wyfy Guest is a cloud captive portal of this kind, built for Indian venues and running on the routers they already own.
Option 4: PM-WANI
PM-WANI is the Department of Telecommunications’ framework for public WiFi. A venue becomes a PDO (Public Data Office), with no licence or fee, and connects its hotspot to a registered PDOA (Public Data Office Aggregator). Users sign in through a PM-WANI app.
What you get. A licence-free way to sell WiFi to anyone nearby, with sign-in, payment and user records handled by the aggregator.
Where it stops working for most hospitality venues. The network name must follow the standard PMWANI_ format, the login belongs to the PM-WANI system, and the aggregator, not you, holds the user records. You get a WiFi business, not a branded guest experience.
Choose it if you want to sell internet access to the public, not give it to your own customers. PM-WANI explained for hotels, cafes and shops covers the details and the May 2026 rule changes.
Which option fits which venue?
- Tea stall, kirana store or kiosk that wants to earn from spare bandwidth: PM-WANI.
- Very small venue that rarely gives out WiFi: a shared password, with its limits understood.
- Single cafe or salon that wants a proper login page and to know who is online: a cloud captive portal.
- Hotel, hospital, clinic or co-working space: a cloud captive portal. These venues need per-guest limits, session records and an easy route for guests without an Indian SIM.
- A brand with several outlets: a cloud captive portal, for one account across every location.
Common questions about guest WiFi options
Do I need a captive portal for my cafe’s WiFi?
Not strictly, but without one you cannot tell who is online, limit one guest, or keep session records. If guests use your WiFi regularly, or you need to know who used it, a captive portal is the practical way to get those things.
Is a router’s built-in hotspot enough?
For a single small site with a capable router, it can be. It usually lacks OTP by SMS or WhatsApp, central records, your branding and multi-location management.
Is it legal to give free WiFi to customers in India without a login?
We are not aware of a rule that names a specific login method for a private venue’s guest WiFi. Businesses are, however, covered by CERT-In’s directions to keep logs of their ICT (information and communication technology) systems for 180 days, and a network with no login cannot tie those logs to anyone. Take advice for your own case.
What is the difference between PM-WANI and a captive portal?
PM-WANI is a public WiFi framework in which a venue sells access through a registered aggregator and users sign in with a PM-WANI app. A captive portal is the login page itself. A private captive portal like Wyfy Guest is your own login page, for your own guests, under your own name.
How much does a cloud captive portal cost in India?
It depends on the number of locations, routers and the support level, so most vendors quote per property. Ask for the full yearly price including GST (Goods and Services Tax).
If you are not sure which of these fits your venue, book a demo. We will look at your setup and tell you honestly, even if the answer is one of the first two.