Migrating from Appflow?
Appflow was the expensive default. Capgo is the original independent, open-source path for Capacitor live updates, with deeper controls and proven scale.
⚠️ The elephant in the room
Ionic announced they're shutting down Appflow. Your apps will keep working until December 31, 2027, but no new features, no new customers, no updates.
If you're reading this, you're probably looking for where to go next. That's what this page is about.
Let's give credit, then be clear about what changed
Ionic proved the model. Before Capgo, serious Capacitor live updates mostly meant Appflow: useful, closed, expensive, and tied to a broad all-in-one platform.
Capgo was built to make that workflow independent: open source, affordable, focused on live updates, and flexible enough for teams that need more than the basic Appflow path.
So yes, respect to Ionic. But Capgo is not a clone of what is shutting down. It is the mature independent path that others now copy.
Why Capgo is not just another Appflow replacement
1. We're not shutting down (obviously important)
Capgo is a bootstrapped family business. No VC pressure to "pivot" or "maximize growth metrics." This is our livelihood, built to last decades.
- Legal entities in both US and Europe
- Dedicated infrastructure for China
We've been profitable since year one. Sustainable pricing, sustainable business.
2. Pricing that makes sense
Appflow: $499/month minimum
Capgo: $12/month to start, scales with usage
We can charge less because we're not funding massive overhead. Just a small team building great tools.
App Store credentials: API keys, not app passwords
To upload iOS builds to App Store Connect, Appflow asks for your Apple ID and an app-specific password. That is the legacy Apple login flow — not the modern App Store Connect API key (.p8) that Apple recommends for automation.
Appflow approach:
- Requires your Apple ID and an app-specific password stored in Appflow
- Breaks when someone resets their Apple ID password, rotates 2FA, or revokes the app password
- Gives a third-party service broad account access instead of a scoped API key with explicit roles
- A frequent support issue: "Invalid application specific password provided"
Capgo approach:
- Native builds use an App Store Connect API key (
.p8) with Key ID and Issuer ID - Keys are scoped in App Store Connect (App Manager, Developer, etc.) and revoked independently
- Credentials stay on your machine by default; cloud builds stream them into an ephemeral environment and wipe them after the job
capgo build initgenerates signing assets from a single .p8 file
Appflow's Apple destination docs list an app-specific password as a required field. Capgo Builder follows Apple's API-key model instead.
3. 100% open source (MIT/MPL-2.0)
Not just the plugin - the entire backend too:
- Plugin: github.com/Cap-go/capacitor-updater
- Backend: github.com/Cap-go/capgo
- Self-host if you want. Fork it if you need. Audit the security yourself.
This matters if you got burned by a proprietary service shutting down (looking at you, Appflow).
4. We pioneered the independent path
Capgo created the first serious independent Capacitor live-update platform after Appflow. We have handled billions of updates, every App Store policy shift, and the weird device failures that only show up in production.
Also: we're the biggest Capacitor plugin provider after the official Capacitor team, with 142+ open-source plugins. We know the ecosystem inside and out.
5. Actually human support
No chatbots. No ticket systems. No "AI assistants."
You get Martin (me!) or someone from the team. Usually within hours. Often within minutes. Yes, even on weekends (we can't help ourselves 😅).
6. Focused, complete, and flexible
Appflow bundled live updates, CI/CD, and native builds. Capgo focuses on the live-update system itself: automatic setup in 5 minutes when you want the easy path, plus manual and half-manual flows when your release logic is more advanced.
Use GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins, our Builder, or your own scripts for native build work. Use Capgo for the update layer: targeting, rollout, rollback, observability, and safety checks.
🤔 What we're NOT (honesty time)
All-in-one CI/CD: We are not trying to lock you into a single all-in-one pipeline. Use our Cloud Build for native iOS/Android builds, or integrate with your own CI/CD (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, local scripts, etc.). The live-update layer stays flexible either way.
Documentation complexity: Basic automatic updates are well documented and take minutes to set up. Capgo also supports advanced modes (manual, half-manual, channel_default, dynamic assignment, per-user channels), and we are still improving docs for every edge case.
How hard is migration?
TL;DR: Not hard. Most teams are up and running in under a day.
The basics:
- 1. Uninstall
@capacitor/live-updates, install@capgo/capacitor-updater - 2. Call
notifyAppReady()instead of all the Appflow sync/download/reload code - 3. Upload bundles with our CLI instead of theirs
Full migration guide: docs/upgrade/from-appflow-to-capgo
Stuck? Book a free migration call and we'll walk you through it.
Ionic enterprise plugins: equivalents in Capgo
If you use Ionic's enterprise plugins, here are the direct Capgo replacements and migration guides.
| Ionic plugin | Capgo alternative | Migration guide |
|---|---|---|
| Ionic Secure Storage | Fast SQL or Data Storage SQLite | Migration guide |
| Ionic Auth Connect | Social Login | Migration guide |
| Ionic Identity Vault | Native Biometric + Fast SQL or Data Storage SQLite | Migration guide |
| Ionic Zebra Scanner | Zebra DataWedge | Migration guide |
All Capgo plugins are open source. Paid support is optional - learn more.
Enterprise plugins and paid help (optional)
If your Appflow stack includes Ionic enterprise plugins, use the Ionic Enterprise Plugins guide. Paid support is available on demand - see support options. Need a hands-on migration? We offer paid migration services - learn more.
What people actually say
"Migration from Appflow took 2 hours. We went from $499/month to $12/month. Same features, better docs."
— React developer, France
"I had a question at 10pm Saturday. Martin answered in 15 minutes. With actual code examples."
— Solo dev, Brazil
"Open source backend was non-negotiable for our healthcare app. Capgo was the only option that met our security requirements."
— CTO, health tech startup
"Family business = no rugpull risk. After Appflow shutting down, that stability matters."
— Mobile team lead, Germany
More testimonials:
Common questions
- Do I need to change my CI/CD setup?
- Nope. Whatever you're using now (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, etc.) keeps working. Just change the upload step to use our CLI instead of Appflow's.
- What about native builds?
- We do cloud native builds! We just don't do the full CI/CD automation pipeline. You can trigger builds through our CLI or API, but we're not trying to replace your GitHub Actions/GitLab CI workflow - we integrate with it.
- Will this save money?
- Probably a lot. Appflow starts at $499/month. We start at $12/month and scale with usage (roughly $0.001 per MAU). Most migrations save 80-95% on update costs.
- How's the reliability?
- We serve 1B+ updates/month across 50M+ devices. 99.9%+ uptime. Check real-time stats at status.capgo.app
- How do App Store credentials compare for native builds?
- Appflow stores your Apple ID and app-specific password to upload binaries. Capgo uses App Store Connect API keys (.p8): scoped, revocable, and independent of personal Apple ID password changes. For cloud builds, credentials are only used in ephemeral environments — not parked on a vendor server indefinitely.
Try it free for 14 days
No credit card. No commitment. Migrate a test app, see if it works for you.
Questions? Join our Discord or email us
Built with respect for what Ionic created. Here to help you keep shipping.