Capgo vs Capawesome Cloud
Two solid options for Capacitor live updates. Let's talk honestly about the differences.
💚 Credit where it's due
Robin (Capawesome founder) does great work. Good German engineering, solid plugins, and everything is actively maintained. They were inspired by Capgo when building their live updates solution - which is honestly flattering.
This isn't a "we're better at everything" page. The Capacitor ecosystem is genuinely better with multiple healthy options. Let's talk about the actual differences.
⚠️ 关于他们的比较页面
Capawesome发布了一个比较页面，其中包含关于Capgo的不准确和误导性的信息。我们建议您通过查看我们的实际文档和功能来验证他们的任何声明。
我们不做比较 - 我们为客户的最佳利益服务，并通过与他们交流每天改进。如果您在此页面发现任何不准确之处，请告知我们，我们会立即更正。
The honest differences
Experience & Scale
Capgo: Started in 2020. Serving 1B+ updates/month across 50M+ devices. Battle-tested at scale for 4+ years.
Capawesome: Live updates launched in 2024. Very new to this space. Still proving scale 90+.
We've been doing this much longer. 4+ years of production experience vs less than a year.
Pricing & Business Model
Capgo: $14/month to start, scales with usage (~$0.001/MAU). Live updates is our core business.
Capawesome: €9/month minimum. Their main business is paid plugins - live updates is more of a side offering.
Both are fairly priced. The difference? For us, live updates is THE product. For them, it's an add-on to their plugin business.
Open Source & Security
Capgo: 100% open source - plugin AND backend (MIT/MPL-2.0)
- Plugin: github.com/Cap-go/capacitor-updater
- Backend: github.com/Cap-go/capgo
- Self-host, fork, audit security yourself anytime
- Public security audits available
Capawesome: Plugin, CLI is open source, backend is 0% open source (fully closed)
- No way to self-audit backend code
- No public security audits
- No self-hosting option
For compliance, healthcare, finance, or any regulated industry where you need to audit your entire stack - we're the only option you know what is inside at any point of time.
Business Model & Stability
Capgo: Bootstrapped family business. No investors, no debt. Profitable since year one.
- Legal entities in both US and Europe
- Dedicated infrastructure for China
- This is our livelihood - no VC pressure to "pivot" or suddenly 10x pricing
- Built for the long term
Capawesome: Solo founder, sustainable business model (also good!)
Both are sustainable businesses, just different structures. After seeing Appflow shut down, this stuff matters.
Plugin Ecosystem
Capgo: We maintain 100+ Capacitor plugins - biggest provider after official Capacitor team. All free and open source.
Capawesome: They also make great plugins, quality-focused approach. Some are paid - that's their main business.
Different philosophies: we go broad with all-free plugins, they focus on paid premium plugins.
Support
Both: Human support from small teams (no chatbots!)
Capgo: Usually within hours, often minutes. Even on weekends (we can't help ourselves 😅)
Capawesome: Responsive and helpful too
Honestly, you'll be fine with either. Both small teams that care.
动态渠道分配
Capgo: 动态渠道分配 - 通过API、后端分配设备到渠道，或让设备自行分配。用例：A/B测试、Beta程序、渐进式发布、按位置构建（每个餐厅/商店不同的bundle）、PR预览测试 - 全部无需发布新版本。
Capawesome: 无动态渠道分配 - 渠道是静态的。您无法在不发布新应用版本的情况下将设备重新分配到不同渠道。
对于进行分阶段发布、Beta测试或用户分群的团队来说，这是一个改变游戏规则的功能。使用Capgo，您可以从服务器端或设备本身动态控制哪些设备获得哪些更新。
日志和调试
Capgo: 设备级日志 - 查看每台设备上发生的具体情况。更新历史、错误、回滚 - 所有内容都可以通过匿名ID按设备追踪。
Capawesome: 仅服务器端日志 - 您只能看到服务器上发生的情况，而不是单个设备上的情况。调试设备特定问题要困难得多。
当出现问题时，您需要知道那台特定设备上发生了什么。服务器日志告诉您发送了什么 - 设备日志告诉您实际发生了什么。
🤔 When Capawesome might be better for you
Fully manual control: Capawesome is 100% manual - nothing automatic. If you want to control every single aspect and not delegate anything, that's their strength. Capgo focuses on automation (though we support manual too).
GitHub/GitLab integration: They integrate directly with your git provider. If you prefer everything connected and don't mind the vendor lock-in, that's convenient.
European compliance needs: If you need invoices with GDPR compliance and all the European regulatory requirements, Capawesome is based in Germany. Capgo tries to escape European complexity to simplify business for everyone globally.
Different philosophies, both valid. Choose what fits your workflow.
What we're NOT good at
Documentation complexity: We really try to make docs clear for everyone. Basic automatic updates? Well documented and clear. But Capgo has many options (manual, half-manual, channel_default, etc.) - not all use cases are easy to understand yet. We're working on it.
Git provider integration: We don't integrate with GitHub/GitLab like Capawesome does. Philosophy difference: we don't want to lock you into a specific git provider. You handle updates in your own CI/CD, we just provide the delivery infrastructure.
Quick facts (no BS)
Capgo
- ✅ Started 2020
- ✅ 1B+ updates/month
- ✅ 50M+ devices
- ✅ $14/month start
- ✅ 100% open source (plugin + backend)
- ✅ Family business, bootstrapped
- ✅ 100+ free plugins
- ✅ Self-hosting option
Capawesome
- ⚠️ Live updates started 2024 (very new)
- ⚪ Stats not public
- ⚪ Stats not public
- ✅ €9/month minimum
- ❌ Plugin open, backend 0% open (closed source)
- ✅ Solo founder, sustainable
- ✅ Quality plugins (main business)
- ❌ No self-hosting
✅ = Strong point | ⚠️ = Depends on needs | ❌ = Not available | ⚪ = Unknown/Not disclosed
Thinking of switching?
If you're on Capawesome and considering Capgo, migration is straightforward. The Capacitor update plugin architecture is similar.
The basics:
- 1. Swap the plugin package
- 2. Update config (minor differences)
- 3. Update your upload process
Full migration guide: docs/upgrade/from-capawesome-to-capgo
What people say about Capgo
"The open source backend was the deciding factor. We needed to audit the security ourselves for compliance."
— Enterprise team
"Capgo's pricing scales with our app. Starting at $14/month was perfect for our MVP, and now we're happily paying more as we grow."
— Startup founder
"Support is incredible. Martin answered my weekend question in 20 minutes. Can't imagine going back to vendors with 48-hour response times."
— Indie developer
"The scale numbers (1B+ updates) gave us confidence. They've actually proven it at production load."
— Mobile team lead
More testimonials:
Try Capgo free for 14 days
No credit card needed. Compare for yourself.
Questions? Join our Discord or email us
Both Capgo and Capawesome are good options. Choose what fits your needs.
(But we think bigger scale, longer track record, and full open source matters 😊)