Capacitor
Cross-platform native runtime for web apps — wrap any web app (React, Vue, Angular) into a native iOS/Android shell with native plugin access.
Why Capacitor?
Existing web apps you want to publish to iOS and Android without a full rewrite
Ionic or web-based mobile apps needing native device APIs (camera, filesystem, push)
Teams that want web-first development with native distribution
Signal Breakdown
What drives the Trust Score
Download Trend
Last 12 months
Tradeoffs & Caveats
Know before you commitApps needing complex native UI animations — React Native or Flutter perform better
Greenfield mobile projects — starting with React Native or Flutter is cleaner
Pricing
Free tier & paid plans
Open source, free to use
Free & open-source
Alternative Tools
Other options worth considering
Build native iOS and Android apps with React — shared JavaScript codebase with native rendering, large ecosystem, and Meta backing.
The fastest way to build React Native apps — managed workflow, Expo Go for instant previews, EAS Build for production, and 50+ first-party modules.
Often Used Together
Complementary tools that pair well with Capacitor
Learning Resources
Docs, videos, tutorials, and courses
Get Started
Repository and installation options
View on GitHub
github.com/ionic-team/capacitor
npm install @capacitor/core @capacitor/cliQuick Start
Copy and adapt to get going fast
npm install @capacitor/core @capacitor/cli
npx cap init MyApp com.example.myapp
npm install @capacitor/ios @capacitor/android
npx cap add ios && npx cap add android
# Build your web app, then sync
npm run build && npx cap syncCommunity Notes
Real experiences from developers who've used this tool