From Capawesome's update and review plugins
· Capawesome App Update and App Review plugins
@capawesome/capacitor-app-update and @capawesome/capacitor-app-review are two small MIT plugins that do one job each, for free. If that's all you need, keep them. Moving only makes sense when you also want live updates and would rather run all three from one package.
1. Add the plugin
yarn add native-update
npx cap sync
Requirements are the same as for any Capacitor 8 plugin. Then initialize it once at boot.
2. Replace the Play update flow
Native Update's flow lives in the App Update API: getAppUpdateInfo(), performImmediateUpdate(), startFlexibleUpdate(), completeFlexibleUpdate() and openAppStore().
const info = await NativeUpdate.getAppUpdateInfo();
iOS has no in-app update flow, so the overview explains what happens there.
3. Replace the review prompt
Use canRequestReview() and requestReview(). The store decides whether the dialog appears, on every library, and the limits are written down here.
4. Remove the two plugins
yarn remove @capawesome/capacitor-app-update @capawesome/capacitor-app-review
npx cap sync
This changes native code, so it ships in a store build.
The facts, dated
Capawesome App Update and App Review plugins prices
| Plan | Price | Terms | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plugins | $0 | MIT on npm; no live update service in these two packages | Source |
Native Update prices
| Plan | Price | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 30 apps, 5,000 monthly active users |
| Pro | $9.99 a month | Unlimited apps, 50,000 monthly active users |
| Team | $8.99 per seat a month, 3 seats minimum | Unlimited apps, 100,000 monthly active users per member |
Feature by feature
| Feature | Capawesome App Update and App Review plugins | Native Update |
|---|---|---|
| Over-the-air web bundle updates | No · Source | Yes |
| Signed bundles, verified on the device | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Automatic rollback when a bundle fails to start | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Roll back from the dashboard or CLI | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Rollout to a percentage of devices | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Channels (development, staging, production) | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Delta updates | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Your own server or self-hosting | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| In-app store update flow | Yes · Source | Yes |
| In-app review prompt | Yes · Source | Yes |
| Background update checks | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| CLI plus HTTP management API | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Capacitor apps | Yes · Source | Yes |
| React Native apps | Not stated on the pages we checked | No |
| Flutter apps | Not stated on the pages we checked | No |
| Native Android and iOS apps | Not stated on the pages we checked | No |
| Free plan | Yes · Source | Yes |