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Mobile Development · head to head

Capacitor vs Convoy

Capacitor logo

Capacitor

Mobile Development

MIT-licensed native runtime bridging web apps to iOS, Android and native APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Convoy logo

Convoy

APIs

Open source webhooks gateway you self-host, handling both sending and receiving

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Capacitor uI still renders in a system WebView, so complex animation and heavy graphics work require more manual tuning than a natively-rendered framework provides by default.; Convoy the default deployment is self-hosted, so you operate Convoy plus Postgres and Redis and carry the on-call burden for the system that delivers your customers' events.
  • They diverge on capability: Capacitor covers Native project generation, Convoy covers Inbound and outbound.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Capacitor and Convoy actually diverge.

Attributes where Capacitor and Convoy differ
AttributeCapacitorConvoy
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month, flat rate regardless of volume
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud
CategoryMobile DevelopmentAPIs

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Capacitor

  • Native project generation
  • Plugin bridge
  • Custom native plugins
  • Live Reload
  • Framework agnostic
  • Capacitor Assets and Configure CLIs

Only in Convoy

  • Inbound and outbound
  • Broker-driven ingestion
  • Payload transformation
  • Portal links
  • Circuit breaking
  • Retry policies
  • OpenTelemetry export
  • Role-based access control

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Capacitor

  • A team wrapping an existing responsive web app to publish it to the App Store and Play Storenot Convoy
  • A product using React or Vue that wants native device APIs without adopting a full mobile frameworknot Convoy
  • A developer who wants to drop into native Swift or Kotlin code for the parts a plugin does not covernot Convoy
  • A company migrating off Apache Cordova, since Capacitor was designed as a modern, actively maintained successornot Convoy

Convoy

  • A fintech that cannot route customer webhook traffic through a third-party SaaS for compliance reasonsnot Capacitor
  • A high-volume platform for which per-message webhook pricing costs more than the flat premium licencenot Capacitor
  • A team that also receives webhooks from many providers and wants ingestion, verification and deduplication in the same gatewaynot Capacitor
  • An engineering group that wants webhook delivery driven directly from an existing Kafka or SQS topicnot Capacitor

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Capacitor

  • UI still renders in a system WebView, so complex animation and heavy graphics work require more manual tuning than a natively-rendered framework provides by default.
  • Every native capability not covered by an official or community plugin means writing and maintaining native Swift and Kotlin code, which erodes the single-codebase promise for device-heavy apps.
  • It is maintained by the same team as Ionic, and while it does not require the Ionic UI library, its release cadence and roadmap priorities are set by a company now owned by OutSystems.
  • Cordova plugins are not automatically compatible and often need adaptation, so migrating a legacy Cordova app is a real porting project, not a drop-in swap.
  • App store review teams scrutinise WebView-wrapped apps more closely for "just a website" rejections, so thin wrapper apps carry more approval risk than natively-compiled alternatives.

Convoy

  • The default deployment is self-hosted, so you operate Convoy plus Postgres and Redis and carry the on-call burden for the system that delivers your customers' events.
  • Frain Technologies is a small startup, and putting customer-facing delivery infrastructure on it means accepting real vendor continuity risk on a component that is hard to swap out quickly.
  • The premium tier at a flat 999 US dollars a month is poor value below substantial volume, while the community edition omits the portal, transformations and RBAC that most production deployments end up wanting.
  • The hosted cloud trial is capped at one project and 100 events a day, which is too small to properly evaluate the service before committing.
  • Documentation and the third-party ecosystem are thinner than the established webhook services, so unusual configurations often mean reading the Go source.

Pricing, plan by plan

Capacitor

Free
  • CapacitorFree
    • MIT licensed, unlimited apps
    • Core plugin set included
    • Community support via GitHub and Discord

Convoy

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Self-hosted open source gateway
    • Inbound and outbound webhooks
    • Automatic retries and message broker support
  • Premium$999/month
    • Flat rate irrespective of message volume
    • Portal links and payload transformation
    • RBAC, circuit breaking and white labelling
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • SAML SSO
    • Dedicated support with SLA
    • On-premises deployment assistance
  • Cloud$undefined/month
    • Hosted by Convoy
    • 14 day trial limited to one project and 100 events a day
    • Usage-based tiers above the trial

Which should you pick?

Choose Capacitor if

  • You need native project generation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want plugin bridge.
Capacitor review

Choose Convoy if

  • You need inbound and outbound.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want broker-driven ingestion.
Convoy review

Questions people ask

Is Capacitor or Convoy better?
Neither clearly leads. Capacitor starts at Free and Convoy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Capacitor or Convoy?
Capacitor starts at Free and Convoy at Free.
Does Capacitor or Convoy run on more platforms?
Capacitor runs on Web, iOS, Android. Convoy runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Capacitor for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Capacitor best used for?
Capacitor is most often used for a team wrapping an existing responsive web app to publish it to the app store and play store, a product using react or vue that wants native device apis without adopting a full mobile framework, a developer who wants to drop into native swift or kotlin code for the parts a plugin does not cover, a company migrating off apache cordova, since capacitor was designed as a modern, actively maintained successor. Of those, a team wrapping an existing responsive web app to publish it to the app store and play store and a product using react or vue that wants native device apis without adopting a full mobile framework are not what Convoy is typically brought in for.
What can Capacitor do that Convoy cannot?
Capacitor covers Native project generation, Plugin bridge, Custom native plugins, Live Reload. Convoy covers Inbound and outbound, Broker-driven ingestion, Payload transformation, Portal links.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Capacitor: Do I need Ionic components to use Capacitor?

No. Capacitor is the native runtime and plugin bridge; the Ionic UI component library is a separate, optional layer.

Convoy: Is Convoy really open source?

Yes, the community edition is open source and self-hostable, covering both inbound and outbound webhooks with retries.

Capacitor: Is Capacitor free for commercial apps?

Yes, it is MIT licensed with no fee for commercial use, and there is no paid tier of Capacitor itself.

Convoy: What does premium cost?

A flat 999 US dollars a month, self-hosted, regardless of message volume.

Capacitor: Is it a replacement for Cordova?

Functionally yes for most teams, though existing Cordova plugins need adaptation rather than working unmodified.

Convoy: Does it receive webhooks as well as send them?

Yes, inbound ingestion with verification and deduplication is a first-class feature, unlike most webhook services.

Convoy: Do I have to self-host?

No, there is a hosted cloud, but the trial is capped at 100 events a day and self-hosting is the primary model.

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