How Despia works
Despia has been around since 2011, first as Advanced WebView, and is popular with Lovable, Base44 and Replit builders. You give it the URL where your web app is hosted and install the despia-native SDK to call native features. By default the app ships without your web files and fetches them from your hosting on each launch; an optional local mode keeps them on the phone for offline use. It does not use Capacitor: it is Despia’s own runtime on top of the system web views.
Builds run on Despia’s cloud Macs and use build minutes from your licence. With an App Store Connect API key, iOS builds upload to TestFlight automatically. For Android you download the App Bundle and upload it in Play Console, and you submit for review in each store’s console.
How CapWrapp works
Connect the GitHub repo your project lives in — Lovable, Bolt and Base44 sync to GitHub in one click. If it is still a website, CapWrapp commits Capacitor, the open-source native runtime from Ionic, along with the iOS and Android projects. When you pick a commit, CapWrapp starts GitHub Actions in your own account: the web app is built and bundled into both apps, signed with keys from CapWrapp’s vault, and uploaded to TestFlight and Google Play’s internal testing track. From the Releases page you send a tested version to App Review or promote it to production on Google Play, with What’s New already translated. The store listing is written once and translated by AI. More in how CapWrapp works.
The real difference: whose code is in the app
Despia ships its runtime and loads your website. CapWrapp ships your code: the built web app is inside the binary, and the native projects are ordinary Capacitor projects in your repo.
- Updates. With Despia, a web change reaches users on their next launch. With CapWrapp, it goes out as a new build through TestFlight and review — slower, but what Apple reviewed is what people run.
- Leaving. Despia lets you export Xcode and Android Studio projects, which you then build on a Mac. With CapWrapp there is nothing to export: the projects are already in your repo and keep building with standard Capacitor tools if you cancel.
- Review. Apple’s Guideline 4.2 rejects apps that are only a website, whichever tool built them. Run the free Guideline 4.2 self-audit before you submit. Despia publishes its own guides on avoiding rejections too.
Pricing
Despia charges once per web app: $249 for one platform or $498 for both, each with build minutes and source export. CapWrapp is a subscription priced by active apps, with every feature on every plan: $29 a month for up to 3 apps, $99 for 10 and $249 for 50 — $20, $79 and $199 a month billed yearly. An app counts as active for 30 days after you ship it, teammates are free, and every plan starts with a 14-day free trial with no card. Builds run on your GitHub account’s Actions minutes.
For a single app you keep for years, Despia’s one-time licence can work out cheaper. If you ship several apps, release every week, or want Google Play and store submissions handled for you, CapWrapp’s flat plan is the better deal. Whichever tool you pick, Apple charges $99 a year for a developer account and Google $25 once.
Moving from Despia to CapWrapp
- Sync the project to GitHub. Lovable, Bolt and Base44 each have a GitHub button.
- Connect the repo in CapWrapp and let it add Capacitor, using the same bundle ID as your Despia app so the new build updates the same store listing.
- Replace
despia-nativecalls with Capacitor plugins or CapWrapp integrations — RevenueCat for purchases, OneSignal for push. - Add your App Store Connect key and Google Play service account. On Android, sign with the upload key Google Play already knows, or ask Google to reset it.