Apache Cordova is fading. Here are the real alternatives for your mobile app.
Time is money. Cordova apps are running out of runway: plugins abandoned, SDK requirements pulling away, WebView performance falling further behind native. We audit first, name what is reusable, then migrate on a flat fee. React Native, Capacitor where it makes sense, or fully native, picked from what the audit shows.
Audit-first · Flat-fee · Senior-led · 30-day stability window
Migration capability
9-month migration, dual-store approval in 4 weeks
Per-engagement migration outcomes vary. The closest published reference is a healthcare cross-platform migration: dual-store approval cleared in 4 weeks, client team owning the new codebase by handoff. Cordova migration scope is set by what the audit surfaces in your project.
Read the full case →If any of these sound familiar, you need to leave Cordova
These are the situations we see most often when Cordova apps come in for migration.
Plugins you depend on have been abandoned
The Cordova plugin ecosystem peaked years ago. Plugins for camera, push, payments, or device APIs are unmaintained, broken on new OS versions, or no longer compatible with current Android Studio or Xcode builds.
App Store and Play Store SDK requirements are pulling away
Apple and Google bump minimum SDK targets every year. Cordova's runtime updates lag the platform releases. Submissions that worked last year start getting rejected on SDK compatibility grounds.
WebView performance feels increasingly outdated
Native UI keeps getting faster while WebView Cordova rendering stays roughly the same. Users feel the gap. App Store ratings reflect it. Cold start and scroll performance are the most visible offenders.
Senior mobile developers refuse to touch Cordova
The mobile hiring market has moved on. Engineers who'll commit to a Cordova role are rare and charge a premium because they're betting against the stack. You're paying more for fewer options every quarter.
Security patches aren't catching up
Vulnerabilities in old WebViews, abandoned plugins, and outdated dependencies stack up. Patching them in-place becomes a part-time job. Your compliance and security posture degrades over time.
Your team wants native features Cordova never supports cleanly
Bluetooth Low Energy, advanced camera, AR, background tasks, HealthKit, HomeKit, native push routing. Cordova plugins approximate; native handles. Your roadmap is gated on features Cordova can't ship reliably.
How a Cordova migration actually runs
Four stages. Clear, concrete steps. Every step has a deliverable you can point to.
Paid Technical Audit
Mandatory first step. Read-only repo access. Standalone product. You walk away with a written report whether or not you move forward.
Every migration starts with a Technical Audit: read-only repo access, real-device testing on your current Cordova build, and a severity-ranked findings report. We map what's reusable (business logic, API contracts, data models, design tokens) versus what's Cordova-specific dead weight (WebView shims, plugin glue, hybrid build scaffolding). The audit also picks the destination stack honestly: React Native, Capacitor, or fully native.
Migration plan
We turn the audit's findings into a flat-fee migration scope. You see the plan, the stack choice, and the dollar number before any work starts.
The audit tells us what we're working with. We turn that into a flat-fee migration scope: which screens port first, what is rewritten cleanly, which native APIs unblock your roadmap. You always know the ceiling before we start. If the audit shows a full rebuild is the only honest path, we say so and re-scope as a Build, not a stretched migration.
Executed migration
Hands-on rebuild. Daily builds, weekly sync. We ship in the order the audit and plan prioritized.
Stop the bleeding first: anything blocking your next App Store or Play Store submission. Then we move feature-by-feature, business logic first, UI second. We keep the Cordova app shipping until the new build is ready to replace it. No feature work sneaking in through the side door.
Handoff and stability window
Handoff docs to your team (or a new contractor), plus a 30-day stability window. Then you pick your next path.
Your team or a new contractor takes the wheel with a handoff package built to be read, not filed. Operational runbooks, architectural decision records, an onboarding doc for the next engineer. A 30-day stability window follows handoff: we respond to anything the migration surfaced in production. After that you pick: maintain in-house, contract someone, or graduate to a Partner retainer.
Outcomes from a recent migration
Per-engagement numbers from a healthcare cross-platform rebuild, shown as an example of what migrations can look like with senior hands.
9 months
Full migration cutover, audit through handoff
4 weeks
Dual-store approval after submission
$25k+
Published migration pricing starts here
How much does a Cordova migration cost?
Audit-first, quoted fast. Flat-fee migration scope from the audit's findings. No estimates, no stretched engagements.
Cordova to Native Migration
Starting at $25,000 · audit first, then quoted
Audit-first ($2,500 Quick Scan or $5,000 Full Audit). Flat-fee migration scoped from the audit's findings. Deposit + milestones. 30-day stability window after handoff.
Engagements typically run $25k to $200k+ depending on app size, plugin count, surfaces in scope, and which destination stack the audit recommends. The audit gives you the dollar number before any migration work starts.