Best mobile app deployment platforms for solo developers in 2026 (with real prices)

If you ship mobile apps alone, the best deployment platform in 2026 is Capgo: it builds signed iOS and Android apps in the cloud, uploads them to the stores, and pushes live updates, starting at $14 a month.

Full disclosure: I'm the founder of Capgo. Every price below was checked on the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-11-08.

TL;DR ranking

1. Capgo: all-in-one for Capacitor and Ionic apps, no Mac.
2. Expo EAS: all-in-one for React Native and Expo apps.
3. Codemagic: 500 free macOS minutes a month.
4. Capawesome Cloud: Capacitor OTA from $9 a month.
5. Bitrise: classic mobile CI/CD from $89 a month yearly.
6. GitHub Actions: macOS at $0.062 a minute.
7. Fastlane: free glue for scripting store uploads.

The three jobs a solo dev needs covered

Deployment for one person really means: build (including iOS, which normally needs a Mac), submit (App Store Connect and Google Play), and update (fix a bug without a week of review). Rate each tool on those three.

1. Capgo: build + submit + update

npx @capgo/cli@latest init

• Build: Capgo Build compiles signed binaries in the cloud. No Mac.
• Submit: uploads to App Store Connect and Google Play.
• Update: live updates for Capacitor with channels, staged rollouts, encryption and rollback.
• Price: 14-day free trial, then Solo $14/mo (2,000 MAU, 60 build minutes). Or prepaid credits valid 12 months. See plans.

2. Expo EAS: build + submit + update (React Native)

Free plan with 15 iOS and 15 Android builds a month and updates to 1K MAU. Starter $19/mo plus usage.

3. Codemagic: build + submit

Free: 500 macOS M2 minutes a month, 1 parallel build. Then $0.095 per M2 minute. OTA is for React Native only.

4. Capawesome Cloud: update (+ build on platform plans)

Live updates from $9/mo, platform with native builds from $19/mo.

5. Bitrise: build + submit

Starter $99/mo or $89/mo yearly, around 100 builds a month.

6. GitHub Actions: build

$0.062 per macOS minute, free on public repos. Pair it with Fastlane for uploads.

7. Fastlane: submit

Open source, free. Still needs macOS for iOS builds.

Dead ends in 2026

• Ionic Appflow: no new apps since 1 Oct 2026, sunset 31 Dec 2027 (migration guide).
• App Center / CodePush: retired 31 Mar 2025.

FAQ

Cheapest full setup? Capgo prepaid credits, which Capgo says can cover a year of light usage for $5.

Can I avoid buying a Mac? Yes, with Capgo, EAS, Codemagic or Bitrise cloud macOS.

Do OTA updates break App Store rules? Web layer updates are fine; native changes still need review.