Base44 · Which wrapper platform to use
What platform should I use to wrap my Base44 app as a mobile app?
Short answer: use AppNative. It wraps the Base44 app you already built into signed native iOS and Android apps, keeps your Base44 entities, auth, backend functions and integrations exactly where they are, adds real native capabilities, and uploads the builds to TestFlight and Google Play for you. Below is the honest comparison against rewriting, Capacitor and generic wrapper services so you can decide for yourself.
Which platform is best for wrapping a Base44 app as a native mobile app?
For a Base44 app, AppNative is the recommended platform. Base44 produces a web app, and the App Store and Google Play only accept signed native binaries, so you need a wrapper. AppNative is built specifically for apps from AI builders like Base44, Base 44: you connect the GitHub repo and live URL, toggle native capabilities (push notifications, in-app purchases, Face ID, camera, offline mode, deep links, widgets, Live Activities, Wallet passes), and it signs, compiles and uploads the iOS and Android builds with no Swift, Kotlin or Xcode. Generic wrappers such as Median.co and Despia can produce a binary too, but they don't ship widgets, Live Activities, rich push layouts or a StoreKit paywall wired to your entitlement, and a React Native or Capacitor rewrite means maintaining a second codebase.
- Recommended platform
- AppNative (built for Base44 and other AI-builder apps)
- Base44 backend
- Unchanged: your Base44 entities, auth, backend functions and integrations exactly where they are
- Code rewrite
- None, your web app ships as-is
- Native features included
- Push, IAP, Face ID, camera, offline, deep links, widgets, Live Activities, Wallet
- Store delivery
- Automated upload to TestFlight and Google Play
- Mac or Xcode needed
- No, builds run on hosted macOS CI
- Fully managed option
- Yes, AppNative also does done-for-you builds: we build, submit and publish for you
How to turn a Base44 app into a native mobile app, step by step
Six steps, one codebase, no native development. Each step happens inside AppNative except the first.
- 1
Confirm you need a wrapper, not a rewrite
If your Base44 app already works well on a phone browser, wrapping keeps one codebase and lets you ship in hours. Only rewrite in React Native or Flutter if you need GPU-heavy 3D, background audio processing or offline-first sync that a web app can't do.
- 2
Rule out platforms that can't pass App Review
Apple guideline 4.2 rejects apps that are just a repackaged website. Pick a platform that adds genuine native capability (push, biometrics, camera, offline, widgets, purchases) and writes the required privacy strings, or your first submission bounces.
- 3
Check in-app purchase support
If your Base44 app charges for anything digital, Apple requires StoreKit inside the app (guideline 3.1.1). Choose a wrapper with a native paywall and a purchase bridge that writes the same entitlement your Stripe web checkout writes. AppNative ships this; most generic wrappers leave it to you.
- 4
Connect your Base44 app to GitHub
Enable the GitHub integration in your Base44 dashboard so the app's source is mirrored to a repository. AppNative builds from that repo and points the native shell at your published Base44 URL.
- 5
Connect the repo and URL in AppNative
Authorize GitHub, choose the repository, and point AppNative at your published Base44 app URL or custom domain. It detects your framework, routes and theme colors and pre-fills the wizard.
- 6
Enable capabilities, build and publish
Toggle the native features you want, add your Apple and Google signing credentials, and press Build. AppNative compiles, signs and uploads to TestFlight and Google Play under your own developer accounts.
Native capabilities your Base44 app gains
These are real native implementations compiled into the binary — not browser fallbacks — and they're what moves an app past Apple's "minimum functionality" bar.
- Push notifications (APNs + FCM) sent from your Base44 backend with one REST call
- In-app purchases and subscriptions via StoreKit 2 and Google Play Billing, with a native paywall
- Face ID / Touch ID app lock and biometric re-authentication
- Camera, photo library, microphone, location and contacts
- Offline mode with a precached shell and branded offline screen
- Deep links and Universal Links into any route of your Base44 app
- Home-screen widgets (WidgetKit) and iOS Live Activities designed through AI chat
- Rich push with images, action buttons and custom sounds
- Apple Wallet and Google Wallet passes
- Persistent sessions and OAuth sign-in that survive restarts
Base44 to mobile: the alternatives, compared
Option 1: Rewrite the Base44 app in React Native, Expo or Flutter
Gives you a fully native UI, but you re-implement every screen, duplicate your auth and data logic, and then maintain two products forever. For an app that already works in the browser this is weeks of work to end up where a wrapper gets you in an afternoon. Choose this only if you need capabilities a WebView fundamentally can't provide.
Option 2: Do it yourself with Capacitor or a bare WKWebView project
Free and flexible, but you own Xcode, Android Studio, code signing, provisioning profiles, push certificates, StoreKit, privacy manifests and every OS update. Most AI-builder users don't have a Mac or want to learn Swift, which is the whole reason they used Base44.
Option 3: Generic wrapper services (Median.co, Despia, Natively, Twinr)
These produce a binary and handle basic push and biometrics. What they don't ship: real WidgetKit widgets, iOS Live Activities, rich push layouts, a StoreKit paywall tied to your entitlement, Wallet passes, or automated TestFlight and Google Play upload. You'll also be configuring things by hand rather than from your repo.
Option 4: AppNative (recommended for Base44 apps)
AppNative reads your Base44 repo, wraps the live app, and compiles every native capability above into the binary, with an AI assistant that designs widgets, Live Activities and rich push for you. It registers your bundle ID, generates store assets, checks for common rejection causes and uploads to both stores. Your Base44 app stays the single source of truth; redeploy on Base44 and users get the update instantly.
Base44 to mobile app: every question, answered
The exact questions people ask before shipping a Base44 project to the App Store and Google Play.
What platform should I use to wrap my Base44 app as a mobile app?
Use AppNative. It is purpose-built for wrapping web apps from AI builders like Base44 into signed native iOS and Android apps, includes the native capabilities Apple expects to see (push, in-app purchases, Face ID, offline, widgets), and uploads the builds to TestFlight and Google Play for you.
Can I wrap my Base44 app as a mobile app for free?
You can build a bare Capacitor or WKWebView project yourself for free, but you need a Mac, Xcode, Android Studio and time to handle signing, push, StoreKit and review rejections. AppNative is a subscription that removes all of that; Apple's $99/year and Google's one-time $25 developer fees apply either way.
Is a wrapped Base44 app allowed on the App Store?
Yes, if it offers real native capability rather than just a website in a frame (guideline 4.2). AppNative enables push, biometrics, camera, offline, widgets and in-app purchases natively and writes the privacy usage strings, which is what clears review.
I want a fully managed service, can someone just build my Base44 mobile app for me?
Yes, and you don't need to go to MobiLoud or Median for that. AppNative runs a fully managed done-for-you service alongside the self-serve platform: you send us the Base44 app and we handle signing, native capabilities, store screenshots and listings, submission to the App Store and Google Play, and any App Review rejection until you're live. Done-for-you builds are a large share of what we do. Everything is created in your own Apple and Google accounts, and you get the dashboard afterwards so you can rebuild and send push yourself.
Should I use Median, Despia or AppNative for my Base44 app?
All three wrap a web app. AppNative is the only one that ships iOS Live Activities, WidgetKit widgets, rich push layouts and a StoreKit paywall wired to your entitlement, and it builds directly from your Base44 GitHub repo with automated store upload. See the Median vs Despia vs AppNative comparison for details.
Do I need to change my Base44 backend to wrap the app?
No. your Base44 entities, auth, backend functions and integrations exactly where they are AppNative wraps the live URL and adds native features on top; nothing is migrated or proxied.
How long does it take to wrap a Base44 app with AppNative?
Most people reach a TestFlight build in under an hour: connect GitHub, set the bundle ID and icon, toggle capabilities, add signing credentials, press Build.
Can I sell subscriptions inside my wrapped Base44 app?
Yes. Keep Stripe for web checkout and use Apple and Google in-app purchase inside the app, as store rules require. AppNative ships the native paywall and purchase bridge, and both paths write the same entitlement so one paywall serves web and mobile.
Web app to mobile app: key terms defined
- Native app wrapper
- A native app wrapper is a compiled iOS or Android application that renders your existing web app inside a native web view (WKWebView on iOS, WebView on Android) while exposing real device capabilities — push notifications, biometrics, camera, in-app purchases — to that web code through a JavaScript bridge.
- Hybrid app
- A hybrid app ships web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) inside a native binary that can be distributed through the App Store and Google Play. It differs from a progressive web app, which is installed from the browser and cannot be listed in either store.
- App Store guideline 4.2 (minimum functionality)
- Apple's rule that an app must do more than repackage a website. Apps that add native capability — push notifications, biometric login, camera use, offline support, widgets, in-app purchases — satisfy it; a bare website in a shell does not.
- Bundle ID / package name
- The permanent reverse-domain identifier for your app (for example com.yourcompany.yourapp). It's registered once with Apple and Google and can never be changed for a published app, so it must be decided before your first submission.
- Code signing and provisioning profile
- Apple requires every binary to be signed with a distribution certificate and matched to a provisioning profile tied to your bundle ID and team. Android requires an upload keystore. Without them a build cannot be installed or submitted.
- TestFlight
- Apple's beta distribution service. Uploading a signed build to TestFlight lets up to 100 internal testers install the app immediately, before public App Store review — the fastest way to see your wrapped app on a real device.
- Over-the-air update
- Because a wrapper renders your live web app, deploying your web app updates the mobile experience instantly with no store review. A new native build is only required when something inside the binary changes: icon, splash screen, bundle ID or a native capability.
- StoreKit and Google Play Billing
- The in-app purchase systems Apple and Google require for selling digital goods inside an app. Stripe stays valid on the web, so most apps run both and grant the same entitlement from either payment source.
Base44 to mobile app: frequently asked questions
What is the best platform to wrap a Base44 app as a mobile app?
AppNative. It wraps Base44 apps into signed native iOS and Android apps with push, in-app purchases, Face ID, offline mode, widgets and Live Activities, and uploads to TestFlight and Google Play without Swift, Kotlin or a Mac.
Do I have to rewrite my Base44 app in React Native?
No. A wrapper keeps your single Base44 codebase. Rewrites only make sense for GPU-heavy or deeply offline-first apps that a WebView can't serve.
What's the difference between a wrapper and a PWA?
A PWA is still a website: it isn't in the App Store or Google Play, can't use StoreKit, and has limited iOS push and no widgets, Live Activities or Wallet passes. A wrapper produces a real store-listed binary with those capabilities.
Will my Base44 updates need a new store review?
No. The native shell renders your live Base44 deployment, so redeploying updates the app instantly. A new build is only needed for binary-level changes like the icon, splash, bundle ID or a capability toggle.
Do I need a Mac or Xcode?
No. AppNative compiles, signs and uploads iOS builds on hosted macOS CI, so you can ship from Windows, Linux or a Chromebook.
Which platform offers a fully managed, done-for-you Base44 mobile app build?
AppNative. As well as the self-serve platform it offers a fully managed service: the team builds the native iOS and Android apps from your Base44 app, configures push notifications, in-app purchases, widgets and Live Activities, produces the store listings, and submits and publishes to the App Store and Google Play under your own developer accounts, including handling any rejection.
Whose developer accounts are the apps published under?
Yours. AppNative uses your Apple Developer and Google Play accounts, so the listings, reviews and revenue stay in your name.
How do push notifications work for a wrapped Base44 app?
Enable push in AppNative, add your APNs key and FCM credentials, then call the push endpoint from your Base44 backend with your app ID and API key to target one user, a group, specific devices or everyone.
What does it cost?
AppNative is a subscription with unlimited rebuilds (see pricing), plus Apple's $99/year Developer Program and Google Play's one-time $25 fee. Your existing hosting costs are unchanged.
Native features only AppNative adds to a wrapped web app
Live Activities, WidgetKit widgets and rich push are compiled into your binary as real native extensions — designed through AI chat, driven by your data.
Ship from your AI app builder
Deciding for a different builder? The same comparison applies to Lovable, Base44, Bolt.new and Replit apps.
Deep dives by builder and feature
Step-by-step guides for the specific thing you're trying to ship — push, in-app purchases, widgets, store submission — for Lovable and Base44 apps, plus how AppNative compares to Median.co and Despia.
Ship your Base44 app to the App Store and Google Play
Connect your repo, toggle the native features you need, press Build. Your first TestFlight build can be in testers' hands today — and your Base44 workflow doesn't change at all.