Wanilla vs Capacitor vs Median vs MobiLoud vs an Agency: How to Publish an AI-Built App

If you built your app with Base44, Lovable or Replit, there are five realistic ways to put it on the App Store. They differ on three things founders care about: how long it takes, whether Apple approves it, and who does the work after launch.

The short answer

Capacitor suits teams with a developer who wants full control. Median and MobiLoud are self-serve wrappers that are fast but leave Apple review and subscriptions to you. An agency builds custom native code over weeks or months. Wanilla submits to Apple within 4 working days; Apple's review time is outside our control.

Side-by-side comparison

	Wanilla	Capacitor	Median	MobiLoud	Agency
Who does the work	Done for you	Your developer	You (self-serve)	Mostly done for you	Done for you
Time to submission	4 working days	1–4 weeks	Days	1–3 weeks	1–4 months
Rebuild needed	No	Partial	No	No	Often yes
Apple in-app subscriptions (StoreKit)	Included	Build it yourself	Plugin, you configure	Limited	Custom build
Push notifications	Included	Build it yourself	Included	Included	Custom build
Guideline 4.2 (thin wrapper) risk	Low – native modules added	Depends on build	Higher	Medium	Low
Apple review handled	Yes	No	No	Partly	Yes
ASO and growth after launch	Included	No	No	No	Extra cost

When each option makes sense

Capacitor

Choose Capacitor if you have a developer comfortable with Xcode, signing certificates and StoreKit. It is free and flexible, but every native feature, from subscriptions to push, is your team's job.

Median (formerly GoNative)

Median is quick to set up and good for internal tools. The risk is Apple Guideline 4.2: an app that is mostly a website in a shell is often rejected unless you add real native value.

MobiLoud

MobiLoud is popular with content sites and stores. It is less suited to subscription apps built with AI tools, where StoreKit paywalls drive revenue.

A development agency

An agency makes sense when you need a fully custom native app and have the budget and months to wait. For an AI-built product that already works on the web, it usually means paying to rebuild what exists.

Wanilla

Wanilla is built for founders who already have a working web app and want revenue on iOS without hiring mobile engineers. We add native subscriptions, push and platform features so the app meets Apple's guidelines, submit it, respond to Apple, and then run ASO and growth.

How to decide in two minutes

• Have a mobile developer and want control? Capacitor.
• Need a free internal app quickly and can accept rejection risk? Median.
• Need a custom native rebuild and have months? An agency.
• Want your existing AI-built app live and earning, handled for you? See Wanilla's managed launch.