---
title: Alternative to the Capacitor Community Contacts plugin
description: Discover a comprehensive alternative to the Capacitor Community Contacts plugin with enhanced cross-platform support and modern API design.
date: 
  created: 2025-07-18
  updated: 2026-07-17
authors:
  - robingenz
categories:
  - Capacitor
  - Guides
  - SDKs
links:
  - Capacitor Contacts: sdks/capacitor/contacts.md
faq: true
---

# Alternative to the Capacitor Community Contacts plugin

Need a robust contacts management solution for your Capacitor app? While the Capacitor Community Contacts plugin provides basic contact functionality for iOS and Android, developers seeking enhanced features, web support, and professional maintenance should consider the [Capawesome Contacts](../../sdks/capacitor/contacts.md) plugin. This modern alternative offers comprehensive contact management with cross-platform compatibility and enterprise-grade reliability.

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## Introduction

The Capacitor Community Contacts plugin has served as a foundational solution for developers requiring native contact access in their Capacitor applications. It provides essential functionality for retrieving, creating, and deleting contacts across iOS and Android platforms. However, as applications become more sophisticated and development teams require more comprehensive solutions, the limitations of community-maintained plugins become apparent.

The [Capawesome Contacts](../../sdks/capacitor/contacts.md) plugin addresses these limitations by providing a professionally maintained, feature-rich alternative that extends beyond basic contact management. With support for web platforms, advanced filtering, contact groups, and modern API design, it represents the next evolution in Capacitor contact management solutions.

## Differences to Capawesome Contacts

The [Capawesome Contacts](../../sdks/capacitor/contacts.md) plugin offers several advantages over the Capacitor Community Contacts plugin:

**Cross-Platform Support**: Unlike the community plugin that only supports iOS and Android, Capawesome Contacts also includes web support, allowing users to pick contacts in web applications.

**Enhanced API Design**: The plugin features a modern, promise-based API with comprehensive TypeScript definitions, making development more intuitive and less error-prone.

**Professional Maintenance**: As part of the Capawesome ecosystem, the plugin receives regular updates, security patches, and compatibility improvements with new Capacitor versions.

**Advanced Features**: Beyond basic CRUD operations, the plugin supports contact groups, photo management, pagination, filtering, and native contact picker integration.

**Enterprise Support**: Professional support and consulting services are available for teams requiring assistance with implementation or customization.

## Migration from Capacitor Community Contacts

Migrating from the Capacitor Community Contacts plugin involves updating your installation and adapting your API calls to the new plugin structure.

### Installation

Begin by removing the existing Capacitor Community Contacts dependency and installing the Capawesome alternative.
To install the [Capawesome Contacts](../../sdks/capacitor/contacts.md) plugin, please refer to the [Installation](../../sdks/capacitor/contacts.md#installation) section in the plugin documentation.

### Create a contact

Contact creation patterns are streamlined in the Capawesome plugin with advanced type definitions for email addresses, phone numbers, and more.

**Capacitor Community Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts } from '@capacitor-community/contacts';

const createContact = async () => {
  const result = await Contacts.createContact({
    contact: {
      name: {
        given: 'John',
        family: 'Doe'
      },
      phones: [{
        type: 'mobile',
        number: '+1234567890'
      }],
      emails: [{
        type: 'work',
        address: 'john.doe@example.com'
      }]
    }
  });
  return result.contactId;
};
```

**Capawesome Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts, EmailAddressType, PhoneNumberType } from '@capawesome-team/capacitor-contacts';

const createContact = async () => {
  await Contacts.createContact({
    contact: {
      givenName: 'John',
      familyName: 'Doe',
      phoneNumbers: [{
        value: '+1234567890',
        type: PhoneNumberType.Mobile
      }],
      emailAddresses: [{
        value: 'john.doe@example.com',
        type: EmailAddressType.Work
      }]
    }
  });
};
```

### Retrieve a contact

The Capawesome Contacts plugin offers a lot more options for retrieving contacts, including filtering and pagination. The API is designed to be more intuitive and efficient:

**Capacitor Community Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts } from '@capacitor-community/contacts';

const getContact = async (contactId: string) => {
  const { contact } = await Contacts.getContact({ contactId });
  return contact;
};
```

**Capawesome Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts } from '@capawesome-team/capacitor-contacts';

const getContacts = async () => {
  const { contacts } = await Contacts.getContacts({
    fields: ['id', 'givenName', 'familyName', 'phoneNumbers', 'emailAddresses'],
    limit: 100, // Limit the number of contacts retrieved
    offset: 0, // Offset for pagination
  });
  return contacts;
};

const getContactById = async (contactId: string) => {
  const { contact } = await Contacts.getContactById({ id: contactId });
  return contact;
};
```

### Update a contact

Contact updates are not directly supported in the Capacitor Community Contacts plugin, requiring a delete and recreate pattern. This has the disadvantage of losing any existing contact IDs or associations. The Capawesome plugin simplifies this with a single method for updating contacts:

**Capacitor Community Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts } from '@capacitor-community/contacts';

const updateContact = async (contactId: string) => {
  // First, delete the existing contact
  await Contacts.deleteContact({ contactId });
  // Then, create a new contact with the updated information
  await Contacts.createContact({
    contact: {
      name: {
        given: 'Jane',
        family: 'Smith'
      }
    }
  });
};
```

**Capawesome Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts } from '@capawesome-team/capacitor-contacts';

const updateContact = async (contactId: string) => {
  await Contacts.updateContactById({
    id: contactId,
    contact: {
      givenName: 'Jane',
      familyName: 'Smith'
    }
  });
};
```

### Delete a contact

Contact deletion is straightforward in both plugins, making it easy to remove contacts when needed:

**Capacitor Community Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts } from '@capacitor-community/contacts';

const deleteContact = async (contactId: string) => {
  await Contacts.deleteContact({ contactId });
};
```

**Capawesome Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts } from '@capawesome-team/capacitor-contacts';

const deleteContact = async (contactId: string) => {
  await Contacts.deleteContactById({ id: contactId });
};
```

### Pick a contact

The contact picker functionality is enhanced in the Capawesome plugin, allowing for more flexible selection options:

**Capacitor Community Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts } from '@capacitor-community/contacts';

const pickContact = async () => {
  const { contact } = await Contacts.pickContact();
  return contact;
};
```

**Capawesome Contacts:**

```typescript
import { Contacts } from '@capawesome-team/capacitor-contacts';

const pickContacts = async () => {
  const { contacts } = await Contacts.pickContacts({
    fields: ['id', 'givenName', 'familyName', 'phoneNumbers', 'emailAddresses'],
    multiple: false
  });
  return contacts[0];
};
```

## FAQ

### Do I lose a contact's ID when I update it?

No, and this is one of the more painful gaps in the Capacitor Community plugin: it has no update method, so the common workaround is deleting the contact and recreating it, which throws away the original contact ID and breaks anything in your app that referenced it. The Capawesome Contacts plugin's `updateContactById(...)` method updates a contact in place, so the ID and any existing associations survive.

### Does the Capawesome Contacts plugin work on the web?

Yes. The Capacitor Community Contacts plugin only supports Android and iOS, so a Capacitor app that also targets the web has no way to pick or manage contacts in the browser. Capawesome Contacts adds web support on top of Android and iOS.

### Can I migrate one screen at a time, or does it have to be all at once?

You can migrate incrementally. Both plugins expose a similar shape of contact object, and the method names map closely (`createContact`, `getContacts`, `pickContacts`, `deleteContactById`), so it's reasonable to swap the import in one screen, verify it, and move to the next rather than rewriting your entire contacts layer in one pass.

### Is the Capawesome Contacts plugin free?

It's part of [Capawesome Insiders](https://capawesome.io/insiders/){:target="_blank"}, a paid subscription. If you only need basic contact read/create/delete on Android and iOS, that's worth weighing against the Community plugin being free — the paid plugin's value is in the update-in-place API, web support, pagination/filtering, and maintained compatibility with new Capacitor versions.

### What happens to contact groups and photos when I migrate?

The Capacitor Community plugin doesn't expose contact groups or photo management at all, so there's nothing to migrate on that front — these are net-new capabilities in Capawesome Contacts, not a data migration concern. Existing contact data on the device (names, phone numbers, emails) is unaffected by switching plugins, since both read from the same system contacts store. See [Exploring the Capacitor Contacts API](./exploring-the-capacitor-contacts-api.md) for how groups and photos work in practice.

## Related Posts

- [Announcing the Contacts Plugin for Capacitor](./announcing-the-capacitor-contacts-plugin.md)
- [Exploring the Capacitor Contacts API](./exploring-the-capacitor-contacts-api.md)

## Conclusion

Transitioning to the [Capawesome Contacts](../../sdks/capacitor/contacts.md) plugin offers immediate improvements in functionality, reliability, and scalability. With enhanced API design, cross-platform support, and professional maintenance, it ensures robust contact management as your application grows. The migration is simple, with most features mapping directly to improved equivalents, while advanced capabilities like web support and contact groups prepare your app for future needs.

To stay updated with the latest updates, features, and news about Capawesome, Capacitor, and Ionic ecosystem, subscribe to the [Capawesome newsletter](/newsletter/){:target="_blank"} and follow us on [X (formerly Twitter)](https://x.com/capawesomeio){:target="_blank"}.

If you need assistance with migrating from the Capacitor Community Contacts plugin or implementing the [Capawesome Contacts](../../sdks/capacitor/contacts.md) plugin, the Capawesome team is available to help you transition smoothly to this reliable alternative. Just [contact us](mailto:support@capawesome.io) to get started.