diff --git a/bin/templates/cordova/lib/prepare.js b/bin/templates/cordova/lib/prepare.js
index c4e9acb2e0..27e952ef8e 100644
--- a/bin/templates/cordova/lib/prepare.js
+++ b/bin/templates/cordova/lib/prepare.js
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ module.exports.prepare = function (cordovaProject, options) {
     const targetSdkVersion = this._config.getPreference('android-targetSdkVersion', 'android');
     const isGradlePluginKotlinEnabled = this._config.getPreference('GradlePluginKotlinEnabled', 'android');
     const gradlePluginKotlinCodeStyle = this._config.getPreference('GradlePluginKotlinCodeStyle', 'android');
+    const androidXAppCompatVersion = this._config.getPreference('AndroidXAppCompatVersion', 'android');
 
     const gradlePropertiesUserConfig = {};
     if (minSdkVersion) gradlePropertiesUserConfig.cdvMinSdkVersion = minSdkVersion;
@@ -71,6 +72,10 @@ module.exports.prepare = function (cordovaProject, options) {
         gradlePropertiesUserConfig['kotlin.code.style'] = gradlePluginKotlinCodeStyle || 'official';
     }
 
+    if (androidXAppCompatVersion) {
+        gradlePropertiesUserConfig.cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion = androidXAppCompatVersion;
+    }
+
     const gradlePropertiesParser = new GradlePropertiesParser(this.locations.root);
     gradlePropertiesParser.configure(gradlePropertiesUserConfig);
 
diff --git a/bin/templates/project/app/build.gradle b/bin/templates/project/app/build.gradle
index 4ff458ba80..74996e275e 100644
--- a/bin/templates/project/app/build.gradle
+++ b/bin/templates/project/app/build.gradle
@@ -137,6 +137,11 @@ ext {
         cdvBuildArch = null
     }
 
+    // Sets the default cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion to the given value.
+    if (!project.hasProperty('cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion')) {
+        cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion = null
+    }
+
     // Plugin gradle extensions can append to this to have code run at the end.
     cdvPluginPostBuildExtras = []
 }
@@ -185,6 +190,8 @@ ext.cdvTargetSdkVersion = cdvTargetSdkVersion == null ? defaultTargetSdkVersion
 
 ext.cdvVersionCode = cdvVersionCode == null ? null : Integer.parseInt('' + cdvVersionCode)
 
+ext.cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion = cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion == null ? defaultAndroidXAppCompatVersion : cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion
+
 def computeBuildTargetName(debugBuild) {
     def ret = 'assemble'
     if (cdvBuildMultipleApks && cdvBuildArch) {
@@ -219,6 +226,7 @@ task cdvPrintProps {
         println('cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile=' + cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile)
         println('cdvBuildArch=' + cdvBuildArch)
         println('computedVersionCode=' + android.defaultConfig.versionCode)
+        println('cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion=' + cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion)
         android.productFlavors.each { flavor ->
             println('computed' + flavor.name.capitalize() + 'VersionCode=' + flavor.versionCode)
         }
@@ -339,7 +347,7 @@ android {
 
 dependencies {
     implementation fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: '*.jar')
-    implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.2.0'
+    implementation "androidx.appcompat:appcompat:$cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion"
 
     if (cdvHelpers.getConfigPreference('GradlePluginKotlinEnabled', 'false').toBoolean()) {
         implementation "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-stdlib-jdk7:$kotlin_version"
diff --git a/bin/templates/project/build.gradle b/bin/templates/project/build.gradle
index 88bfc7f9c2..a95a109086 100644
--- a/bin/templates/project/build.gradle
+++ b/bin/templates/project/build.gradle
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ allprojects {
       defaultMinSdkVersion=22 //Integer - Minimum requirement is Android 5.1
       defaultTargetSdkVersion=30 //Integer - We ALWAYS target the latest by default
       defaultCompileSdkVersion=30 //Integer - We ALWAYS compile with the latest by default
+      defaultAndroidXAppCompatVersion="1.2.0" //String - We ALWAYS compile with the latest stable by default
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/framework/build.gradle b/framework/build.gradle
index 5970f62179..2bb483b716 100644
--- a/framework/build.gradle
+++ b/framework/build.gradle
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@ ext {
     } else {
         cdvMinSdkVersion = 22; // current Cordova's default
     }
+
+    if (project.hasProperty('cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion')) {
+        cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion = cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion
+        println '[Cordova] cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion is overridden, try it at your own risk.'
+    } else {
+        cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion = "1.2.0"; // current Cordova's default
+    }
 }
 
 buildscript {
@@ -123,7 +130,7 @@ task sourcesJar(type: Jar) {
 }
 
 dependencies {
-    implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.2.0'
+    implementation "androidx.appcompat:appcompat:$cdvAndroidXAppCompatVersion"
 }
 
 artifacts {