I don't think a cap has been reached yet and people have reported over 25 by now. So yes you'll be at a great disadvantage if the peeps with the apk don't get their accounts banned.
Supposedly the cap is meant to be level 50 or so, it is an exponential growth formula they use on it so after 20 or 25 it gets a lot harder to level. Have seen some people post level 25 accounts though