compare --vibe-coding · prices checked Nov 3, 2026
Lovable vs Bolt: which is better for vibe coding? (2026)
Lovable and Bolt both turn a chat prompt into a hosted web app and both start at $25/mo. Lovable bills in message credits, fixes the framework and database for you and syncs to GitHub on every plan. Bolt bills in tokens, runs projects in the browser, lets you switch between Claude models, and can produce Expo mobile apps.
Choose Lovable if:
- You don't code and want the fewest decisions.
- You want GitHub sync from the free plan.
- You want unlimited collaborators sharing one credit pool.
Choose Bolt if:
- You want a mobile app as well as a web app.
- You want to choose the model per task.
- You want unused tokens to roll over on a paid plan.
Lovable vs Bolt: side by side
Every cell comes from the official pages listed under Sources.
| Lovable | Bolt | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | AI app builder | AI app builder |
| Made by | Lovable (Stockholm, Sweden) | StackBlitz, Inc. (San Francisco, USA) |
| Best for | Non-coders | Non-coders and developers |
| Free plan | Yes. 5 build credits per day capped at 30 per month, plus monthly grants of 20 Cloud credits and 4 AI credits; unlimited collaborators, 5 lovable.app domains, invite-only publishing (up to 10 people per project); no top-ups. | Yes. 1M tokens per month with a 300K daily limit; public and private projects, unlimited databases, website hosting on bolt.host with Bolt branding; no custom domain, no token rollover; published sites are public only. |
| Paid from | $25/mo | $25/mo |
| Pricing model | credits | tokens |
| Builds | web app, website, code | web app, website, mobile app, code |
| Tech stack | Apps created since May 13, 2026 use TanStack Start (server-rendered); older apps use React + Vite. Backend via built-in Lovable Cloud (managed PostgreSQL, auth, file storage), Supabase, or third-party APIs. Framework and database are not user-selectable. | JavaScript/TypeScript web projects run in the browser (StackBlitz WebContainers); mobile apps via Expo (React Native). Backend via Bolt Database (Bolt Cloud) or Supabase; Stripe and Google SSO integrations. |
| Hosting & deploy | Built-in hosting; publish to a lovable.app URL on all plans (Free is invite-only publishing). Custom domains on paid plans; domains can be bought through Lovable. Hosting usage covered by included Cloud grants, then by credits. | Built-in hosting: publish to a free bolt.host address from the Publish menu; custom domains and private sites on paid plans. Optional publishing to Netlify. Mobile apps require downloading code and using Expo EAS CLI to build and submit. |
| Code ownership | User owns code and output per Lovable FAQ. Two-way Git sync with GitHub (all plans), GitLab or Bitbucket; ZIP 'Download codebase' on paid plans. Database exports separately. | GitHub integration for backup, commit syncing and branches; code can be downloaded (download is required for Expo publishing). Lovable projects can be imported. |
| AI models | Lovable selects and updates the models behind Build, Plan and Chat modes automatically; users cannot pick the build model. Specific vendors not stated on the pages checked. | Anthropic Claude models; users can switch between Opus, Sonnet and Haiku in the editor (Dec 2025); Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.6 available (Feb 2026 Bolt blog). |
| Indie makers here | 1 | 0 |
Key differences
- Billing: Lovable uses credits (Free: 5 a day, up to 30 a month); Bolt uses tokens (Free: 1M a month, 300K a day).
- Mobile: Bolt builds Expo (React Native) apps; Lovable builds web apps only.
- Models: Bolt lets you pick Claude Opus, Sonnet or Haiku; Lovable picks the model for you.
- Supabase: Lovable connects Supabase on any plan; Bolt needs Pro or Teams to connect it.
Lovable vs Bolt pricing
From each official pricing page, Nov 3, 2026.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 5 daily build credits (max 30/month), 20 Cloud credits/month, invite-only publishing. |
| Pro | $25/mo | 100 monthly credits plus 5 daily build credits (no monthly cap); credit rollover, on-demand top-ups, custom domains, remove Lovable badge. Yearly billing advertised as '2 months free'. Higher credit tiers exist (not itemised on page). |
| Business | $50/mo | 100 monthly credits; adds team workspace, SSO, role-based access, workspace-only publishing, security center. Yearly billing '2 months free'. |
| Enterprise | Custom (platform fee, volume-based) | SCIM, audit logs, EU inference, GitHub Enterprise, custom SLA. |
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1M tokens/month, 300K/day limit. |
| Pro | $25/mo (billed monthly) | Starts at 10M tokens/month, no daily limit, token rollover, custom domains, private sites. Yearly toggle advertises 'save up to 28%' (annual dollar price not shown). |
| Teams | $30/member/mo (billed monthly) | Starts at 10M tokens per member/month, no daily limit, rollover. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Annual contract billed by consumption. |
Lovable: limits to know
- Free plan capped at 30 build credits per month and invite-only publishing (pricing page, plans docs).
- Credit cost per message varies with task complexity, making spend less predictable (pricing FAQ examples: 0.5 to 1.7 credits).
- No native iOS/Android or React Native output; web apps only (docs FAQ).
- Framework and database are fixed by Lovable (docs FAQ).
Bolt: limits to know
- Free tier has a 300K daily token cap and no custom domains; Free sites are public and carry Bolt branding (pricing page, publish docs).
- Token usage grows with project size and context, so cost per prompt varies (help center: 'Use tokens efficiently').
- Publishing Expo apps to app stores requires downloading code and running the EAS CLI locally (Expo help article).
- Teams plan is priced per member (pricing page).
What indie makers use
1 maker list Lovable, including Prajwal Tomar. No maker on IndieMakerList lists Bolt in their stack yet. Counts come from the stack each maker lists on their IndieMakerList profile.
More comparisons
Lovable vs Bolt FAQ
Is Lovable better than Bolt?
Neither is better for everyone. Lovable and Bolt both turn a chat prompt into a hosted web app and both start at $25/mo. Lovable bills in message credits, fixes the framework and database for you and syncs to GitHub on every plan. Bolt bills in tokens, runs projects in the browser, lets you switch between Claude models, and can produce Expo mobile apps. Choose Lovable if you don't code and want the fewest decisions. Choose Bolt if you want a mobile app as well as a web app.
Which is cheaper, Lovable or Bolt?
Lovable paid use starts at $25/mo and Bolt at $25/mo (official pricing pages, checked Nov 3, 2026). Lovable has free plan for building; Bolt has free plan.
Which is better for non-coders, Lovable or Bolt?
Lovable is aimed at non-coders: Suits founders, designers and non-technical teams building web apps and prototypes; developers can continue in their own editor via two-way Git sync. Bolt is aimed at non-coders and developers: Works for non-coders via chat, while the in-browser code editor, GitHub integration and model choice suit developers.
Do indie makers use Lovable or Bolt?
On IndieMakerList, 1 maker list Lovable in their stack and 0 makers list Bolt. 1 maker list Lovable, including Prajwal Tomar. No maker on IndieMakerList lists Bolt in their stack yet.
Sources
Official pages were read on Nov 3, 2026. Prices change often; check the vendor's page before you buy.
- Lovable pricing
- Lovable docs: Plans and credits
- Lovable docs: FAQ
- Lovable docs: GitHub integration
- Lovable blog: Series C
- tech.eu: Lovable valuation doubles to $13.3B
- Bolt pricing
- Bolt help center
- Bolt help: Publish
- Bolt help: Integrations
- Bolt help: Expo
- Bolt blog: Claude Opus & Haiku
- Bolt blog: Sonnet 4.6 in Bolt
- Anthropic customer story: Bolt
What we couldn't confirm from an official source
- ARR: secondary reports cite $500M (June 2026) and >$600M (Sept 2026); Lovable's Series C post states no ARR figure.
- Exact annual-billing dollar prices and the price ladder for higher Pro/Business credit tiers were not shown in the fetched page text.
- Which LLM vendors power the builder is not officially stated on pages checked.
- Annual-billing dollar prices (page only says 'save up to 28%').
- Higher Pro token tiers and their prices ('starts at 10M').
- No official 2026 funding or ARR announcement found; ARR figures (~$40M, 2025) and funding totals ($105.5M vs $135M) come only from third-party estimates.
- Bolt Cloud launch date not confirmed from an official source.
- Pricing page was blocked to scrapers; plan data comes from a WebFetch read of bolt.new/pricing today.