Pick in 10 seconds
If you only read one thing, read this table. The right tool depends mostly on what you're making and whether you'll ever need to take the project elsewhere.
| If you want… | Start in | Because |
|---|---|---|
| A good-looking web app you might grow | Lovable | Writes real, standard code you own |
| A fast prototype or demo, today | Bolt | Idea → working app in minutes |
| A beautiful, polished interface | v0 | Best-in-class React/Next.js UI |
| A real full-stack app (and to learn) | Replit | A full coding environment + agent |
| An internal tool with zero setup | Base44 | Database, login & hosting built in |
All five are wonderful at producing a working app fast — and none of them is yet a substitute for careful work when real users and real data are involved. Treat what you build as a brilliant first draft, not a finished product, until it's been checked over (especially logins and data access).
What these tools actually are
They're all AI app builders: you describe what you want in plain English, and the platform writes the code, sets up a database, adds a login, and puts it online — often in one sitting. The differences come down to three things, and every card below answers all three:
- Who it's for — total beginner, or someone with a little technical comfort.
- What it's best at — pretty interfaces, fast prototypes, or real full-stack apps.
- How portable it is — how easily you can take your project and run it somewhere else later. This is the one people regret ignoring.
A quick word on that last point, because it runs through the whole guide: every app has a frontend (the part you see) and usually a backend (the database, logins, and behind-the-scenes logic). "Exporting your code" almost always gets you the frontend. The backend is where platforms differ enormously — and that's covered in its own section.
The five, one by one
Lovable
independent · lovable.devLovable is the sweet spot for non-technical builders who care about how the app looks and who might one day hand it to a developer. It generates clean, ordinary React code and stores data in Supabase (the same database-plus-login service from the hosting guide).
Loved for: attractive results, GitHub sync, and that you genuinely own the code.
Watch for: it only builds one type of app (React); moving fully off Lovable's managed backend takes some cleanup.
Bolt
StackBlitz · bolt.newBolt is built for speed and experimentation. It runs entirely in your browser and can spin up a working app from a prompt remarkably fast. It's more flexible than Lovable on the frontend (React, Vue, and more) but its backend is JavaScript/Node only.
Loved for: instant results, clean code you can export, great for testing an idea.
Watch for: output can feel "half done" — fine for a demo, needs polish before real users.
v0
Vercel · v0.appv0 comes from Vercel (the hosting guide's web-app host) and is unmatched at generating polished, professional React and Next.js interfaces. It now includes a code editor and Git, but it leans more "low-code" than "no-code": connecting a real backend assumes you understand a few basics.
Loved for: gorgeous UI, very high-quality code, seamless if you're already on Vercel.
Watch for: best with at least one technically comfortable person in the loop.
Replit
independent · replit.comReplit is the most capable of the five. Its AI Agent builds the app, but you also get a real editor, a terminal, databases, and the ability to run almost any language (including Python). It's the best choice when your app needs a genuine backend, or when you want to gradually learn the real thing.
Loved for: real full-stack power, you own a complete codebase, supports non-JavaScript projects.
Watch for: agent usage is credit-based and bills can surprise you; the agent sometimes breaks things while fixing others.
Base44
owned by Wix · base44.comBase44 (acquired by Wix in 2025) bundles everything — database, login, hosting, automations — into one platform with no external services to wire up. For an internal tool, a customer portal, or a quick business app, nothing gets you live faster.
Loved for: zero configuration, very fast, generous free tier with database and auth included.
Watch for: this is the lock-in one. Your backend lives on Base44's own system — see the next section before you build anything you'd need to take elsewhere.
All of these use credit-based pricing that changes often, so the figures here are a 2026 ballpark. Always confirm on each platform's own pricing page, and watch credit usage — complex prompts burn through allowances quickly.
Getting your code out — the part nobody warns you about
You asked the smart question most people don't: how hard is it to leave? The short version — yes, almost all of them now let you export code, but "export the code" and "run it somewhere else" are not the same thing.
Frontend vs. backend, in one breath
Picture your app as two halves. The frontend is everything people see and click — and these days, every platform lets you export that. The backend is the engine room: the database where your data lives, the login system, and the logic that does the work. The backend is where leaving gets easy or hard.
So what does "rebuild the backend" actually mean?
It means re-creating, on a new platform, the parts you couldn't bring with you: the database and its data, the login system, and the behind-the-scenes logic. For a small app that might be an afternoon's work; for a complex one with real users, it can be a serious project (and on some platforms, every user has to reset their password). That's the cost of lock-in — not that you can't leave, but that leaving isn't free.
When these tools auto-create a database, they sometimes leave the access rules wide open — meaning any logged-in user could read everyone's data. Before real people use your app, have someone (or Claude) double-check that data-access rules are switched on. This is the single most common mistake in vibecoded apps.
If there's any chance you'll need to scale, sell, or move the project, favor a platform that writes standard code (Lovable, Bolt, v0, or Replit). Use Base44 happily for things you're glad to keep on its platform — internal dashboards, portals, quick tools — where speed matters more than independence.
When to choose which
Real situations and the platform we'd reach for first. None of these is a wrong answer — they're starting points.
The graduation path
These builders are the on-ramp. As your projects get more serious, the natural next step is to move into a proper code editor with an AI assistant — Claude Code or Cursor — working on a project that lives in your own GitHub. That's where you'll have full control to refine, secure, and scale what you started.
When you reach that point, the editors & agents guide and the hosting guide pick up the story: take the exported code, host the frontend on Vercel or Cloudflare, run any backend or agent on Railway or a VPS, and put your data and logins on Supabase. The guides are designed to hand off to each other.
Prototype the idea in Lovable or Bolt — connect it to your own GitHub (set the repo to Private) — keep refining with Claude — deploy with the stacks from the hosting guide. Fast to start, and nothing you'd have to throw away later.