Lovable vs Base44 vs Replit: pricing, free plans and which to pick
Quick answer: Pick Lovable for a polished website or front end you want live quickly; Pro starts at $25 a month for 100 credits. Pick Base44 for a simple internal app with sign-in and a database built in; paid plans start at $16 a month billed yearly. Pick Replit if you want a full coding workspace and expect to edit the code yourself; Core is $20 a month with $20 of usage included. All three have a free plan that is enough to build a first version, not to run it for real users.
This comparison covers what each builder is good at, what the free plans allow, how each one charges for the AI’s work, and how publishing and custom domains work. Prices come from each company’s pricing page and documentation, checked November 3, 2026. The hands-on notes come from my own builds: a website in Lovable, a professional site with a database in Replit, and a ChatGPT-style app in Base44, all recorded in 2025.
Lovable vs Base44 vs Replit: the short version
| Lovable | Base44 | Replit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Websites, landing pages and app front ends | Simple apps with users and data, without setup | Full apps you will keep editing as code |
| How you pay for AI work | Credits per message; cost depends on the change | Message credits plus integration credits | Usage-based Agent pricing on top of the plan |
| Database and sign-in | Lovable Cloud, or connect Supabase | Built in | Built-in database; temporary on the free plan |
| Code access | Paid plans can edit and download code; GitHub sync | In-app code edits from Starter; GitHub from Builder | Full editor and files on every plan |
| Cheapest paid plan | Pro, $25 a month (100 credits) | Starter, $16 a month billed yearly (100 message credits) | Core, $20 a month ($20 of usage) |
Lovable vs Base44 vs Replit pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Lovable Pro | $25 a month, or $250 a year | 100 monthly credits plus 5 daily credits; higher tiers up to 10,000 credits for $2,250 a month; custom domains and code editing |
| Lovable Business | From $50 a month | The same credit tiers at a higher price, plus team and business features |
| Base44 Starter | $16 a month billed yearly | 100 message credits and 2,000 integration credits a month, unlimited apps, custom domain |
| Base44 Builder | $40 a month billed yearly | 250 message and 10,000 integration credits, model choice, GitHub |
| Base44 Pro / Elite | $80 / $160 a month billed yearly | 500 / 1,200 message credits; Elite adds premium support |
| Replit Core | $20 a month, or $18 billed yearly | $20 a month toward the more powerful models, full build mode, more storage and credits than Starter |
| Replit Pro | $100 a month, or $90 billed yearly | $100 of credits, up to 15 collaborators, database rollback up to 28 days |
Base44 lists yearly prices; paying monthly costs about 20% more. Replit’s Agent is billed by effort, so a large request costs more than a small one, and usage above the included amount is pay as you go. Lovable’s unused monthly credits roll over while you stay subscribed and expire two months after they were issued.
What the free plans allow
- Lovable Free: 5 build credits a day, capped at 30 a month, plus small monthly grants for Lovable Cloud and AI features. You cannot connect a custom domain, edit or download the code, or remove the “Edit with Lovable” badge.
- Base44 Free: 25 message credits and 100 integration credits a month, up to 5 apps, with sign-in, database and analytics included.
- Replit Starter: daily Agent credits up to a monthly cap, the lighter build mode only, and one free published app whose link stops working after 30 days and shows a “Made with Replit” badge. Databases created on the free plan are temporary.
In practice the free plans run out fast. In my Base44 test, the app itself took about ten minutes to build, and the next request, connecting it to the OpenAI API, stopped with a message that I was out of daily credits. Plan your free credits around one small, finished thing.
Lovable: best for good-looking sites, fast
Lovable is the builder I have used most. In my Lovable tutorial I built a full business website in under an hour, published it to a lovable.app address on the free plan, and then upgraded to connect a custom domain, which I bought inside Lovable. For sign-in and stored data I connected Supabase from the Lovable editor; Lovable Cloud now does the same job without a separate account.
Lovable charges by the change. Its documentation gives examples: making a button grey costs about 0.50 credits, removing a footer 0.90, adding authentication 1.20, and a landing page with generated images about 2. Plan mode costs 1 credit per message. Ask for one change at a time and you can predict the bill; ask for “redesign everything” and you cannot.
Base44: best for simple apps with users and data
Base44 builds the database, sign-in and hosting into every app, so you never set up a backend. My Base44 vs Lovable test produced a clean ChatGPT-style interface on the first try, and the design looked better than some other builders I had tried. Its limits are credits and integrations: on the free plan I could not connect the OpenAI API without upgrading.
Base44 has two credit types. Message credits pay for the AI building your app; integration credits pay for the built-in services your app calls, such as sending email or generating text. Check both before you choose a plan, especially if your app calls an AI model for every user.
Replit: best when you want the code
Replit is a full development environment with an AI Agent on top. You see every file, can run a shell, and can keep developing in the same place after the Agent is done. In my Replit website tutorial the Agent set up a Postgres database and Google sign-in on its own. It also hit the same API error several times while generating posts, and I needed a few rounds of prompts to clear it, which is normal for an agent working on real code.
The free plan’s temporary database and 30-day published link make it a sandbox, not a host. If you expect to edit the code yourself, or move it to another host later, Replit or a coding agent such as Kilo Code will suit you better than a closed builder.
Which AI builder to pick
- A marketing site, portfolio or landing page: Lovable.
- An internal tool, form-driven app or client portal with logins: Base44.
- A product you will maintain, with custom logic or other developers: Replit, or a coding agent in your own editor.
- A one-off demo for a client: whichever free plan gets you there; see the guide to selling AI automation services for how to scope that demo.
I have also tested Bolt.new, Rocket and Runable on the channel. They work on the same idea, so the test below applies to them too.
A one-hour test before you pay
- Write one prompt for a small app you actually need, with three features at most. ChatGPT or Claude can help you write it; the Claude model comparison covers which model to use.
- Paste the same prompt into each builder’s free plan.
- Ask for one specific change, such as “add a contact form that saves submissions”.
- Note the credits used, whether the change worked first time, and whether you can publish it.
- Pay for the one that got furthest, and only for one month at first.
If what you are really after is a first paid project, the no-experience guide shows how to turn a small build like this into a first offer.
FAQ
Is Lovable better than Base44?
Lovable is better for polished websites and front ends, and its paid plans let you edit and download the code. Base44 is better for simple apps that need sign-in and a database without any setup. Both have free plans, so test the same prompt in each.
How much does Lovable cost?
Lovable Pro starts at $25 a month for 100 credits, or $250 a year, as listed on November 3, 2026. Higher tiers go up to 10,000 credits for $2,250 a month. The free plan gives 5 credits a day, capped at 30 a month.
How much does Base44 cost?
Base44 has a free plan with 25 message credits a month. Paid plans billed yearly are Starter at $16 a month, Builder at $40, Pro at $80 and Elite at $160. Monthly billing costs about 20% more.
Is Replit free?
Replit has a free Starter plan with daily Agent credits, one published app whose link expires after 30 days, and temporary databases. Core costs $20 a month and includes $20 of usage for the more powerful models.
Can I use my own domain on the free plans?
No. Lovable and Replit need a paid plan for a custom domain, and Base44 lists custom domains from its Starter plan. On the free plans you test on each builder’s own address, within its limits.
Which AI website builder is best for beginners?
Lovable is the easiest place to start for a website, because the results look good with little prompting and each change has a predictable credit cost. Choose Base44 if the app needs logins and stored data.
Sources
- Lovable docs: subscription plans and prices
- Lovable docs: plans, credits and rollover
- Base44 pricing
- Replit pricing
- Replit docs: plans and the Starter plan
Build the next one with AI Income Lab
Step-by-step courses, reusable templates, and a community that answers when you get stuck.
- Courses for builds like this one
- Copy-ready templates
- Ask questions while you build
- Weekly coaching on VIP
