Founders are moving from builders that host the app to coding agents that give them the code.
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Last updated 17 October 2026 · Updated every quarter
Vibe coding statistics: the headline numbers.
Lovable raised $400 million at a $13.3 billion valuation on 12 August 2026, with annual revenue nearly tripled from $200 million, Reuters reported.1 Eight numbers, each dated:
Lovable's valuation after raising $400M. 12 Aug 2026.1
People using Lovable, with $400M in annual revenue. Feb 2026.2
Cursor's annual revenue, reported. 2 Mar 2026.3
Claude Code's run-rate revenue. Feb 2026.4
Upwork jobs naming Claude Code, Lovable and Bolt, out of 16,363 jobs. Our count, 7–9 Oct 2026.5
Share of startups founded by one person, first half of 2025, up from 23.7% in 2019. Carta data.6
Developers using or planning to use AI tools. Stack Overflow survey, Jul 2025.7
Share of AI-written code samples passing Veracode's security tests, 2026. Unchanged on the year.8
What kinds of AI app builder are there?
In October 2026 the tools split in two: builders that host your app, and coding agents that hand you the code.
Buildersthey host your app
Builders: Lovable, Base44, Bolt, v0 and Replit give you a running app with login, database and hosting.
Coding agentsthey give you the code
Coding agents: Claude Code, Codex and Cursor write code on your computer. You get full control and set the rest up yourself.
Bubble is apart: a visual builder, with no code to take away.
The guide compares them one by one: Which AI app builder should you use?
Which AI app builders are growing, and how fast?
Cursor reported $2 billion a year in revenue in March 2026, and Claude Code $2.5 billion in February; Lovable says $600 million in September.3 4 27
| Tool | Latest figure | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | $2.5B+ run-rate revenue | Feb 2026 | Reported4 |
| Cursor | $2B+ annual revenue; bought by SpaceX for $60B, closed Aug 2026 | Mar / Aug 2026 | Reported3 10 |
| Lovable | $600M+ annual revenue | Sep 2026 | The company says27 |
| Lovable | $13.3B valuation | 12 Aug 2026 | Reported1 |
| Replit | ~$525M annual revenue; $9B valuation | Apr 2026 | Estimate (Sacra)11 |
| Base44 | ~$200M annual revenue, 10M users | Aug 2026 | Estimate (Sacra)13 |
| Emergent | $100M annual revenue; $1.5B valuation | Feb / Jul 2026 | Reported14 |
| Bolt | ~$40M annual revenue, last public figure | Mar 2025 | Estimate (Sacra), old16 |
Who do founders talk about, and what changed in a year?
Our study: Lovable's share of tool-naming founder posts fell from 40% to 24% in 2026 (Q1 to Q3); Claude Code's rose 5% to 19%.18
Bolt fell from 15% to 3%.
| Tool | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lovable | 34% | 40% | 31% | 24% |
| Claude Code | 5% | 19% | 22% | 19% |
| Codex | 17% | 12% | 15% | 19% |
| Cursor | 17% | 12% | 12% | 15% |
| Replit | 16% | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| Bubble | 11% | 9% | 6% | 9% |
| Bolt | 15% | 11% | 6% | 3% |
Our sample of posts from Reddit, X and LinkedIn, October 2025 to October 2026. It shows direction, not market share.
What do founders hire help for, by tool?
Of 16,363 Upwork jobs collected on 7–9 October 2026, 174 name Lovable, 318 Claude Code, 63 Replit and 15 Bolt.5
In 2,779 founder jobs, the tool the app was built with was Lovable 59 times, Claude 31, Replit 24, Base44 23, Bubble 22 and Bolt none.20 Founders posted a median fixed budget of $300 in Lovable jobs (n=64). Those are posted budgets, not prices paid, on one marketplace.5
What does a real month cost on an AI app builder?
Paid plans start at $8 to $25 a month (17 Oct 2026), yet 62% of the 1–2 star reviews in our sample were about cost.23 18
Plans differ in what they count: credits, tokens, effort or server work. Of 1,550 Trustpilot reviews we collected, 61% were 1 or 2 stars. It is our sample, not Trustpilot's own score. More on prices: AI app builder pricing. From idea to launch: The First Version Report.
Which AI app builders reach the app stores?
Of the builders checked on 17 October 2026, Replit, Bubble (in beta) and Google AI Studio (Android) offer native apps; Base44 wraps a web app.
What can you take with you if you leave an AI app builder?
Most builders let you take your code (17 Oct 2026), but Lovable has no one-click move for its database, and Bubble has no code export.31 32
| Tool | Your code | Your database |
|---|---|---|
| Lovable | ✓ | ✕ |
| Bolt | ✓ | – |
| Base44 | ✓ | – |
| v0 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Replit | ✓ | – |
| Bubble | ✕ | – |
| Claude Code, Cursor | ✓ | ✓ |
Lovable and v0 sync code to GitHub. Base44 does from its $40 Builder plan. Bubble exports your data, not your logic. Claude Code and Cursor keep the code on your computer.
What has gone wrong with AI-built apps, and when?
Veracode's 2026 report found AI models write code that passes its security tests 56% of the time, and that has not moved in a year.8
Dated: CVE-2025-48757 about Lovable's database rules (May 2025, score 9.3, disputed by Lovable)33 · a Replit agent deleted a production database (Jul 2025)34 · a Base44 login bypass found by Wiz (29 Jul 2025)35 · a Lovable public-project exposure, fixed in about 2 hours (Apr 2026).36
Who owns the AI app builders now?
Between June and October 2026, SpaceX closed its purchase of Cursor, Windsurf became Devin Desktop and Google began closing Firebase Studio.10 37 38
Wix owns Base44. Bolt bought Dokai on 29 Sep 2026.39 If you build on a tool, its owner matters: a new owner can change the price or the product.
What does this mean if you're choosing a tool?
The numbers show three things: tools are splitting in two, the cost is in the use, and leaving is easier for code than data.
The numbers don't say which tool is right for you. The guide does: Which AI app builder should you use? Planning first? Try the App Build Planner.
What's in the full report.
How we made this.
Company reports and press, vendor pages checked on 17 October 2026, and two sets of our own data: 16,363 Upwork jobs collected on 7–9 October 2026, and a study of 12,116 founder posts, October 2025 to October 2026.
Our data shows direction, not market share. Company figures are labelled "the company says" or "estimate". Upwork budgets are what clients posted, not prices paid. Nothing here is an Onekode price.
Cite this report.
Questions.
What are the vibe coding statistics for 2026?
Lovable raised $400 million at a $13.3 billion valuation in August 2026. Cursor reported $2 billion a year in revenue in March, and Claude Code $2.5 billion in February. In our data, 36.3% of startups now have one founder (Carta, 2025), and 84% of developers use or plan to use AI tools (Stack Overflow, 2025).
How many people use Lovable?
About 8 million people were using Lovable in February 2026, with $400 million in annual revenue, according to Forbes. Lovable itself says its revenue passed $600 million in September 2026. That figure is the company's own, not an audited one.
How big is the market for AI app builders?
There is no single count. Company figures in 2026: Claude Code $2.5 billion a year, Cursor $2 billion, Lovable $600 million (the company says), Replit about $525 million (Sacra's estimate). Each is dated and labelled in the report.
Which AI app builders can make apps for the app stores?
Of the builders checked on 17 October 2026, Replit, Bubble (in beta) and Google AI Studio (Android) offer native apps. Base44 wraps a web app. Lovable and v0 make web apps only. The table above has the dates.
Where do the numbers come from?
Company reports, press, and vendor pages checked on 17 October 2026, plus our own counts of 16,363 Upwork jobs and 12,116 founder posts. Each figure has a date, a label and a numbered source. Our data shows direction, not market share. The report is updated every quarter.
Get the full report.
Rather talk about your own app?
- Reuters, "Vibe-coding startup Lovable raises $400 million at $13.3 billion valuation", 12 Aug 2026. www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/vibe-coding-startup-lovable-raises-400-million-133-billion-valuation-2026-08-12/
- Forbes, "AI coding startup Lovable in talks to raise at a $12 billion valuation", 5 Jun 2026 (figures as of Feb 2026). www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2026/06/05/ai-coding-startup-lovable-in-talks-to-raise-funding-at-a-12-billion-valuation/
- TechCrunch, "Cursor has reportedly surpassed $2B in annualized revenue", 2 Mar 2026. techcrunch.com/2026/03/02/cursor-has-reportedly-surpassed-2b-in-annualized-revenue/
- Economic Times, "Anthropic clinches $380 billion valuation", Feb 2026. economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/funding/anthropic-clinches-380-billion-valuation-after-30-billion-funding-round/articleshow/128370903.cms
- Onekode, Upwork job pool: 16,363 web, mobile and software jobs, collected 7–9 Oct 2026 (internal).
- Solo Founders, "Solo founders in 2025", 30 Dec 2025, using Carta data. solofounders.com/blog/solo-founders-in-2025-why-one-third-of-all-startups-are-flying-solo/
- Stack Overflow, Developer Survey 2025: AI, Jul 2025. survey.stackoverflow.co/2025/ai
- Veracode, 2026 GenAI Code Security Report. www.veracode.com/resources/analyst-reports/2026-genai-code-security-report/
- CNBC, "SpaceX to acquire AI coding startup Cursor for $60 billion", 16 Jun 2026. www.cnbc.com/2026/06/16/spacex-spcx-cursor-acquisition-ipo.html
- TechCrunch, "SpaceX officially closes its Cursor acquisition", 15 Aug 2026. techcrunch.com/2026/08/15/spacex-officially-closes-its-cursor-acquisition/
- Sacra, Replit company profile, Apr 2026 (estimate). sacra.com/c/replit/
- Business Insider, Replit's $1 billion revenue target, Oct 2025. www.businessinsider.com/replit-projects-1-billion-revenue-by-2027-ai-coding-boom-2025-10
- Sacra, Base44 company profile, Aug 2026 (estimate). sacra.com/c/base44/
- SiliconANGLE, "Emergent raises $130M", 15 Jul 2026. siliconangle.com/2026/07/15/emergent-emerges-latest-ai-unicorn-raising-130m-funding/
- Vercel, "Introducing the new v0", 3 Feb 2026. vercel.com/blog/introducing-the-new-v0
- Sacra, Bolt company profile, Mar 2025 (estimate). sacra.com/c/bolt-new/
- Lovable, "One year of Lovable", 18 Nov 2025 (the company says). lovable.dev/blog/one-year-of-lovable
- Onekode, Market Trend Study 2025–26, coded posts, Oct 2025–Oct 2026 (internal).
- Onekode, P1 keyword data, 17 Oct 2026 (internal; US brand search monthly averages).
- Onekode, coding of 2,779 founder jobs on Upwork, Oct 2026 (internal).
- VeryCreatives, "Lovable app development: prototype to production", Oct 2026 (a seller). verycreatives.com/services/lovable-to-production
- AxonBuild, "Fix my Lovable app", Oct 2026 (a seller). axonbuild.com/blog/fix-a-lovable-app/
- Vendor pricing pages, 17 Oct 2026: lovable.dev/pricing · bolt.new/pricing · replit.com/pricing · cursor.com/pricing · claude.com/pricing · base44.com/pricing · v0.app/pricing · bubble.io/pricing
- Lovable FAQ, Oct 2026. docs.lovable.dev/introduction/faq
- v0 FAQ, Oct 2026. v0.app/docs/faqs
- Base44 docs, "Mobile experience", Oct 2026. docs.base44.com/Building-your-app/Mobile-experience
- Startup Fortune, "Lovable says its annualized revenue just crossed $600 million", 24 Sep 2026 (the company says). startupfortune.com/lovable-says-its-annualized-revenue-just-crossed-600-million/
- Replit, mobile apps, Oct 2026. replit.com/mobile-apps
- Bubble, native mobile, Oct 2026. bubble.io/mobile
- Google, "Google AI Studio at I/O 2026", May 2026. blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/developers-tools/google-ai-studio-io-2026/
- Lovable docs, Cloud, Oct 2026. docs.lovable.dev/features/cloud
- Bubble export: founder reports in r/Bubbleio, Jul 2026, and the Bubble tool sheet in our research (see notes).
- NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE-2025-48757, May 2025. nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-48757
- CIO, "The Replit case: an agent, a written order and a deleted database", Jul 2025 events. www.cio.com/article/4230232/the-replit-case-an-agent-a-written-order-and-a-deleted-database.html
- Wiz, "Critical vulnerability in Base44", 29 Jul 2025. www.wiz.io/blog/critical-vulnerability-base44
- Lovable, "Our response to the April 2026 incident" and "How Lovable protects your apps automatically". lovable.dev/blog/our-response-to-the-april-2026-incident
- Cognition, Devin Desktop FAQ, 2 Jun 2026. docs.devin.ai/desktop/devin-desktop-faq
- Google, Firebase Studio notice, 2026. firebase.google.cn/docs/studio?hl=ar
- Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, "Bolt.new makes its first acquisition: Dokai", 29 Sep 2026. finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/bolt-makes-first-acquisition-dokai-130000516.html
- Bolt release notes, 3 Aug 2026. support.bolt.new/release-notes