Most AI app builders have a free plan, but every free plan with stated limits has a cap, daily, monthly or one-time, and none is unlimited. Paid plans start at $8 to $30 a month, and the plan price isn't the bill.
Last checked: 17 October 2026. We recheck prices every month.
Is there a free AI app builder?
Yes. Most have one, and each stops somewhere different.
| Tool | Free plan | Entry paid plan | It bills by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lovable | 5 daily credits, up to 30 a month | Pro $25 a month ($21 billed annually) | Credits per message |
| Replit | Starter: daily agent credits (amount not stated), a built-in database, 1 published live project | Core $20 a month ($18 billed annually) | Effort, per checkpoint |
| Bolt | 300k tokens a day, 1M a month | Pro $25 a month | Tokens |
| Base44 | 25 message credits and 100 integration credits a month, up to 5 apps | Starter $16 a month (billed annually) | Credits |
| v0 | $5 of credits, one time, and 7 messages a day | Plus $30 a month per user | Credits |
| Bubble | 500 AI credits and 50K workload units | Starter $29 a month | Workload units |
| Cursor | A free plan exists. Its limits aren't stated in our sources | Plus $8 a month | Usage pools, by model |
| Claude Code | None. It needs a paid Claude plan | Claude Pro $20 a month ($17 billed annually) | 5-hour windows plus weekly caps |
Last checked: 17 October 2026. Prices and limits are per each vendor's page, 17 October 2026 (Replit's free plan, 18 October). They change often. Source: vendor pricing pages; The AI App Builder Report 2026, chapter 6.
Want a pair side by side? Replit vs Lovable → · Lovable vs Bolt → · Lovable vs Base44 vs v0 → · Lovable or Replit vs Claude Code and Cursor →
Is there a free AI app builder with no limits?
No. Every free plan with stated limits has a cap, daily, monthly or one-time, and none is unlimited.
- Replit Starter: free, with daily agent credits. The amount isn't stated.
- Lovable: 5 daily credits, up to 30 a month.
- Bolt: 300k tokens a day and 1M a month.
- Claude Code: no free plan. It needs Claude Pro, from $20 a month, and has 5-hour windows plus weekly caps.
Before you pick a plan, ask three things of it:
- What is capped, and is it per day or per month?
- What happens at the cap: do you wait, or pay?
- What does it cost after?
If you haven't chosen a tool yet, start with Which AI app builder should you use? →
Source: vendor pricing pages and Anthropic's support page, checked 17 October 2026 (Replit, 18 October).
What does Lovable's free plan give you, and what does Pro add?
Free gives you 5 daily credits, up to 30 a month. Pro adds a bigger monthly allowance. Business costs more again.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 5 daily credits, up to 30 a month |
| Pro | $25 a month ($21 billed annually) | 100 credits |
| Business | From $50 a month | A higher tier. Check Lovable's page for what it adds |
Per Lovable's pricing page, 17 October 2026.
Free suits trying a first screen or two. Pro suits building a whole first version, if you watch how fast the credits go.
What's the difference between Replit's plans?
Core is $20 a month. Pro is $100 a month. Starter is free.
| Plan | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | Daily agent credits (amount not stated), a built-in database, 1 published live project |
| Core | $20 a month ($18 billed annually) | The entry paid plan |
| Pro | $100 a month ($90 billed annually) | Five times the price of Core |
Per Replit's pricing page, 17 October 2026 (Starter, 18 October).
Replit bills by effort, so a month on any plan depends on how much your agent does. If you see an older plan name on a forum or video, check the pricing page: names change.
How does each AI app builder bill?
Each one counts something different, so the same plan price can mean very different months.
| Tool | What it counts | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Lovable | Credits per message | Each message to the AI uses credits |
| Replit | Effort, per checkpoint | A bigger task costs more than a small one |
| Bolt | Tokens, with rollover | Pro includes 10M tokens, and unused ones roll over |
| Base44 | Credits | Plans are billed annually: Starter $16, Builder $40, Pro $80, Elite $160 |
| v0 | Credits | Plus is $30 per user, Business $100 per user |
| Cursor | Usage pools, by model | Plus $8, Premium $30, Super $100, Ultra $200 |
| Claude Code | A Claude Pro or Max subscription, with 5-hour windows plus weekly caps | Pro is $20 a month ($17 billed annually), Max from $100 |
| Bubble | Workload units | Server work is metered, so cost follows your users. Growth $119, Team $349 |
Per each vendor's page, 17 October 2026. Source: The AI App Builder Report 2026, chapter 6.
What does a real month cost?
More than the plan price, for many founders who wrote about it. Here is what they said, with the date and who said it.
- Replit: "In just 10 days, they siphoned $188.48 USD from my connected debit card." (a builder, Reddit r/replit, Sep 2026)
- Replit: "A fault in Replit's own system burned through $300 of my credits" (a founder without coding experience, Reddit r/replit, Sep 2026)
- Lovable: "started with Lovable (wasted $500+ in credits, broke the app beyond repair)" (a builder, Reddit r/ClaudeCode, Jun 2026)
- Bolt: "Burned $200 in tokens in one week using Opus for button colors." (a builder, X, Apr 2026)
- Cursor: "I regret getting the $200 cursor plan." (a builder, Trustpilot, Sep 2026)
- Base44: "I’ve paid $100 per month for the past year, yet I’ve repeatedly dealt with AI mistakes" (a builder, Trustpilot, Oct 2026)
These are founders' words, not our claims. The most extreme report we found was one builder's: "Spent over $15k-$20k in Agent usage" (Reddit r/replit, Sep 2026). It is one post, not a typical month.
The pattern shows in the numbers too. In our sample of 1,550 Trustpilot reviews, 61% were 1 or 2 stars, and 62% of those were about cost (Onekode Market Trend Study 2025–26, our sample, Medium).
We found no independent test of a full month of real building across these tools. Until there is one, founders' reports are the best evidence there is, and they are one side of the story.
Want your own estimate? Paste this into any AI tool, with a description of your app: "What would this cost at 100 and at 1,000 users?"
Sources: Onekode Market Trend Study 2025–26, posts collected October 2025 to October 2026; founder quotes exact, from the posts linked.
Which plan do you start on?
It depends on how sure you are. No plan is the right one for everyone.
- Start free if… you're still testing the idea. You want to see a first screen, learn how the tool works, and spend nothing. Expect to hit the cap.
- Pay for one month if… the free plan stopped you before the first version was done. Pick the entry paid plan, set a limit on what you'll spend, and review at the end of the month.
- Watch out if… you notice each fix costs more credits than the last, or a fix breaks something else. That is when the bill grows faster than the plan price.
Not sure which tool? Which AI app builder should you use? →
What does the whole app cost?
More than the tool. The tool is one bill. Finishing and running the app is another.
Everything above is the first bill. The second is what it takes to get a working app to real users: testing, login and payments, hosting and fixes. Plan for both, and get your own numbers with the App Build Planner →
Already built something and stuck? Send us the link. Get a Free Build Audit →
How often is this updated?
Every month. The "Last checked" date at the top shows the last time we checked every price here.
The wider research is in The AI App Builder Report 2026 →
Not sure what yours will cost?
Send us your idea. A person on our team tells you which route and what it'll take.