Base44 vs Lovable (2026): which AI app builder fits you?

Base44 vs Lovable comes down to control. Pick Base44 if you aren’t technical and want everything managed in one place, from $16 a month billed annually. Pick Lovable if you want your code in GitHub from day one and a back end you can move later, from $21 a month billed annually.

This guide is for founders, ops leads and office managers choosing between the two for a working app, such as a CRM or a client portal. It compares how building feels, where your data and sign-in live, what a month costs, how you’d move your app, and the complaints that come up most. We make GoodTaco, which competes with both, so every price and limit below links to Base44’s or Lovable’s own pages. If Replit is also on your list, read our Base44 vs Replit comparison.

Reviewed October 2026. Prices and limits change often, so check each vendor’s page before you buy.

Base44 vs Lovable at a glance

	Base44	Lovable
Best for	Non-technical builders who want everything managed in one place	Builders who want their code in GitHub and a back end they can move
How you build	Chat in Build or Discuss mode, plus Edit mode to change elements by hand	Chat in Build or Plan mode, plus a visual editor and, on paid plans, a code editor
Where your records live	Base44’s built-in database	Lovable Cloud, built on Supabase, or your own Supabase account
Sign-in for your app’s users	Built in: email, Google and other providers	Built in: email, Google, Apple, Microsoft and more
Code access	View on Free, edit from Starter, export from Builder	GitHub sync on every plan; edit and download on paid plans
Hosting and custom domains	Free base44.app address; custom domain from Starter	Free lovable.app address; custom domain on paid plans
Free plan	25 message credits a month (up to 5 a day), up to 5 apps, Base44 badge	5 credits a day, up to 30 a month, Lovable badge
Paid plans	Starter $20/month ($16 billed annually) up to Elite $200 ($160)	Pro from $25/month ($21 billed annually); Business from $50 ($42)
How credits work	Message credits for building; integration credits for app actions such as emails and AI calls	One balance for building, hosting, the back end and AI features, after daily and monthly grants
Private apps	Starter and up	Invite-only on every plan; workspace-only on Business
Payments	Stripe from Builder, or Base44 Payments powered by Wix	Built-in Stripe or Paddle payments on paid plans
Design control	Edit mode for colors, text and spacing	Visual edits, plus design systems on paid plans
Integrations	Connectors such as Gmail, Slack, Google Sheets and Airtable, from Builder	Connectors such as Slack, HubSpot and Google Sheets, plus Airtable, on every plan
App-store apps	Generates Apple App Store and Google Play files from Builder	Web apps

How does building feel in Base44 and Lovable?

Both start the same way. You describe the app in a chat, the AI builds the screens, the database and sign-in, and a live preview updates beside the chat. You change the app by asking for changes, and both save every change in version history so you can go back.

The differences are in the tools around the chat.

Base44, which Wix bought in June 2025, keeps the code in the background. Build mode acts on your request right away, and Discuss mode lets you talk a change through first, at about 0.3 message credits a message. Edit mode lets you click any element in the preview and change its text, color or spacing by hand, and those manual edits use no credits. Picking the AI model yourself starts on the Builder plan.

Lovable puts the code a click away. Build mode makes changes, and Plan mode investigates your project and writes a plan you approve before anything changes, at 1 credit a message plus any research it runs. In the preview you can select an element and describe a change, and each account gets 100 free inline text edits that come back 24 hours after use. On paid plans you can edit the code yourself, which uses no credits, and keep a consistent look across apps with design systems.

If no one will ever open the code, Base44’s approach is simpler. If a developer may join you later, Lovable’s is easier to hand over.

Where do your data and sign-in live?

Both include a back end, the part of an app that stores records and signs people in, so you don’t need a separate database account.

Base44 stores records in its own built-in database. Reading and writing records uses no credits. Built-in services do: sending an email costs about 1 integration credit, and so does a file upload or an AI call on the automatic model. Your app gets login and registration pages with email, Google and other sign-in methods. Company sign-in (SSO) for your app’s users comes with Base44’s enterprise plans, Business and Enterprise. Deleted records stay recoverable for 30 days, and automatic backups start on the Elite plan.

Lovable stores records in Lovable Cloud, a back end built on Supabase, an open-source database platform, or in your own Supabase account if you connect one. By default it sets up email, Google and Sign in with Lovable, and Apple, Microsoft and company sign-in (SSO) are available too. Lovable backs up the database daily and keeps about 14 days of backups. Running the back end is metered: it draws on a monthly Cloud grant first, then on the same balance you build with.

Using data you already have. Both can work with a Google Sheet or an Airtable base through connectors. Base44’s connectors need the Builder plan or higher, while Lovable’s work on every plan, including Free.

Lovable vs Base44 pricing: what does a month cost?

The biggest difference is what credits pay for. Base44 splits them in two: message credits pay for building, and integration credits pay for what your app does when people use it, such as sending emails or calling AI. Lovable uses one balance for building, hosting, the back end and AI features in your app, after its daily and monthly grants run out.

Base44 pricing

Base44 plan	Billed monthly	Billed annually	Message credits a month	Integration credits a month
Free	$0	$0	25 (up to 5 a day)	100
Starter	$20	$16/month	100	2,000
Builder	$50	$40/month	250	10,000
Pro	$100	$80/month	500	20,000
Elite	$200	$160/month	1,200	50,000
Business	Not listed	Not listed	2,400 to 5,400	96,000 to 216,000

Prices come from Base44’s pricing page, where annual billing saves 20%. Free allows up to 5 apps, and every paid plan allows unlimited apps. Starter adds code edits, a custom domain and private apps, and removes the Base44 badge. Builder adds server code (backend functions), connectors, GitHub and model choice. Business, above Elite, adds company sign-in, 30-day backup and restore, and other admin controls, and Enterprise is priced by quote (plan details). Every workspace can invite unlimited members without buying seats. Unused credits expire when they reset each month.

Lovable pricing

Lovable plan	Billed monthly	Billed annually	Credits
Free	$0	$0	5 a day, up to 30 a month
Pro	From $25	From $21/month	From 100 a month, plus 5 a day
Business	From $50	From $42/month	From 100 a month, plus 5 a day
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Volume-based

Pro and Business come in credit tiers from 100 to 10,000 credits a month. The first Pro tiers are:

Pro credits a month	Billed monthly	Billed annually
100	$25	$21/month
200	$50	$42/month
400	$100	$84/month
800	$200	$167/month

Free, Pro and Business also get a monthly grant of 20 Cloud credits for hosting and the back end and 4 credits for AI features in your app, which Lovable calls a temporary offer, subject to change. Unused monthly credits roll over and expire two months after they’re issued, or one month after the annual period ends on annual billing, and daily credits don’t roll over (Lovable pricing). Pro adds code editing and download, custom domains and badge removal. Business adds company sign-in, workspace-only publishing and role-based access. Workspaces include unlimited members on every plan, and Pro top-ups cost $15 per 50 credits.

A worked example: a private request tracker

Say a five-person team builds a private request tracker on its own domain. Building takes about 80 messages in the first month and about 30 a month after that. Both vendors’ own examples put a small change at around 1 credit, so count 1 credit a message. Once it’s live, the app sends about 300 notification emails a month.

• On Base44, private apps and custom domains need Starter. Its 100 message credits cover the first month’s 80 messages. The 300 emails use about 300 integration credits (roughly twice that if they’re sent from your own domain), well inside Starter’s 2,000, and database use is free. Cost: $20 a month, or $16 billed annually. If you later want the code in GitHub or a Google Sheets connector, that’s Builder at $50, or $40 billed annually.
• On Lovable, custom domains and app emails need a paid plan, so start on Pro. Lovable spends the 5 daily build credits first, so steady, light building may barely touch Pro’s 100 monthly credits, and what you don’t use rolls over. Paid plans include 50,000 app emails a month, sent from a domain you own. Hosting and the back end draw on the 20-credit monthly Cloud grant first, then on your balance. Cost: $25 a month, or $21 billed annually, plus any back-end use beyond the grant.

For this team, the gap is about $5 a month. It widens or narrows with use. On Base44, building and running draw on separate allowances, and when one runs low you buy a top-up or move up a plan. On Lovable, everything draws on one balance you can top up, so a heavy month of building leaves less for running the app.

Can you own and move your code?

Both vendors say you own what you build. What you can take with you differs.

Base44. On Free you can view the code, and editing it starts on Starter. Exporting the code as a ZIP file or syncing it with GitHub starts on Builder, and the export includes the app’s code and server code. Records export as a CSV file per table. Base44’s docs say the managed hosting, the sign-in system and the database infrastructure can’t be exported, so running the app elsewhere means rebuilding those parts.

Lovable. Git sync with GitHub works on every plan, including Free. Downloading the code as a zip file starts on paid plans. Lovable Cloud can export the full database, including your users’ accounts. Lovable’s ownership guide names Supabase, managed or self-hosted, or another back end with the same sign-in and storage services as places to move it. Anything else means rebuilding sign-in, file storage and server code yourself.

If an exit plan matters to you, Lovable has the clearer one. If you never expect to leave, price and ease of use matter more.

Moving between Base44 and Lovable

Each vendor has a way in from the other. Base44’s migration tool copies a Lovable project’s tables and records from its Supabase database and its code from GitHub. Lovable is rolling out an import for Base44 projects that rebuilds the app and moves the database and users to Lovable Cloud. It starts from a Base44 code export, which needs Builder, and you add the records and user accounts in a separate step.

What are the limits and common complaints?

Credits come up most in reviews of both tools: what a change will cost, and paying for the AI’s own mistakes. Here is what each vendor’s documentation says about the sore spots.

Base44

• Mistakes cost credits. Base44’s credits FAQ says credits aren’t refunded for AI mistakes. On Free, automatic error fixes use message credits; on paid plans they’re free, and you can revert a change instead of prompting your way back.
• Unused credits expire at each monthly reset.
• When integration credits run out, app actions fail. If your app tries to send an email with none left, the person using it sees a generic error.
• Key features start on Builder. Code export, GitHub, connectors, payments and server code cost at least $40 a month billed annually.
• Private apps need a paid plan. Since February 6, 2026, new private apps need Starter or higher.

Lovable

• Costs vary by request. Build mode charges for the work done, so similar requests can cost different amounts, and a long-running message pauses to check in once it passes 20 credits by default (credits and usage).
• An empty balance pauses your app’s back end. If credits run out, building stops, AI features in your app fail, and the database, file storage and sign-in pause shortly after. You can’t open or export that data until they run again.
• Undo doesn’t undo data. Reverting a change restores the code only, not records that later changes added or edited.
• Free is for trying it out. Lovable describes Free as for trying Lovable and building smaller projects. You can’t edit code or connect a custom domain, apps show an “Edit with Lovable” badge, and invite-only apps ask visitors to log in with a Lovable account.

Base44 vs Lovable: which should you choose?

Choose Base44 if

• you aren’t technical and want the database, sign-in, email and hosting handled in one place
• you want the lower starting price: $16 a month billed annually, against $21 for Lovable Pro
• you want building and app usage on separate allowances, with database use free
• you want your app in the Apple App Store and Google Play: Base44 generates the store files from Builder, though you still need your own Apple and Google developer accounts and submit the app yourself

Choose Lovable if

• you want your code in GitHub from day one, even on the free plan
• a developer may take the app over, or you want a back end you can move to Supabase
• you want credits that roll over, with daily credits on top of your plan
• you need a private, invite-only app before you pay anything

Even the two vendors’ own comparison pages, Base44’s and Lovable’s, land on roughly this split: Base44 for the quickest all-in-one start, Lovable for an app you expect to grow and hand to developers.

What if you need a business app on data you already keep?

Both tools are built to create a new app with its own database. If what you need is a business app on records your team already keeps, GoodTaco (our product) builds it on your Google Sheet or Airtable base, and on a Google Sheet the app reads and writes that same sheet, so it stays the source of truth. You can also upload an Excel or CSV file and get an app back in minutes. GoodTaco apps can’t store files or photos that people upload yet, and they run in a phone’s browser rather than as an app-store app. If you need uploads, Base44 or Lovable is the better pick, and for an App Store or Google Play listing, Base44. For more options, read our Base44 alternatives guide or see GoodTaco as a Lovable alternative.

Start free and build your first app on the data you already have.

Frequently asked questions

Is Base44 better than Lovable?

Neither is better for everyone. Base44 is the simpler all-in-one choice with a cheaper first paid plan, while Lovable is the better choice if you want your code in GitHub and a back end you can move later.

Do Base44 and Lovable charge per user?

No. Both price per workspace and let you invite unlimited members without buying seats, and members build with the workspace's shared credits.

How much does Base44 cost?

Base44 has a free plan with 25 message credits a month and up to 5 apps. Paid plans are Starter at $20 a month, Builder at $50, Pro at $100 and Elite at $200, or $16, $40, $80 and $160 a month billed annually, and a Business plan above Elite adds larger credit sizes and company sign-in.

How much does Lovable cost?

Lovable's free plan gives 5 credits a day, up to 30 a month. Pro starts at $25 a month, or $21 billed annually, for 100 monthly credits, and Business starts at $50, or $42 billed annually. Both come in larger credit tiers, up to 10,000 credits a month.

Can I export my code from Base44 or Lovable?

Yes, with limits. Base44 exports the code as a ZIP file or to GitHub on the Builder plan and up, but its hosting, sign-in system and database infrastructure stay behind. Lovable syncs code to GitHub on every plan, offers zip downloads on paid plans, and can export the full database for a move to Supabase.

Can I move an app from Lovable to Base44, or the other way?

Yes. Base44 has a migration tool that brings over a Lovable project's tables, records and code, and Lovable is rolling out an import that takes a Base44 code export, which needs Base44's Builder plan. In Lovable's import, records and user accounts move in a separate step, so test sign-in and any connected services after the move.

Which is better for a business app like a CRM or client portal?

Both can build one. Base44 is easier if you want everything managed for you, and Lovable suits teams that want to own the code. If your records already live in a Google Sheet or Airtable base, GoodTaco builds the app on that data, and on a Google Sheet the app reads and writes the same sheet.