AI app builder pricing and free plan limits (2026, tested)
Every vendor page tells you what a plan includes. None tells you how far it goes. We re-read each tool's pricing page and docs and put them next to what one real build used on the free plan.
Short answer: On their free plans (prices re-read 18 Oct 2026), Base44 gives 25 message credits a month, Lovable 5 build credits a day up to 30 a month, Bolt 300K tokens a day up to 1M a month, and v0 7 messages a day with a one-time $5 credit for new sign-ups. One working app from our test used 1 Base44 credit, 2.10 Lovable credits, about 101K Bolt tokens and $3.81 of v0 credit, so the free plans cover about 25, 12, 9 and 1 builds that size (Inferred, one run each). The cheapest paid plans are Base44 Starter at $16 a month billed yearly, Lovable Pro and Bolt Pro at $25 a month, and v0 Plus at $30 per user a month.
List prices give you the rate. For what one real app actually used on each free plan, with time to live, fix prompts and the usage screenshots, see measured cost per app.
Pick a tool
Lovable pricing
Free plan: 5 build credits a day, but no more than 30 a month. Our build used 2.10 build credits.
Bolt.new pricing
Free plan: 300K tokens a day, 1M tokens a month. Our build used about 101K tokens.
Base44 pricing
Free plan: 25 message credits a month, up to 5 a day. Our build used 1 message credit.
v0 pricing
Free plan: 7 messages a day; new sign-ups get a one-time $5 credit. Our build used $3.81 of credit.
All four at a glance
| Tool | Free plan Verified | Cheapest paid plan Verified | One working app used Observed | Free plan covers Inferred | Free-plan AI training Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lovable | 5 build credits a day, but no more than 30 a month | Pro, $25 a month for 100 credits | 2.10 build credits | about 2 a day and about 12 a month | Used unless you opt out (free switch in account settings) |
| Bolt | 300K tokens a day, 1M tokens a month | Pro, $25 a month for 10M tokens | about 101K tokens | about 2 a day and about 9 a month | On by default (off in EU/UK/CH); free opt-out on every plan |
| Base44 | 25 message credits a month, up to 5 a day | Starter, $16 a month billed yearly for 100 message credits | 1 message credit | about 5 a day and about 25 a month | Used on every plan except Enterprise; no opt-out setting |
| v0 | 7 messages a day; new sign-ups get a one-time $5 credit | Plus, $30 per user a month with $30 of credit | $3.81 of credit | 1, ever (for new accounts) | May be used; opt-out only on Business and Enterprise |
Plans and limits read on each vendor's official pricing page and docs on 18 Oct 2026 (sources on each tool's page). Usage Observed in our test on 16 Oct 2026 (screenshots on each page). Base44 Starter is $16 a month billed yearly; month to month is about $20 (Inferred). Training defaults from vendor docs, read 17 Oct 2026.
What changed since 16 Oct
Prices: nothing. Every plan price and free allowance on our earlier pages matched the vendors' pages on 18 Oct 2026. Short-term terms to know, each dated:
- Bolt: GLM 5.3 Flash was free for every account from 12:00am PT on 17 Oct until 11:59pm PT on 18 Oct 2026 (Bolt's free build weekend). Normal token limits apply after that. Verified, bolt.new/builders-week
- Lovable: its current chat pricing, including the free daily chat allowance, is a temporary offer that applies through 31 Oct 2026. Verified, Lovable docs
- v0: the pricing page shows Plus at $30 per user a month with $90 struck through, with no explanation on the page. Verified, v0.app/pricing
Full method: measured cost per working app · all four side by side · alternatives · feature comparison · AI training opt-outs.
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Scan my app, free →Evidence labels: Verified = vendor's official page, read 18 Oct 2026. Observed = seen in our run. Reported = vendor docs read 17 Oct 2026. Inferred = our arithmetic. What the labels mean. Disclosures: no tool paid us; no affiliate links on this page.
FAQ
Which AI app builder has the most generous free plan?
On our numbers, Base44: our working test app used 1 of its 25 monthly message credits, so the free month covers about 25 builds that size. Lovable covers about 12, Bolt about 9, and v0 one in total for new accounts, because its $5 free credit is one-time (Inferred from one run each, 16 Oct 2026; allowances Verified 18 Oct 2026).
Which AI app builder is cheapest to upgrade?
Base44 Starter at $16 a month billed yearly (about $20 month to month, Inferred from Base44's 20% yearly discount), then Lovable Pro and Bolt Pro at $25 a month, and v0 Plus at $30 per user a month (Verified, read 18 Oct 2026).
Have Lovable, Bolt, Base44 or v0 changed their prices recently?
Not since we first checked. Every plan price and free-plan allowance we listed on 16 Oct 2026 matched the vendors' pages when we re-read them on 18 Oct 2026. Short-term offers do change: Bolt's free GLM 5.3 Flash weekend ran until 11:59pm PT on 18 Oct 2026, and Lovable says its current chat pricing applies through 31 Oct 2026.
Which free plans use your projects to train AI?
Per each vendor's docs (Reported, read 17 Oct 2026): Lovable and Bolt use free-plan content by default (Bolt: off by default in the EU, UK and Switzerland) but give a free opt-out switch; Base44 uses it on every plan except Enterprise with no opt-out; v0 lists a data opt-out only on Business and Enterprise.