Tested 16 Oct 2026 · test v1 · 1 run per tool (Tier B) · free plans · pricing checked 16 Oct 2026
What it costs to build one working app on Lovable, Bolt, Base44 and v0 (free plans, tested)
Same prompt, four tools: a multi-user to-do app with login, a database and a public URL. All four worked first time with zero fix prompts, so the cost of one run is the cost of one working app. Here is what each used, how much of the free plan that is, and what it would cost on the cheapest paid plan.
The short answer: one working app used 2.10 credits on Lovable, about 101K tokens on Bolt, 1 message credit on Base44 and $3.81 on v0 Observed. That is 4% of Base44's free month, about 7% of Lovable's, about 10% of Bolt's, and 76% of v0's one-time $5 free credit. At the cheapest paid plan's rate it is worth about $0.16 to $0.20 on Base44, $0.25 on Bolt, $0.53 on Lovable and $3.81 on v0Inferred.
A one-time $5 credit for new sign-ups, plus a limit of 7 messages a day
76% of the one-time $5
1, ever
Plus, $30 of credit a month: $30 per user a month
≈ $3.81
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. "Builds per free month" assumes every build costs the same as our single run, which real builds won't.
How much of the free plan one app used
Base444% of the 25 a month
Lovable7% of the 30 a month
Bolt10% of the 1M a month
v076% of the one-time $5
Monthly allowance for Lovable, Bolt and Base44; v0's free credit is one-time, which is why its bar is so long. Inferred from our Observed usage and each vendor's Reported allowance.
What one app is worth at paid-plan rates
Base44≈ $0.16 to $0.20
Bolt≈ $0.25
Lovable≈ $0.53
v0≈ $3.81
Usage × the per-unit rate of the cheapest paid plan open to new users, list price, 16 Oct 2026. Inferred. You'd pay the subscription, not this amount.
Each tool's own billing or usage page, before and after the run (screenshots below)
Pricing checked
16 Oct 2026, on each vendor's official pricing page and docs (links below)
Current as of
16 Oct 2026
Caveats (read before citing)
One run per tool. Usage varies between runs, so treat each number as one data point, not an average. Our v2 test aims for 3 runs per tool and will report a median and range.
v1 was easy. All four tools scored 95 to 100 and needed zero fixes, so this is the cost of a simple app built cleanly. Harder apps, and apps that need fix prompts, will cost more.
Units differ. Credits, tokens and dollars aren't the same thing. The dollar column turns them into one unit using list prices; it is not what you'd be billed.
Paid plans may meter differently. Lovable says credits are "not necessarily equal in value across different plans", Base44 says usage varies by action and model, and v0 lists "access to all models" only on its paid plans. A paid-plan build could use a different amount than our free-plan build.
Included grants can make it $0. Lovable Pro includes 5 daily build credits and v0 Plus gives $2 of credit on each daily login, so on those plans a build this size may not touch paid credits at all.
v0's free credit changed during our run. Our billing page said "$5 in credit every month" before the run and "a one-time $5 credit. This credit does not renew" after it (Observed, screenshots below). v0's docs say new sign-ups get $5 once and existing Free users keep $5 a month, so your account may differ.
Prices change. Vendor pricing is Reported as of 16 Oct 2026. Check the linked pages before you buy.
Free allowanceReported: 5 build credits a day, capped at 30 a month.
Share usedInferred: 42% of the daily 5; 7% of the 30 a month.
Same-size builds on the free planInferred: 2 a day, about 12 a month. 5 ÷ 2.10 = 2 builds a day. Free grants stop after 30 credits (6 days), so 6 × 2 = 12.
Cheapest paid planReported: Pro, 100 credits a month, $25 a month ($250 a year) ($0.25 per credit).
Value of this build at that rateInferred: ≈ $0.53. 2.10 × $0.25. Pro also includes 5 daily build credits, which would cover a build this size before any paid credits are used.
UsedObserved: 1 message credit. Credit usage page: 0 of 25 → 1 of 25 message credits; integration credits 0 of 100, unchanged.
Free allowanceReported: 25 message credits a month, up to 5 a day.
Share usedInferred: 20% of the daily 5; 4% of the 25 a month.
Same-size builds on the free planInferred: 5 a day, about 25 a month. 5 ÷ 1 = 5 builds a day; 25 ÷ 1 = 25 builds a month.
Cheapest paid planReported: Starter, 100 message credits a month, $16 a month billed yearly; about $20 month to month (Inferred, see below) ($0.16 to $0.20 per credit).
Value of this build at that rateInferred: ≈ $0.16 to $0.20. 1 × ($16 or $20) ÷ 100. Base44 lists $16/month billed yearly and says yearly saves 20%; its site also says paid plans start "from $20/mo", which matches about $20 month to month.
Base44 credits before: 0 of 25 usedBase44 credits after: 1 of 25 used
v0: $3.81 of credit
UsedObserved: $3.81 of credit. Billing page: $5.00 → $1.19 available.
Free allowanceReported: A one-time $5 credit for new sign-ups, plus a limit of 7 messages a day.
Share usedInferred: 76% of the one-time $5.
Same-size builds on the free planInferred: 1, ever. $5 ÷ $3.81 = 1 build. For new accounts the $5 is one-time and does not renew.
Cheapest paid planReported: Plus, $30 of credit a month, $30 per user a month (credits are in dollars).
Value of this build at that rateInferred: ≈ $3.81. Face value: $3.81 is about 13% of Plus's $30 monthly credit. Plus also gives $2 of free credit on each daily login, which could cover part of it. The $20 Premium plan is being retired and is closed to new users.
VibeTierList, "What it costs to build one working app on Lovable, Bolt, Base44 and v0 (free plans, tested)", prompt-to-app test v1, 1 run per tool, tested 16 Oct 2026. https://vibetierlist.com/research/cost-per-app/
Evidence labels:Observed = we saw it in our own run (screenshots above). Reported = the vendor says so on its own pages. Inferred = our arithmetic from Observed and Reported numbers. What the labels mean. Disclosures: no tool on this page paid us, and none of these links are affiliate links. Payment never buys rank. Spot an error? [email protected].
FAQ
How much does it cost to build an app on Lovable, Bolt, Base44 or v0?
In our test (16 Oct 2026, free plans, one run each) one working multi-user to-do app with login and a database used 2.10 Lovable credits, about 101K Bolt tokens, 1 Base44 message credit, and $3.81 of v0 credit (Observed). At each tool's cheapest paid-plan rate, checked on 16 Oct 2026, that works out to about $0.53 on Lovable, $0.25 on Bolt, $0.16 to $0.20 on Base44 and $3.81 on v0 (Inferred).
Which AI app builder gives you the most free builds?
Base44, on our numbers. One build used 1 of its 25 monthly message credits, so the free plan fits about 25 builds that size a month. Lovable fits about 12, Bolt about 9, and v0 one in total, because new accounts get a one-time $5 credit (Inferred from one run each; real builds vary).
Can you build a full app on v0's free plan?
Once. Our build used $3.81 of the $5 free credit and finished with no payment. For new accounts that credit is one-time and does not renew, so a second build of the same size would not fit (Observed on our billing page; v0 docs say existing Free users may still get $5 a month).
What is the cheapest paid plan for each tool?
As of 16 Oct 2026 (Reported): Base44 Starter at $16 a month billed yearly (about $20 month to month), Lovable Pro at $25 a month for 100 credits, Bolt Pro at $25 a month for 10M tokens, and v0 Plus at $30 per user a month. You pay the subscription, not per app. The per-app dollar figures here are the value of the usage at those rates.
