Choose Lovable if you are building a web-only SaaS and want polished UI defaults for $25/month. Choose Bolt.new if you want the fastest chat-to-deployed-prototype loop, from $20/month. Neither is the cheapest, and Lovable cannot build native mobile apps at all. Full disclosure before you read further: GenVibe is our own product, it is the third option in every table below, and it costs $12/month. The comparison includes where it loses.
Beyond price the three differ on four things that actually decide projects: whether you get a real native mobile app, whether a Figma file can be the starting point, how much of the generated code you own and can move elsewhere, and what happens when the AI gets something wrong on round nine of a build.
The 30-second summary
- Pick Lovable if you're building a web-only SaaS, you have budget, and you want polished UI defaults out of the box.
- Pick Bolt.new if you want a fast browser-based chat-to-deploy flow for web and Expo mobile prototypes and a generous monthly token allowance.
- Pick GenVibe if you want React Native + Expo mobile apps and Figma import at the lowest price of the three, plus a no-card free plan to start.
Side-by-side feature comparison
| Feature | GenVibe | Lovable | Bolt.new |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free to start, no card | ~5 builds/day | 1M tokens/mo |
| Paid plans | $9 first month, then $12/mo | From $25/mo | $25/mo |
| React Web apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| React Native (Expo) mobile apps | Yes (scaffold + Expo Go) | No | Yes (scaffold + Expo Go) |
| Figma import | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Screenshot to code | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Backend (Supabase) integration | Yes (auto-generated) | Yes (best-in-class) | Yes |
| Click an element to edit it | Yes (element picker in the preview) | Yes (Visual Edits) | No |
| Signed Android build (APK/AAB) | Yes — on your own Expo account | No (web only) | No (run EAS yourself) |
| Live preview | Cloud sandbox (works on mobile too) | Cloud preview | WebContainer, in your browser |
| Export full source | Yes (zip + GitHub) | Yes (GitHub) | Yes (GitHub) |
| One-click deploy | Netlify | Vercel, Netlify | Vercel |
| Custom domain | Via Netlify | Built-in (paid) | Via Vercel |
| Team collaboration | No — built for solo builders | Yes (paid) | Yes (paid) |
Lovable: the polished web-app specialist
Lovable (formerly GPT Engineer) has the best-looking default output of the three. The components it generates feel like they were designed by a senior product designer — good typography, sensible whitespace, polished microinteractions. Their Supabase integration is the deepest of any AI app builder, with auto-generated row level security policies and an integrated database UI.
Where Lovable shines: SaaS dashboards, internal tools, B2B web apps where polish matters and you want minimal manual styling.
Where Lovable struggles: Mobile apps (no React Native — Lovable is web/PWA only), pricing for solo developers ($25/month entry), and the free tier is too restrictive for serious use.
Bolt.new: the simple, fast prototyper
Bolt.new is the most straightforward of the three — a chat box, a WebContainer preview, and a deploy button. StackBlitz built it on top of their existing browser-based dev environment, which means the preview is fast and the export-to-StackBlitz flow is one click. It builds both web and React Native + Expo mobile apps (scaffolding the project with an Expo Go QR preview; App Store and Play Store builds are done off-platform via Expo/EAS).
Where Bolt.new shines: One-off web prototypes, Expo mobile prototypes, learning projects, weekend hackathons. The UI gets out of your way, and the monthly token allowance is generous.
Where Bolt.new struggles: Pricing for solo developers ($25/month entry). The default styling is plainer than Lovable's.
GenVibe: the free, multi-platform option
GenVibe targets mobile apps as a first-class output. You can describe a fitness tracker in a single prompt and get a React Native + Expo project that runs on iOS and Android (store builds via Expo). The same chat interface generates web React apps too, with one-click web publishing.
The free tier lets you start with no credit card — Figma import, screenshot-to-code, and mobile generation are all included. Paid plans start at $9 for the first month, then $12/month for Standard — well below Lovable or Bolt.new's $25/month entry tiers.
Where GenVibe shines: the lowest price of the three, Figma-to-code, screenshot-to-code, and a no-card free plan to start. Against Lovable specifically, React Native + Expo mobile output is a real edge — Lovable is web/PWA only. (Bolt.new also scaffolds Expo mobile, so there the honest edge is price, not mobile.)
What GenVibe deliberately doesn't do: there are no team seats or multiplayer editing — it is built for solo builders, freelancers and small teams, and priced that way. On default styling, Lovable ships more polished UI without prompting; GenVibe's shadcn/ui templates close most of that gap, but if out-of-the-box polish matters more than price, Lovable is the better fit.
Use-case decision guide
I'm building a SaaS dashboard
Lovable wins on default polish. GenVibe wins on price ($12/mo vs $25/mo). If budget matters, GenVibe + a shadcn/ui prompt gets you close to Lovable's look. If polish is everything, pay for Lovable.
I need a mobile app (iOS + Android)
GenVibe and Bolt.new both scaffold React Native + Expo apps (with App Store / Play Store builds done off-platform via Expo/EAS); Lovable is web/PWA only and doesn't ship React Native. Between the two that do mobile, GenVibe is the cheaper option. If you want to build a mobile app from a prompt or Figma file, use GenVibe's mobile workflow.
I have a Figma design I want to convert
All three support Figma import. GenVibe lets you import Figma on the free plan, so you can test the workflow without paying. See the full Figma to code guide for the workflow.
I'm a student or hobbyist on a tight budget
All three have free tiers. GenVibe lets you start with no credit card and build both web and React Native + Expo mobile apps plus import Figma for free, so you can ship more than a web demo before paying.
I'm prototyping for a client demo this weekend
Bolt.new is the fastest from chat to deployed prototype. If the demo needs to look polished, Lovable wins. GenVibe is in between but cheaper.
What about v0.dev, Cursor, Replit, Windsurf?
Those tools target different use cases. v0.dev outputs component snippets, not full projects — read our v0.dev alternatives guide for the breakdown. Cursor and Windsurf are AI-augmented IDEs for engineers who already write code. Replit is a full cloud IDE with an AI assistant bolted on. None of them compete head-to-head with Lovable / Bolt.new / GenVibe for the chat-to-full-app workflow.
FAQ
Lovable or Bolt.new — which should I pick?
Pick Lovable for a web-only SaaS where polished default UI matters and $25/month is acceptable. Pick Bolt.new for the fastest path from prompt to a deployed prototype, from $20/month, and if you are comfortable reading code when something breaks. If you need a real iOS or Android app, Lovable is out — it has no native mobile output. If price is the deciding factor, neither is cheapest: GenVibe (ours) is $12/month and free to start.
Lovable vs Bolt.new: which produces better production-ready apps?
Lovable, for web. It extracts reusable components and its styling defaults need less cleanup, so what it generates is closer to something you would merge. Bolt.new is faster to a working prototype but sometimes inlines an entire screen into one file, which is fine for a demo and costs you time later. Neither is production-ready in the sense of needing no review: both produce standard React you own and should read. The real differentiator is what happens on round nine of a build, when the AI has to correct its own earlier work.
Is there a cheaper alternative to both Lovable and Bolt.new?
Yes — GenVibe, which is the product publishing this comparison, at $12/month against $25 for Lovable and $20 for Bolt.new, with a free tier that needs no credit card. It also builds React Native mobile apps and imports Figma files, which Lovable does not. Where it loses: Lovable ships more polished UI defaults, and Bolt.new has a larger monthly token allowance on its paid tiers.
Is GenVibe really free, or does it convert to paid?
You can start for free with no credit card. Paid plans are optional if you need more capacity — they start at $9 for the first month, then $12/month for Standard.
Can I migrate a project from Lovable or Bolt.new to GenVibe?
Yes. Export your project as a GitHub repo from Lovable or Bolt.new, clone it into GenVibe via the GitHub import, and continue iterating from there. The underlying code is standard React / Tailwind so it transfers cleanly.
Do these tools generate good code or AI slop?
All three generate readable, idiomatic React in 2026 — far cleaner than the early 2024 era. The difference is in component reusability and styling defaults, not raw correctness. GenVibe and Lovable both extract reusable components; Bolt.new sometimes inlines everything in one file for small prototypes.
Which one is best for non-developers?
Lovable has the smoothest non-developer experience because the defaults are polished. GenVibe is a close second and costs less. Bolt.new assumes you can read code if something goes wrong.
Try GenVibe free
If you want to compare yourself, the GenVibe free tier is the easiest place to start — no credit card, just paste a prompt or Figma URL. Build something today, then read our free AI app builder roundup for the broader field, or the focused breakdowns: GenVibe vs Lovable and GenVibe vs Bolt.new.