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Migration guide · AI App Builders

The 3 best Lovable alternatives

Lovable is an AI app builder: you chat, and it builds and publishes full-stack web apps, with a visual editor, preview environments and managed hosting, so people with no coding background can ship a working product. New apps (from 13 May 2026) use TanStack Start with server rendering, older ones React and Vite, and data lives in PostgreSQL through Lovable Cloud, its built-in backend with database, authentication, storage and edge functions, or in your own Supabase project. Lovable chooses the AI model used for building, so there is no model picker. Code syncs two ways with GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket, and Lovable's terms say the apps, code and data you create are yours.

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Bottom line

For most people the closest open alternative to Lovable is Dyad: a free desktop app builder (Apache-2.0 core) that builds React or Next.js apps, connects to Supabase as Lovable does, lets you choose any model including local ones, and keeps each project as a Git repository on your own disk. bolt.diy is the self-run, browser-based option. Google AI Studio's Build mode is free and hosted if a Gemini-only builder suits you. Whatever you choose, sync your Lovable project to GitHub first; that works on every plan, including Free.

Jump to the full comparison →

The cost

Verified on Lovable's subscription-plan and credits documentation and lovable.dev/pricing 2026-10-06. Free is $0 with 5 build credits a day (capped at 30 a month), 20 Cloud credits and 4 AI credits a month. Pro starts at $25/month for 100 monthly credits ($250 a year billed annually) and scales in tiers to $2,250/month for 10,000 credits; Business starts at $50/month for 100 credits and runs to $4,300 for 10,000; Enterprise is volume-priced. Plans are priced by credits, not seats, and a whole workspace shares one pool. One balance pays for building, for hosting and the built-in backend, and for AI features inside your app. In Default mode a message costs according to its complexity (Lovable's examples run from 0.50 to 1.70 credits); Plan mode is 1 credit a message. Top-ups cost $15 per 50 credits on Pro and $30 per 50 on Business. Monthly credits expire two months after issue, and credits are not refundable. Lovable labels the monthly Cloud and AI grants and its chat pricing as temporary, with the current chat pricing running through 31 October 2026.

What Lovable actually costs

Why people consider an alternative

Three reasons come up most. Credits that track effort rather than time: each message costs according to its complexity, and the same balance also pays for hosting and the backend once an app has real traffic, so the monthly figure is harder to predict than a flat seat. Model choice: Lovable picks the model for building and you cannot choose another. And control: the editor and agent are a managed service that, in Lovable's own documentation, cannot be self-hosted or deployed inside a customer VPC. There is also a data question on individual plans: from 9 September 2026 Lovable may use Free and Pro customer data, including prompts, code and generated output, to train its models unless you opt out in account settings; Business and Enterprise workspace data is excluded by default.

When Lovable is still the right call

Often, if you are not a developer. Lovable runs everything for you (hosting, database, authentication, security scanning and custom domains) and says its infrastructure is SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 certified; switching means operating those pieces yourself, a list Lovable sets out plainly in its own migration guide. Stay if your team builds together, since plans are priced by credits rather than seats and every plan allows unlimited workspace members. And if model training on your data is the concern, the opt-out in account settings, or a Business plan where workspace data is excluded by default, may settle it without moving anything.

The verdict — at a glance

AlternativeLicenseSelf-hostPricingSovereignty
Dyad★Apache-2.0 (src/pro under FSL-1.1-ALv2)YesFree and open source; bring your own API key or a ChatGPT subscription, or run a local model. The free Basic Agent is listed at 20 messages a day. Optional Dyad Pro is $20/month with 200 AI credits, and Dyad Max $79/month with 900. Verified on dyad.sh/pro 2026-10-06.93
bolt.diyMITYesFree and open source (MIT); you pay your model provider, or nothing beyond hardware with a local model. StackBlitz requires a separate commercial WebContainer API licence for production use in a for-profit setting; prototypes and proofs of concept do not need one.78
Google AI StudioProprietary (hosted service)NoFree to use unless you link a paid API key; deploying to Cloud Run is billed by Google Cloud based on usage, and apps that call paid models can incur costs. Verified on ai.google.dev 2026-10-06.25
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Macrostack's top pick

Dyad

A free desktop app builder with Supabase built in, any model, and your code on your own disk.

Which one fits your situation?

There is no single best answer — it depends on what you are actually trying to do.

Just tell me the best Lovable alternative

Dyad93

Our top pick — the highest Sovereignty Score at 93, and the one we would choose ourselves.

Dyad vs bolt.diy →

I have no budget — is there a genuinely free one?

bolt.diy78

Open source under MIT. Free and open source (MIT); you pay your model provider, or nothing beyond hardware with a local model. StackBlitz requires a separate commercial WebContainer API licence for production use in a for-profit setting; prototypes and proofs of concept do not need one.

bolt.diy vs Dyad →

It is just me — I do not want to run a server

Google AI Studio25

Offers a hosted option, so you can start without infrastructure. Free to use unless you link a paid API key; deploying to Cloud Run is billed by Google Cloud based on usage, and apps that call paid models can incur costs. Verified on ai.google.dev 2026-10-06.

Google AI Studio vs Dyad →

Every alternative, compared

#1★ TOP PICK

Dyad

A free desktop app builder with Supabase built in, any model, and your code on your own disk.

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OPEN SOURCEApache-2.0 (src/pro under FSL-1.1-ALv2)SELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST

Dyad is a local, open-source AI app builder that describes itself as an alternative to Lovable, v0 and Bolt that runs on your own computer. The workflow is close to Lovable's: you chat, it builds and previews the app, versions are saved automatically, and when you ask for a backend feature it offers to connect Supabase for auth, database and server functions, the same backend Lovable's own migration guide points to. The difference is ownership: every project is a regular Git repository in a folder on your machine (~/dyad-apps by default), and you choose the model, from a free-tier Gemini key, OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter or a ChatGPT subscription to local models through Ollama or LM Studio. It starts from React and Vite or Next.js templates, supports Neon as well as Supabase, and its import feature is built for apps from Lovable, v0 or Bolt.

⌁ Dyad runs anywhere Node.js runs, and its FAQ suggests a cloud model such as Gemini or OpenRouter if your machine is not powerful. Local models through Ollama or LM Studio are optional; Dyad's own docs warn they are resource-intensive and that smaller models may struggle to follow its instructions.

Strengths

  • +Each project is a normal Git repository on your own disk; no workspace, credits pool or hosting account stands between you and your code
  • +Supabase integration for auth, database and server functions, so a Lovable app on Supabase has a natural home
  • +Any model, including a free-tier Gemini key, a ChatGPT subscription or a local model
  • +Very active: v1.18.0 shipped on 5 October 2026, and the repository has about 21.7k GitHub stars

Trade-offs

  • −You install a desktop app plus Node.js and run the preview on your own machine; macOS and Windows are supported, while Linux is experimental and does not auto-update
  • −No hosting, managed database or security certifications of its own; deploying, backups and access control become your job
  • −Importing an existing app is marked experimental and supports Node.js-based JavaScript apps with an npm run dev script
  • −The Pro features in the repository's src/pro folder are fair-source (FSL-1.1), not open source, and the free agent mode is limited to 20 messages a day
Free and open source; bring your own API key or a ChatGPT subscription, or run a local model. The free Basic Agent is listed at 20 messages a day. Optional Dyad Pro is $20/month with 200 AI credits, and Dyad Max $79/month with 900. Verified on dyad.sh/pro 2026-10-06.
WebsiteSourceDocs
#2

bolt.diy

An open-source, browser-based app builder you run yourself, with any model.

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OPEN SOURCEMITSELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST

bolt.diy is the official open-source version of Bolt.new, published under StackBlitz Labs and maintained as a community project. You run it on your own machine (Node.js and pnpm, or Docker) and get a browser-based builder with chat, an editor, a terminal and a live preview of Node.js-based web apps, choosing the model for each prompt from more than 20 providers, including Ollama and LM Studio for local models. It has a Supabase integration, downloads any project as a ZIP, connects to Git, and deploys to Netlify, Vercel or GitHub Pages. One catch is specific to it: apps run inside StackBlitz's WebContainer API, which StackBlitz licenses separately and which needs a commercial licence for production use in a for-profit setting.

⌁ bolt.diy itself is light: a local Node.js server or Docker container serving a browser UI. With a cloud model it runs on modest hardware. Local models through Ollama or LM Studio need a capable GPU or plenty of unified memory, and the README lists better performance for smaller models as planned work.

Strengths

  • +Runs on infrastructure you control, from a laptop to a Docker host
  • +Choose the model per prompt from more than 20 providers, including local Ollama and LM Studio
  • +Supabase integration, ZIP download, Git, and deploys to Netlify, Vercel or GitHub Pages
  • +An active community project: about 19.9k GitHub stars, with commits landing this week

Trade-offs

  • −Its runtime, the WebContainer API, is proprietary; StackBlitz requires a commercial licence for production use in a for-profit setting
  • −No one-click install: you run it from source with Node.js 22.12+ and pnpm, or Docker; the last tagged release and desktop build (v1.0.0) date from May 2025
  • −Its README lists the move from single model calls to an agent-based system as still in progress, so expect more hand-holding than Lovable's agent
  • −Aimed at people comfortable with a terminal; there is no managed hosting, backend or visual editor of the kind Lovable provides
Free and open source (MIT); you pay your model provider, or nothing beyond hardware with a local model. StackBlitz requires a separate commercial WebContainer API licence for production use in a for-profit setting; prototypes and proofs of concept do not need one.
SourceDocs
#3

Google AI Studio

Google's free, hosted prompt-to-app builder, if a Gemini-only tool and Google's free-tier terms suit you.

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SOURCE-AVAILABLEProprietary (hosted service)

If what you value in Lovable is that someone else runs everything, Build mode in Google AI Studio is the closest hosted option at no cost. It turns a prompt into a full-stack web app (a React front end and a Node.js server by default) or a native Android app in Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, with a live preview in the browser, and it can provision Firebase Firestore and Firebase Authentication, sync two ways with GitHub, export a ZIP, and deploy to Cloud Run. Google's billing page says AI Studio usage is free of charge unless you link a paid API key. The trade-offs: it is built around Google's Gemini models, and on the free tier Google's terms say your prompts and outputs may be used to improve its products and may be read by human reviewers.

Strengths

  • +No subscription and no credits to budget: free in the browser unless you link a paid key
  • +Full-stack by default (React plus a Node.js server), and native Android apps as well
  • +Two-way GitHub sync and ZIP export; a downloaded app runs on any host once you set GEMINI_API_KEY
  • +Firebase Firestore and Google sign-in can be provisioned for you

Trade-offs

  • −Built around Gemini; Google's Build mode guide describes no other model provider
  • −On the free tier Google may use your prompts and outputs to improve its products, human reviewers may read them, and its terms say not to submit sensitive or confidential information
  • −Firebase rather than Supabase, so a Lovable app's backend does not carry across directly
  • −A hosted Google service you cannot self-host; deploying from AI Studio means Cloud Run, billed by usage
Free to use unless you link a paid API key; deploying to Cloud Run is billed by Google Cloud based on usage, and apps that call paid models can incur costs. Verified on ai.google.dev 2026-10-06.
WebsiteDocs

Questions people ask

▸ Can I take my Lovable app with me?

Yes, and Lovable documents how. Connect Git sync (GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket, on every plan) so the code lives in your own repository. The frontend can then be deployed to any host that fits its framework. The built-in backend is the part to plan: Lovable supports moving it to managed or self-hosted Supabase, and says moving the PostgreSQL database alone does not move authentication, storage, realtime or edge functions. Lovable's editor and agent cannot be self-hosted, so after a move you keep building in another tool. (Lovable documentation, read 2026-10-06.)

▸ Can Dyad open a project I built in Lovable?

Usually. Dyad's import guide names Lovable, v0 and Bolt as sources. Pull the repository from GitHub, import it, and Dyad generates an AI_RULES.md file describing the stack if there is none. Importing is marked experimental and supports Node.js-based JavaScript apps that start with an npm run dev script. If the app runs on Lovable Cloud, move the backend to your own Supabase project first, since Dyad connects to Supabase rather than to Lovable Cloud.

▸ Is Lovable using my projects to train its models?

It may, on Free and Pro. Lovable's FAQ says that from 9 September 2026 it may use customer data from Free and Pro plans (prompts including attached images and files, code, project files, generated outputs and usage data) to train its models unless you opt out, under Account settings, Preferences, AI model training. Your apps' end-user data and your billing details are not used, and Business and Enterprise workspace data is excluded by default. Dyad keeps your code on your own machine and sends prompts only to the model provider you choose, and with a local model it can work offline.

▸ Will switching actually save me money?

It depends on how you build. Dyad and bolt.diy are free, so the cost becomes your model provider's per-token bill plus whatever your host charges, which for a small app is often a free tier. A heavy month on a frontier model can still cost real money, so compare it with your Lovable credit tier using a real week of work. The cheapest dependable routes are a free-tier Gemini key, which Dyad's docs recommend, a ChatGPT subscription you already pay for, or a local model if you accept weaker results. Google AI Studio is free unless you link a paid key, at the price of Gemini only and Google's free-tier data terms.

Compare them head-to-head

Dyad vs bolt.diy→Dyad vs Google AI Studio→bolt.diy vs Google AI Studio→

Related comparisons

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Entry last verified 2026-10-06. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.

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