business resources
10 Best AI App Builders in 2026, Compared on Cost
09 Nov 2026
Lovable's free plan hands you a daily grant of 5 build credits, capped at 30 a month, and its own price examples put "Make the button gray" at half a credit. The best AI app builders nearly all meter work this way, so "what will this app cost me?" depends on how often you change your mind.
(Spoiler: often, and usually about the button.)
The money version, up front:
Assembly is the best AI app builder for service businesses watching costs, because planning is free, live apps never spend build credits, hosting and AI usage of included apps sit inside the plan, and each build is already a working client app.
Lovable sells credit bundles, Bubble charges per app plus workload units, Replit bills credits with effort-based overages, Base44 runs two credit meters, and Bolt.new counts tokens.
Glide folds credits into flat tiers, FlutterFlow shares one AI allowance across two products, v0 by Vercel prices credits per user, and Hostinger AI Builder (formerly Hostinger Horizons) sells prepaid multi-year plans.
| Tool | Pricing model | Free plan | Paid from (as of Nov. 2026) |
| Assembly | Flat plan plus build credits | Yes, 3 apps | $49/mo |
| Lovable | Credit bundles | 5 credits a day | $25/mo |
| Bubble | Per app plus workload units | Build and test only | $39/mo per app |
| Replit | Credits, effort-based | 1 app for 30 days | $20/mo |
| Base44 | Message and integration credits | 25 message credits | $20/mo |
| Bolt.new | Tokens | 1M tokens a month | $25/mo |
| Glide | Credits inside tiers | No published apps | $25/mo |
| FlutterFlow | Shared AI allowance | 2 Studio projects | $39/mo |
| v0 by Vercel | Per-user credits | $5 one-time credit | $30/user/mo |
| Hostinger AI Builder | Prepaid plan, one-time credits | 250 credits to test | $1.99/mo, 48-month prepay |
How AI app builders charge you
Most of these tools run at least two meters at once, a bit like a taxi that also charges by the suitcase. Knowing which meter you're on matters more than the headline price.
Credits and messages. Lovable, Replit, Base44, and Glide bill AI work in credits, and a hard request costs more than an easy one. Base44 splits it in two: message credits for chatting with the AI and integration credits for actions your app takes.
Tokens. Bolt.new counts tokens, starting at 1M a month on Free and 10M on Pro. Vercel's v0 bills model usage per million tokens against its plan credits, from $0.20 in and $1.20 out on its Mini model to $5 and $25 on Max.
Seats. Some tools charge per person: v0 Plus is priced per user, Bolt Teams per member, and FlutterFlow charges for extra seats on Pro and Max. Lovable goes the other way, with unlimited members on every plan.
Usage after launch. This is the meter that keeps running after you stop building. Bubble bills workload units for server activity, Replit's credits also cover publishing and database operations, and Lovable warns that apps with significant traffic may cost extra.
Hostinger takes the opposite approach: AI credits arrive once with your plan and don't renew, and live AI features inside your app spend them too.
So the question to ask every vendor is simple: if nobody touches the builder for a month, what does the bill look like?
1. Assembly: best for predictable costs after launch
This is the builder where the meter stops when the building stops.
Who pays for it: Agencies, accounting and bookkeeping firms, law offices, and consultancies that want client apps and a client portal on one plan. There are no per-client charges and no setup or hosting fees, and payment processing fees apply only if you collect payments through the platform.
What the money buys: The plan bundles a CRM, a branded client experience, messaging and a team inbox, billing and payments, 30+ pre-made apps, and the AI app builder.
Build credits get spent only when the builder creates or edits an app, and a typical app takes a few dozen credits to build from scratch.
Describing the app, answering the builder's questions, and reviewing its plan cost nothing. Failed builds don't use credits, clients using a live app never consume any, and hosting, storage, and AI usage of included apps are built into the plan.
What comes out is a working client app: sign-in, permissions, and your branding are handled by the platform, and every app reads from the same CRM. That matters for the budget, because you aren't paying separately for a login service, a database, and a portal tool.
Advertai Marketing, an 11-person digital agency, is retiring Markup.io, Google Drive, Bright Local, Keyword.com, and Google Forms by building its own apps on the platform. That's five tools coming off the renewal list.
Pricing: Free is $0 for 5 active contacts, 1 internal user, 75 build credits a month, and 3 apps. Starter is $49/month, Professional is $139/month, Advanced is $599/month, and Enterprise starts at $2,000/month.
Cost traps: Build credits can run out in a heavy build month: Free includes 75, paid plans include 200, and extras cost $0.60 each. Paid plans also include five apps, and each one past that is $5/month.
A burst of new ideas therefore has a price tag, though unused credits roll over one extra month, which softens the blow.
2. Lovable: credit bundles with no seat fees
Lovable is the easy budget call when several people need to build but only one person pays.
Who pays for it: Founders, small teams, and agencies building web apps by chat. Lovable prices plans by the credits they include, and workspaces support unlimited members on every plan.
What the money buys: Chat building with Plan mode, which costs 1 credit per message, and Build mode, where cost varies with the task. You also get Lovable Cloud (database, storage, authentication, realtime, and functions) plus hosting, and the free plan adds 20 Cloud credits a month.
Pro adds custom domains, badge removal, credit rollovers, and top-ups, while Business adds a team workspace, role-based access, SSO, and a security center. Paid plans can download the codebase or sync it with GitHub.
Pricing: As of November 2026, Free is $0 with 5 build credits a day (up to 30 a month). Pro is $25/month for 100 credits and scales through a dropdown: 200 credits cost $50, 400 cost $100, and 10,000 cost $2,250. Business is $50/month for 100 credits.
Cost traps: Credits are pooled per workspace, so one heavy user drains everyone's balance (admins can set per-member limits). Business credits are priced higher than Pro credits, monthly credits expire two months after issue, and credits aren't refundable.
Apps with significant visitor traffic may also start incurring cost on top of the included grant, so a launch that goes well shows up on the bill.
3. Bubble: one plan per app, metered by workload
Bubble is the pick when you'd like to know exactly which app is costing you what.
Who pays for it: Teams building logic-heavy web or mobile apps in a visual editor, one plan per app. Agencies can use an Agency account at $85/month per seat, where apps stay in development until ownership transfers to the client.
What the money buys: One prompt generates a working app with UI, logic, and a database, and app generation currently doesn't require credits. The AI Agent (in beta), page generation, and image generation do spend AI credits.
Every plan includes the visual editor, a built-in database, and user authentication, and native iOS and Android apps come from the same editor. Paid plans add a live site and custom domain, and Growth adds two editors and 2FA.
Pricing: As of November 2026, Web Free is $0 (50K workload units and 500 AI credits a month, development version only). Web Starter is $39/month with 175K workload units, Growth is $134/month, and Team is $399/month, while Web and Mobile plans cost $69, $249, and $649.
Cost traps: Plans are bought per project, so three apps means three plans. Workload overages are billed unless you disable them, included credits don't roll over, and purchased credits expire after six months.
Extra file storage is $3 per 100 GB a month. Bubble also has no code export, so leaving later means rebuilding (budget for that the way you'd budget for movers).
4. Replit: credits that cover building and running
Replit's credits pay for the whole life of the app, which is convenient right up until the app gets busy.
Who pays for it: Individuals on Core, and teams of up to 15 collaborators on Pro, since Replit has no separate Teams plan. Enterprise adds unlimited seats with no per-seat costs.
What the money buys: Replit Agent builds web and native mobile apps from chat, with a managed PostgreSQL database, built-in auth, and hosting. Credits cover all of it: building with the Agent, publishing, and database operations.
Free Mode uses intelligent model routing, while Power and Max modes draw from monthly credits. Native iOS apps go to App Store Connect through Replit's Launch feature, with your own Apple Developer account.
Pricing: As of November 2026, the free Starter plan offers daily credits up to a monthly cap, Lite builds only, and one published app that goes down after 30 days. Core is $20/month with up to 30 hours of chat on Free Mode and $20 toward more powerful models.
Pro is tiered at $100, $225, $440, $850, and $2,050 a month, and the base tier includes $100 toward the most powerful models. Enterprise is custom.
Cost traps: Overage uses effort-based pricing, so complex requests cost more and monthly spend is hard to predict. Budgets act as a hard cap that temporarily suspends all usage-based services, and since credits also cover publishing and databases, hitting that cap reaches past the builder.
5. Base44: a low entry price with two credit meters
Base44 starts at $20 a month, but its two-meter setup deserves a look before you pick a tier.
Who pays for it: Owners and small teams who want a full-stack app from one description. Base44 is owned by Wix, and Enterprise covers company-wide rollouts with SSO and custom credits.
What the money buys: Base44 builds the frontend, backend, database, user authentication, and payments from plain language, and every plan includes a responsive visual editor.
Starter adds unlimited apps, in-app code edits, and a connected domain, while Builder adds AI model selection and GitHub integration.
Mobile apps reach the App Store and Google Play inside a web-view wrapper, and downloading those store files needs Builder or higher.
Pricing: As of November 2026, Free is $0 with 25 message credits, 100 integration credits, and up to 5 apps. Starter is $20/month (100 message credits, 2,000 integration credits) and Builder is $50/month (250 and 10,000).
Pro is $100/month (500 and 20,000), and Elite is $200/month (1,200 and 50,000).
Cost traps: Base44 says exact usage varies with the action and the AI model you select, so two similar months can cost differently. Third-party services such as Stripe, SendGrid, and OpenAI bill you directly, and store-ready mobile files mean paying for Builder at $50/month.
If your app will send a lot of email or sync records with other tools, watch the integration credit count, since that's the bucket a busy app spends.
6. Bolt.new: tokens that roll over
Bolt.new suits builders who want paid usage that carries forward, since unused tokens roll over for up to two months.
Who pays for it: Individuals on Pro and teams paying per member on Teams. Bolt also runs an agencies page aimed at client deliverables.
What the money buys: Tokens measure the work Bolt does on your project. Plans include Bolt Cloud for hosting, domains, a database with authentication, file storage, and server functions, and Pro adds a custom domain, no daily limit, and the Max agent.
Mobile apps come through an Expo integration that publishes to the App Store and Google Play.
Pricing: As of November 2026, Free is $0 with 300K tokens a day, 1M a month, Bolt branding, and up to 333K web requests. Pro is $25/month starting at 10M tokens and up to 1M web requests, and Teams is $30 per member a month.
Cost traps: On Teams, tokens aren't shared between members, and free members can view projects but can't send prompts. The Max agent uses more tokens, and Pro hosting covers up to 30 GB of bandwidth and 1 million requests before pay-as-you-go overage kicks in.
Free sites stop serving once they hit their monthly data limits and stay offline until the reset, which is a stressful way to find out your app is popular.
7. Glide: flat tiers for apps built on spreadsheets
Glide is the steady option for operations teams whose data already lives in Excel or Google Sheets.
Who pays for it: Teams turning spreadsheets into internal business apps and AI agents. Glide calls itself a business operations platform, and GlideOS builds from a spreadsheet, a prompt, or a file.
What the money buys: An AI agent builds the app, and SheetSense reads your sheets, formulas, and lookups. Glide standardizes LLM tokens as credits, and each tier raises credits, team members, published apps, and workflows.
Pricing: As of November 2026, GlideOS Free is $0 with limited credits, 2 team members, and 0 published apps. Basic is $25/month (100 credits, 2 published apps, unlimited guests), and Plus is $50/month (250 credits, 5 published apps, public apps, and a custom login screen).
Pro is $125/month with 500 credits and 5 members to start (plus 50 credits per extra member), unlimited published apps, MCP, and database connection strings.
Cost traps: The free plan can't publish an app or buy top-ups, and paid top-ups are capped at one a month on Basic and two on Plus. GlideOS is a separate subscription from Glide Classic, and Classic apps can't migrate across.
Annual GlideOS plans are still "coming soon", and viewing code and project files is Enterprise-only. Before you pay, count how many apps you'll publish this year, because that number decides the tier more than credits do.
8. FlutterFlow: one subscription for two mobile builders
FlutterFlow is now two products: the visual builder became FlutterFlow Studio, and the FlutterFlow name moved to a new AI-first builder for mobile apps.
Who pays for it: Mobile-first builders who want App Store and Google Play apps. One subscription covers FlutterFlow, Studio, and FlutterFlow Designer.
What the money buys: One shared AI allowance across both builders, now that "Lite credits" are retired. The new FlutterFlow gives you a managed database, sign-in, and file storage, while Studio connects to Firebase or Supabase and supports custom Dart code.
Paid plans unlock code download, APK download, and one-click store deployment, and Pro adds GitHub push, a VS Code extension, and real-time collaboration. Max adds Figma frame import, up to 100 a month.
Pricing: As of November 2026, Free is $0 with a free AI allowance, 2 Studio projects, and 1 editor. Basic is $39/month, Pro is $80/month with 2.5 times Basic's AI usage and a $55 second seat, and Max is $150/month with 5 times the usage and $85 seats.
Cost traps: The new AI-first FlutterFlow doesn't support Team accounts, so seat users who want it need an individual plan. On team plans, only the owner gets FlutterFlow and everyone else works in Studio.
Projects also can't move between the two products, so a wrong first pick costs you a rebuild.
9. v0 by Vercel: per-user credits for design-led teams
Vercel's v0 fits teams who think in components and want the credit math tied to each person.
Who pays for it: Developers, designers, and product teams, by Vercel's own description. Plus and Business pool shared credits and bill centrally on vercel.com.
What the money buys: An agentic chat that plans, creates tasks, and connects to databases, plus Design Mode for visual fine-tuning. Every chat starts on Next.js with shadcn/ui and Tailwind CSS, with Vercel Marketplace integrations, one-click deploys, and GitHub sync.
Model tiers run from v0 Mini up to Max Fast, and you can connect a ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan to cover eligible OpenAI responses.
Pricing: As of November 2026, Free is $0 with $5 in one-time credits for new users and a 7-message daily limit. Plus is $30/user/month with $30 of monthly credits per user and $2 of free daily credits on login, and Business is $100/user/month.
Cost traps: Chat history and source files count as input, so a short prompt in a long project can still use plenty of tokens. Unused monthly credits roll over for only one month.
Even with a ChatGPT plan connected, you still need a v0 credit balance. Plus also doesn't opt you out of training by default, which Business does. In a trial, run one realistic editing session on a project with some history and watch how fast the balance moves.
10. Hostinger AI Builder (formerly Horizons): prepaid plans with hosting included
Hostinger AI Builder is the low monthly number with the long commitment attached.
Who pays for it: Owners who want a website and a simple web app with hosting, a domain, and email bundled. It merged Hostinger's website builder and Horizons into one product with Agentic and Manual modes.
What the money buys: Agentic mode builds websites and web apps by chat, and Manual mode gives you an AI-generated site to drag and drop. Databases, user accounts, and file storage are included, along with Stripe, PayPal, and Google AdSense integrations, a code editor, and code export.
The free Hostinger Connector also lets Claude Code, Cursor, and VS Code work on the same account, so a developer can step in later without a new subscription.
Pricing: As of November 2026, every plan is a 48-month prepay. Premium is $1.99/month ($95.52 upfront, renewing at $10.99/month), Unlimited is $2.79/month ($133.92, renewing at $16.99/month), and Cloud Startup is $7.99/month ($383.52, renewing at $25.99/month).
AI credits come as a one-time allocation of 250, 500, or 1,000, and there's a free trial with 250 credits and a 30-day money-back window if you've used fewer than 1,500 AI credits.
Cost traps: Credits don't renew monthly, and Hostinger estimates a simple business page takes 250 to 500 of them. Manual mode doesn't use credits, but live AI features in your app do, and renewal prices run several times the intro rate.
Which pricing model fits how you build?
You build in bursts, then leave apps alone: look for plans where live apps don't spend credits and hosting sits inside the subscription.
You tinker every week: check rollover rules first. Bolt's paid tokens roll over for up to two months, Lovable's credits expire two months after issue, and Bubble's included credits don't roll over at all.
Several people prompt: Lovable charges nothing extra per member, Bolt Teams prices per member without pooling tokens, and v0 prices per user with a shared credit pool.
Your app will get real traffic: read the usage meter, whether that's Bubble's workload units, Replit's credits, or Bolt's bandwidth caps.
You hate monthly bills: Hostinger's 48-month prepay is one payment, as long as you're sure you'll still want the tool in year three.
Run the first-year math
Here's a hypothetical: a small team building three client apps in its first year, using monthly list prices and ignoring overages and top-ups.
Bubble: plans are per app, so three apps on Web Starter at $39 each comes to $1,404 for the year.
Lovable: if all three apps fit inside one Pro workspace and 100 credits a month, that's $300 for the year, or $600 at the 200-credit tier.
The #1 builder: Starter at $49/month covers up to five apps for $588 a year, but it includes one internal user, so a team of three that wants its own domain lands on Professional at $1,668.
The smallest number isn't automatically the smallest bill, because the Lovable figure assumes nobody gets chatty and the Bubble figure assumes nobody gets traffic. Add the cost of the tools each app replaces, and the math can flip (spreadsheets are free right up until you count the hours).
FAQ
Are there AI app builders with no monthly fee?
Yes, Lovable, Bubble, Replit, Base44, Bolt.new, Glide, FlutterFlow, and v0 by Vercel all offer $0 plans. Most limit going live, though: Bubble needs a paid plan to publish, Glide's free plan can't publish apps, and Replit's free app goes down after 30 days.
What happens to your app if you run out of AI credits?
It depends on whether the credits pay only for building or also for running the app. Replit's credits also cover publishing and databases and its budget cap suspends all usage-based services, while Hostinger's live AI features and Base44's integration actions draw on credits too.
Do AI app builders charge for hosting?
Many include hosting in the plan, but usage limits can turn it into a line item once your app gets traffic. Bolt's free hosting stops serving at 10 GB of bandwidth, Lovable warns that busy apps may cost extra, and Bubble bills workload units for server activity.
