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Buyer's guide

The best AI app builders in 2026

Twelve tools that build software from a prompt, grouped by the job they do, with what each is best for, what it costs and where it falls short.

"Best" depends on the job. A builder that hosts a web app for you is the wrong tool for a developer with an existing repository, and a coding agent is the wrong tool for someone who never wants to see the code. So this guide groups the tools by what they are for, and says of each one what it is best at and what to watch for. Every price and limit comes from the vendor's own pricing page or docs; each entry links to a full comparison that lists those sources and the date they were read.

Buildra, which publishes this guide, is on the list. The entries are in alphabetical order inside each group rather than ranked, because we have not tested these tools against each other on the same briefs, and Buildra's entry says where it falls short like every other.

The short answer

ToolBest forPaid plans from
Anything (formerly Create.xyz)Phone apps sent to TestFlight and Google Play testing, if you will pay from day one$19 a month billed annually, or $24 monthly
Base44Keeping the app, its data and its hosting in one product$16 a month billed annually
BoltJavaScript apps you can download on the free plan$25 a month
BuildraArabic, Spanish or French speakers, and phone builds uploaded to the stores for you$25 a month, or $240 a year
LovableWeb apps with the backend hosted for you$25 a month, or $21 a month billed annually
ReplitTeams, and languages beyond JavaScript$20 a month, or $18 a month billed annually
SoftgenOwning every layer: your GitHub, your Supabase, your Vercel$25 a month
v0 by VercelTeams on Vercel who already work in pull requests$30 per user a month on Plus; the $20 Premium plan is closed to new users
CursorDevelopers working in an existing repository$20 a month
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)Running several coding agents at once$20 a month
TempoProduct teams turning issues into reviewed pull requests$50 a month for one seat
RetoolInternal tools over company data, with permissions$12 per builder a month, or $10 billed annually, plus internal users

App builders: describe it, and they build and host it

These build a working application from a chat and publish it for you. They differ most on how far the free plan goes, when you can take the code with you, and whether they build phone apps.

Anything (formerly Create.xyz)

Phone apps sent to TestFlight and Google Play testing, if you will pay from day one

Anything, formerly Create.xyz, builds iOS, Android and web apps from a chat, with a Postgres database and backend included, and publishing a mobile app submits it to the App Store through TestFlight or to Google Play's internal testing track. The whole project downloads as a zip at any time.

Watch for: building needs a paid plan, and GitHub sync is listed as coming soon.

Paid plans from: $19 a month billed annually, or $24 monthly

Full comparison with sources — Anything (formerly Create.xyz), checked 2026-09-23 →

Base44

Keeping the app, its data and its hosting in one product

Base44 builds full-stack apps and hosts them, with a free plan of 25 message credits a month across up to 5 apps. A custom domain arrives on Starter, and two-way GitHub sync with a ZIP export of the source on Builder.

Watch for: on Free and Starter the code stays inside Base44.

Paid plans from: $16 a month billed annually

Full comparison with sources — Base44, checked 2026-09-21 →

Bolt

JavaScript apps you can download on the free plan

Bolt runs the whole project in the browser and hosts it on Bolt Cloud, which carries the database, sign-in, file storage and server functions. It syncs with GitHub both ways, imports an existing repository, downloads the project as a zip on any plan, and builds mobile apps through Expo.

Watch for: backends are JavaScript only, free tokens do not roll over, and free sites are public with Bolt branding.

Paid plans from: $25 a month

Full comparison with sources — Bolt, checked 2026-09-23 →

Buildra

Arabic, Spanish or French speakers, and phone builds uploaded to the stores for you

An agent builds the app in a live project you can watch, and every commit it makes can be mirrored to a GitHub repository you own. The source downloads on the free tier, a project can start from a repository you already have, the dashboard is in English, Arabic, Spanish and French, and on Pro Buildra uploads signed phone builds to App Store Connect and Google Play for you, from your own developer accounts. Free is 5 credits a day, up to 25 a month, across up to 3 projects.

Watch for: custom domains are not available yet, store uploads need Pro, the GitHub mirror runs one direction only, there are no roles, SSO or audit logs, and Lovable's free monthly allowance is larger.

Paid plans from: $25 a month, or $240 a year

Buildra plans and limits →

Lovable

Web apps with the backend hosted for you

Lovable builds web apps from a chat and runs the backend on its own Cloud. The free plan publishes, to a lovable.app address, with 5 build credits a day up to 30 a month, and Git sync to GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket works both ways on every plan. Business adds roles and SSO.

Watch for: downloading the code starts at Pro, and a project cannot start from a repository you already have.

Paid plans from: $25 a month, or $21 a month billed annually

Full comparison with sources — Lovable, checked 2026-09-20 →

Replit

Teams, and languages beyond JavaScript

Replit leads with a chat and puts a full workspace behind it: 50+ programming languages, a terminal, collaborative editing and several kinds of deployment. It syncs with GitHub both ways, downloads any project as a zip, and documents building a mobile app through to App Store submission.

Watch for: the free Starter plan publishes 1 app, which expires after 30 days, and you submit a phone app to the store yourself.

Paid plans from: $20 a month, or $18 a month billed annually

Full comparison with sources — Replit, checked 2026-09-23 →

Softgen

Owning every layer: your GitHub, your Supabase, your Vercel

Softgen builds Next.js apps on managed Supabase, keeps every project in a GitHub repository you own, imports existing repositories, and deploys to a Vercel account you supply. You can choose among 12+ models.

Watch for: hosting is not included, and GitHub and publishing start on the first paid plan; the free trial stops short of them.

Paid plans from: $25 a month

Full comparison with sources — Softgen, checked 2026-09-23 →

v0 by Vercel

Teams on Vercel who already work in pull requests

v0 builds full-stack web apps, publishes them to Vercel, connects databases such as Neon, Supabase and Upstash, and syncs with GitHub both ways by committing to a branch and opening a pull request. It can import an existing repository and export the code.

Watch for: the free plan allows 7 messages a day, and it builds web apps, not store-ready phone apps.

Paid plans from: $30 per user a month on Plus; the $20 Premium plan is closed to new users

Full comparison with sources — v0 by Vercel, checked 2026-09-23 →

Coding agents: for people who already have a codebase

These work inside a repository you already have. They write and change code, open pull requests and run in parallel, but they do not host your app for you — that stays your job.

Cursor

Developers working in an existing repository

Cursor is a coding agent built around an editor: agents that plan and change code across a repository, cloud agents that run in parallel, a design mode that edits the running app, and an iOS app for steering agents away from your desk.

Watch for: it does not host or deploy your app.

Paid plans from: $20 a month

Full comparison with sources — Cursor, checked 2026-09-23 →

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

Running several coding agents at once

Devin Desktop, formerly Windsurf and now part of Cognition's Devin, is a full IDE with agents built in: its own Devin Local agent, cloud agents, and third-party agents such as Codex and Claude Agent. It can deploy a web app to Netlify for preview from inside the editor.

Watch for: deploys run through the older Cascade agent, and a custom domain means claiming the site on your own Netlify account.

Paid plans from: $20 a month

Full comparison with sources — Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf), checked 2026-09-23 →

Tempo

Product teams turning issues into reviewed pull requests

Tempo is a desktop app for macOS and Windows that opens your existing codebase, with agents that turn issues and requirements into pull requests and a canvas that edits real components in your repository.

Watch for: it documents no hosting or deploy, and extra seats are billed on top of the plan.

Paid plans from: $50 a month for one seat

Full comparison with sources — Tempo, checked 2026-09-23 →

Internal tools: interfaces over your company's data

For a staff-only tool that reads production data with rules about who can see what, a builder aimed at internal tools is a different and often better answer.

Retool

Internal tools over company data, with permissions

Retool connects to the databases and APIs you already run and assembles interfaces over them, with audit logging and permission controls on Business, SSO on Enterprise, and a self-hosted option.

Watch for: apps live in Retool and do not export as code that runs elsewhere, and builders and internal users are billed separately.

Paid plans from: $12 per builder a month, or $10 billed annually, plus internal users

Full comparison with sources — Retool, checked 2026-09-22 →

Frequently asked questions

What is the best AI app builder?+
There is no single one, because they do different jobs. For a web app with the backend hosted for you, look at Lovable, Bolt or Base44; for a team or a language other than JavaScript, Replit; for a team already on Vercel, v0; for phone apps in the stores, Anything or Buildra; for owning every layer of the stack, Softgen. If you already have a codebase, a coding agent such as Cursor, Devin Desktop or Tempo fits better, and for staff-only tools over company data, Retool.
Which AI app builder has the best free plan?+
It depends on what the free plan has to do. Lovable, Bolt, Base44 and v0 all publish on their free plans, and Bolt's also lets you download the code — though its free sites go offline for the rest of the month once they hit the data limit. Replit's free plan publishes one app that expires. Anything cannot build without a paid plan, and Softgen offers a trial. Buildra's free tier includes the source download and the GitHub mirror, with a smaller monthly allowance than Lovable's.
Which AI app builders make phone apps?+
Anything and Buildra build phone apps and send the build toward the stores for you — Anything to TestFlight and Google Play's internal testing track on its paid plans, Buildra to App Store Connect and Google Play on Pro, from your own developer accounts; with both, the final store review is yours. Bolt builds them through Expo and Replit documents the whole path to the App Store, with the upload and submission in your hands. Lovable and v0 build web apps; Lovable's own FAQ reaches the stores only by wrapping the web app in a third-party tool.
Which AI app builders let you keep the code?+
Most do, at different points. Bolt, Replit and Anything download the project on any plan, v0 exports the code, and Softgen keeps every project in a GitHub repository you own. Lovable's download starts at Pro and Base44's at Builder. Buildra mirrors every commit to a repository you own and downloads the source on its free tier, but its mirror runs one direction only.
Is there an AI app builder in Arabic, Spanish or French?+
Buildra's dashboard is in English, Arabic, Spanish and French. Of the other builders on this page, v0 says it answers in the language a prompt is written in, and none of them documents an interface in Arabic.

Want to see one of them build?

Buildra's free tier builds your app, publishes it and hands you the source.

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