Comparison

Lovable vs Replit

Two prompt-first app builders, compared on price, on what each free plan allows, on how the code gets out, and on phone apps.

Lovable and Replit now answer the same first question the same way: you describe an app in a chat, an agent builds it, and it publishes to a live address. Where they part is what sits underneath. Lovable builds web apps and hosts the backend on its own Cloud; Replit puts a full workspace behind the chat — 50+ programming languages, a terminal, collaborative editing — and documents a path to the App Store. Every figure below was read off their own pricing pages and docs on the dates shown.

What each one costs

Lovable

Free
$0 a month. 5 build credits a day, capped at 30 a calendar month, plus 20 Cloud credits and 4 AI credits. No code download, no code editing, no custom domain.
Pro
From $25 a month for 100 credits a month. Adds code editing, code download, custom domains and badge removal.
Business
From $50 a month for the same 100 credits. Adds role-based access, SSO, a security centre, personal projects and the Lovable API.
Enterprise
Priced by Lovable's sales team. Adds SCIM, audit logs and scheduled security scans.

Every figure here comes from Lovable's own pages, read on 2026-09-20. Prices and limits move — check the sources before you decide.

Sources: lovable.dev/pricing, Lovable docs — Subscription plans, Lovable docs — Credits and limits, Lovable docs — Deploy, Lovable docs — FAQ

Replit

Starter
$0. Daily Agent credits up to a monthly cap, 2GB of workspace storage and 1 published app, which expires after 30 days and can be published again. No Full build, no Plan Mode, no third-party connectors, and the Made with Replit badge stays.
Core
$20 a month, or $18 a month billed annually. $20 of credit towards the most capable models, Plan mode, unlimited workspaces, and up to 30 hours of chat and 60 projects on Free Mode.
Pro
$100 a month, or $90 a month billed annually. $100 of model credit, 10 parallel agents, up to 15 collaborators and 50 viewers, and database rollback up to 28 days.
Enterprise
Priced on request. Adds SAML SSO, SCIM, audit logs, custom seat limits, advanced privacy controls, single-tenant environments and static outbound IPs.

Every figure here comes from Replit's own pages, read on 2026-09-23. Prices and limits move — check the sources before you decide.

Sources: replit.com/pricing, Replit docs — Starter Plan, Replit docs — Build with Agent, Replit docs — Version control, Replit docs — Projects and files, Replit docs — Custom domains, Replit docs — Publishing costs, Replit docs — Submit to the App Store, Replit — AI coding tools for software engineers

Feature comparison

FeatureLovableReplitBuildra
AI code generationYesAgentYes
Live previewYesYesYes
One-click deployYesYesYes
GitHub syncYesTwo-wayYes
Full-stack (frontend + backend + DB)Built-in CloudYesYes
Custom domainsPaid plansOn a published appYes
Multi-language UINoNot documented4 languages
Export / download codePro and aboveYesYes
Conversation historyYesYesYes
Phone app, built and submitted to the storesNot documentedBuilt; you submit to the storesYes

Which is better for someone who doesn't write code?

Both start from a prompt box, so neither asks you to write code to get a first version. Lovable is the narrower of the two, and that is its advantage for a non-developer: it builds web apps, hosts the backend on its own Cloud, and publishes to a lovable.app address from the free plan, so there are few decisions to make. Replit gives you more to hold — a workspace, a terminal, 50+ languages, several kinds of deployment — which pays off the moment you want to look underneath, and is more surface than you need if you never will.

Which one lets you leave with the code?

Both sync with GitHub in both directions, and they differ on the download. Lovable syncs to GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket on every plan including free, but downloading the code as an archive, and editing it inside Lovable, start at Pro ($25 a month). Replit imports from GitHub and pushes back, and downloads any project as a zip from its file tree with no plan named. One more difference points the other way round: Lovable cannot start from a repository you already have — it exports to GitHub only — while Replit imports one.

How far does each free plan go?

Lovable Free grants 5 build credits a day, capped at 30 in a calendar month, plus 20 Cloud credits and 4 AI credits, and it publishes. Replit's free Starter plan grants daily Agent credits up to a monthly cap and 2GB of workspace storage, but publishes 1 app, which expires after 30 days and has to be published again; it also leaves out Plan Mode and third-party connectors and keeps the Made with Replit badge. For a site that has to stay up, Lovable's free plan goes further.

Which one builds phone apps?

Replit. Its docs walk through building a mobile app and taking it all the way to the App Store: an Apple Developer account, the upload to App Store Connect, TestFlight, and a final review you submit yourself. Lovable builds web apps; its publishing always goes to a web address. Lovable's own FAQ covers the stores only by exporting the code and wrapping the published web app in a third-party tool; Replit is the one of the two that builds the mobile app itself.

When is neither the right answer?

If the thing you care about is the source in a repository you own from the first commit, downloadable without a paid plan, and a phone app submitted for you rather than by you. That is the gap Buildra was built for: every commit its agent makes is mirrored out to a GitHub repository you own, the source downloads on the free tier — 5 credits a day, up to 25 a month, across up to 3 projects — a project can start from a repository you already have, and Buildra submits phone apps to the App Store and Google Play itself. It is the smallest of the three: the mirror runs one direction only, there are no roles, SSO or audit logs, and Lovable's free monthly allowance is larger.

Bottom line — Lovable or Replit?

Pick Lovable if you want a web app with the backend hosted for you and a free plan that keeps it published. Pick Replit if you want a workspace behind the chat, a language other than JavaScript, a team editing together, or a phone app headed for the App Store. The two overlap more than their reputations suggest — both are prompt-first now, and both sync GitHub both ways. If the deciding question is owning the source from the first commit on a free plan, look at a third option; if you need a team workspace or SSO, don't.

Frequently asked questions

Is Lovable or Replit better?+
For different people. Lovable is the more contained product — web apps, a hosted backend and a free plan that publishes — which suits someone who wants the app and not the machinery. Replit is the broader one — 50+ languages, a workspace and terminal, collaboration, and phone apps — which suits someone who expects to go underneath.
Which is cheaper, Lovable or Replit?+
Lovable Pro is $25 a month, or $21 a month billed annually. Replit Core is $20 a month, or $18 a month billed annually, and Replit Pro is $100. They meter differently — Lovable in build credits, Replit in a monthly credit balance that also pays for publishing — so the cheaper one depends on how much you build and how much traffic your app serves.
Can you move a project from Lovable to Replit, or back?+
Through GitHub. Lovable syncs every project to a Git repository on any plan, and Replit imports from GitHub, so a Lovable project can be opened in Replit. The other direction is harder: Lovable cannot start from a repository you already have. Neither carries the conversation or a hosted database across.
Is there an alternative to both?+
Several. Buildra differs from both on two points: every agent commit is mirrored to a GitHub repository you own with the source downloadable on its free tier, and it submits phone apps to the App Store and Google Play itself. It is smaller in others — the mirror runs one way, there are no roles or SSO, and Lovable's free monthly allowance is larger.

Want the code from the start?

Buildra mirrors every commit to a repository you own, and the free tier downloads the source.

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