Base44 gets your app into the App Store and has the cheapest paid plan. Lovable gives you code you can take anywhere and payments set up for you. Here is the full comparison, checked against both companies’ own docs.
By Saad Aziz · Checked against both companies’ docs on
Pick Base44 if you need your app in the App Store or Play Store, or want the cheapest paid plan ($16 a month, billed yearly). Pick Lovable if you want code you can take anywhere and payments set up for you. Neither runs the business after launch: there is no support inbox or customer list in either’s docs.
Every row comes from the companies’ own pricing pages and docs, checked on October 21, 2026. A highlight marks the tool that is clearly ahead on that row.
| Feature | Base44 | Lovable |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Wix, which bought Base44 in June 2025 | Lovable, based in Stockholm, founded in 2023 |
| Free plan | 25 message credits a month, up to 5 apps | 5 credits a day, up to 30 a month |
| Paid from | $16 a month billed yearly, $20 monthly | $21 a month billed yearly, $25 monthly |
| What credits pay for | Message credits for building; integration credits for AI, email and automations | One credit balance for building, hosting and AI |
| Backend | Its own database, sign-in, functions and file storage (in beta) | Lovable Cloud on Supabase: Postgres, sign-in, storage and functions |
| Payments | Stripe on Builder and up; you claim it into your own Stripe account | Lovable sets up and manages Stripe or Paddle on paid plans, or connect your own Stripe |
| AI in your app | Managed, no API keys; paid in integration credits | Managed, no API keys; paid from your credits |
| App Store and Play Store | Yes, on Builder and up, as a native wrapper of your web app | No, web apps only |
| Code and GitHub | Two-way GitHub sync on Builder and up; still runs on Base44’s backend | Two-way GitHub sync on every plan; host it anywhere |
| Custom domain | Starter and up, with a free domain for a year | Pro and up |
| Team | Owner, editor, viewer and guest roles | Unlimited users on every plan; SSO on Business |
| Analytics | Visitor analytics on every plan | Visits and traffic sources per app; workspace insights on Business |
| Security | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and GDPR | SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2022; not HIPAA compliant |
| Support inbox and customer list | Not listed | Not listed |
Prices per month in US dollars, paid monthly or billed yearly.
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 25 message and 100 integration credits a month, up to 5 apps |
| Starter | $20 | $16 | 100 message and 2,000 integration credits, custom domain |
| Builder | $50 | $40 | 250 message and 10,000 integration credits, payments, GitHub sync, app store files |
| Pro | $100 | $80 | 500 message and 20,000 integration credits |
| Elite | $200 | $160 | 1,200 message and 50,000 integration credits, premium support |
Both also sell Enterprise plans at a custom price. Base44 splits credits in two: message credits pay for building, integration credits pay for AI, email and automations inside your app.
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 5 credits a day, up to 30 a month, plus 20 Cloud and 4 AI credits |
| Pro | $25 | $21 | 100 credits, custom domain, built-in payments, roles |
| Business | $50 | $42 | 100 credits, SSO, workspace insights |
Lovable uses one credit balance for building, hosting and AI inside your app, with no charge per user.
Built-in payments come with its $21 plan, billed yearly. On Base44, taking payments needs the Builder plan at $40.
Base44 generates the app store files on Builder and up. Lovable builds web apps only.
Its first paid plan is the cheapest at $16 a month billed yearly, and includes a custom domain with a free domain for a year.
GitHub sync on every plan, and the app can be hosted anywhere. Base44 code still depends on Base44’s backend.
Unlimited users on every plan, with SSO on Business. Base44 offers owner, editor, viewer and guest roles.
Neither Base44’s nor Lovable’s docs show a support inbox or a customer list. Starty builds them in, along with payments and analytics with AI cost per customer.
Both turn a chat into a working web app with sign-in and a database. Base44 runs its own backend: a NoSQL database, sign-in including SSO, server functions and file storage, which it still labels beta. Apps are hosted as single-page apps.
Lovable runs on Lovable Cloud, built on Supabase: a Postgres database, sign-in, storage, edge functions and scheduled jobs. If you already use Supabase, you can connect your own project instead.
This is the biggest practical difference if you want to sell. On Lovable’s paid plans, Lovable creates and manages a Stripe or Paddle account for you, with test and live modes and a payments dashboard. You can also paste your own Stripe key, even on the free plan.
Base44 supports Stripe on Builder and up. It starts you in a Stripe test sandbox, and you claim it into your own Stripe account within 60 days to take real payments. So the cheapest Base44 plan that can take payments is $40 a month billed yearly, while Lovable’s is $21.
Both let your app use AI without API keys. Base44 bills AI calls in integration credits, about one credit per call on its default model. Lovable bills AI from the same credits you build with, and covers chat models from OpenAI, Google and Anthropic plus image, video and voice.
Neither shows you what AI costs per paying customer, which matters once you charge a monthly price for an AI feature.
Base44 can. On Builder and up, it checks your app against Apple’s and Google’s rules and generates the IPA and AAB files you upload through your own developer accounts. The result wraps your web app in a native shell: push notifications work, offline mode and HealthKit don’t.
Lovable builds web apps only. You can make it installable as a web app, or wrap it in a native shell yourself with a tool like Capacitor.
Lovable syncs your code two ways with GitHub on every plan, lets you download it on paid plans, and lets you host the app anywhere. That makes it the safer choice if you might hand the code to a developer later.
Base44 offers two-way GitHub sync on Builder and up, but the code still depends on Base44’s backend for its database, sign-in and functions. Moving off Base44 means rebuilding that backend, not just moving files.
Wix announced it had acquired Base44 on June 18, 2025, for about $80 million upfront plus earn-outs, according to Wix’s own announcement. Base44 now runs on Wix’s security infrastructure.
Lovable started in 2023 as GPT Engineer, founded by Anton Osika and Fabian Hedin, and is based in Stockholm.
Both build the app well. After launch, neither one’s docs show a support inbox for your customers or a customer list, and analytics stop at visitors and traffic. If you plan to sell, that part is still yours to set up.
| Tool | Payments | AI in your app | Support inbox | Customer list | Product analytics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base44 | Your own Stripe, Builder plan | Built in, from credits | Agents, no inbox | Not listed | Visitors only |
| Lovable | Built in, paid plans | Built in, no keys | Not listed | Not listed | Traffic only |
| StartyOur pick | Built in, nothing to connect | Ready-made, metered for you | Agent answers customers | Built in, with segments | Funnels, retention, AI cost |
Starty is our product and our pick if you want to sell. It covers the after-launch part neither Base44 nor Lovable does.
Official pricing pages, docs and announcements only, checked on October 21, 2026. Where a company’s docs don’t mention something, we say so rather than assume it’s missing.
It depends on what you need. Base44 is better if you need an App Store or Play Store app, or the cheapest paid plan. Lovable is better if you want code you can take anywhere, payments set up for you, or a Postgres backend.
Both work without writing code. Base44 includes sign-in, a database and visitor analytics on every plan, including free. Lovable includes sign-in and a database through Lovable Cloud, and lets you invite as many people as you like to help. If you might hand the app to a developer later, Lovable’s GitHub sync on every plan makes that easier.
Base44’s first paid plan is cheaper: $16 a month billed yearly, against Lovable’s $21. But if you want to take payments, Base44 needs its Builder plan at $40 a month billed yearly, while Lovable includes built-in payments from $21. For selling, Lovable is the cheaper start.
Wix. It announced the acquisition on June 18, 2025, for about $80 million upfront plus earn-outs, according to Wix’s announcement.
On Base44’s Builder plan or higher, Base44 checks your app against Apple’s and Google’s rules and generates the IPA and AAB files. You then submit them through your own Apple and Google developer accounts. The app is a native wrapper of your web app, so push notifications work but offline mode doesn’t.
Not in one click. Base44 can sync your code to GitHub on Builder and up, but the app depends on Base44’s backend for its database, sign-in and functions, so you would rebuild that part, for example on Lovable Cloud.
For App Store apps, Base44. For developers working in their own code, Cursor or Claude Code. If you want the business run for you after launch, with a support agent and a customer list Starty is built for that.
For a web app without code, Lovable is the most complete today. For an app in the App Store or Play Store, Base44. If you write code, Cursor or Claude Code. Our roundup of the best vibe coding tools compares eight of them side by side.
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