Lovable (formerly GPT Engineer) is a specialized AI builder that generates full-stack React applications with a real, production-grade backend. Starting at $25/month, it differentiates itself from UI-only tools like v0 by automatically provisioning and managing a Supabase project—database, authentication, and edge functions included. If you ask for a "user dashboard," Lovable doesn't just mock the data; it creates the PostgreSQL schema, sets up Row Level Security (RLS), and writes the API calls to connect them.
For a developer building an internal tool or MVP, the math is compelling. Building a secure auth flow and database schema manually takes hours. Lovable does it in minutes. However, the cost structure is two-pronged: you pay the $25/month subscription for "credits" to generate code, plus a separate usage-based fee for "Lovable Cloud" (the backend services) if you exceed the free allowance. Processing heavy traffic on a Lovable-hosted app could surprise you with a bill similar to Vercel or Supabase overages.
Technically, the output is clean React, Tailwind, and Vite. The "vibe coding" interface is slick, allowing you to click elements to edit them via prompt. Unlike Bolt.new, which runs in a browser-based container, Lovable feels more like a managed dev shop. The bidirectional GitHub sync is a standout feature, allowing you to pull the code, tweak it in VS Code, and push it back—though in practice, heavy manual modifications can sometimes confuse the AI context on the next run.
Where Lovable stumbles is the complexity of its credit system. You get a small allowance of "daily" credits that don't roll over, and a bucket of "monthly" credits that do. It forces a "use it or lose it" habit for the daily tier. Additionally, while the Supabase integration is powerful, it can be rigid. If you manually alter the Supabase schema outside of Lovable, the AI might lose track of the state, leading to hallucinated queries.
Use Lovable if you need a functional MVP with a database today and don't want to touch SQL. Skip it if you're just looking for UI components (use v0) or a full browser-based IDE (use Replit).
Pricing
The "Freemium" label is technically true but restrictive. You get 5 daily credits, which is barely enough for a "Hello World" iteration. These credits expire every 24 hours. The real entry point is the Pro plan ($25/mo), which grants 100 monthly credits (that roll over) plus the 5 daily ones.
Hidden Cost Warning: The subscription covers generation, not hosting or backend usage. "Lovable Cloud" (the Supabase wrapper) has a separate usage-based bill after a small free allowance (~$25/mo value). If your app goes viral, you pay for the bandwidth and compute. Compared to Bolt.new's flat Pro tier, Lovable's cost creates more anxiety at scale.
Technical Verdict
Lovable generates a standard React/Vite/Tailwind stack with a Supabase backend. Code quality is generally high, utilizing Supabase SDKs correctly for Auth and Data. Documentation is sparse for the API, as it's designed to be used via UI. Latency is average for LLM generation. GitHub sync is the best way to handle code, but beware: .env files are not exported for security, requiring manual setup for local dev.
Quick Start
# Lovable has no public generation API.
# Use the open-source CLI precursor to interact with the engine:
# pip install gpt-engineer
from gpt_engineer.core import chat
# This runs the open-source equivalent locally
chat.load_and_run("Create a snake game with pygame")Watch Out
- Daily credits (5/day) do not roll over; you must use them or lose them.
- Exporting to GitHub excludes
.envfiles; you must manually copy Supabase keys to run locally. - Manual schema changes in Supabase can break the AI's understanding of your data model.
- Backend usage (Lovable Cloud) is billed separately from the $25/mo subscription.