PUBLISHED TERMS · SIDE BY SIDE
Lovable vs Bolt vs Emergent: free AI app-builder limits
AI app builders meter work differently: daily credits, monthly tokens or monthly credits. Pick one small real project, then compare how far each free allowance is likely to take it and what happens when you need to deploy.
Questions to settle before choosing
What unit does the free plan count?
Credits, tokens and daily caps are not interchangeable. Read each allowance in its own unit rather than assuming one tool gives "more".
Will you need to publish the app?
Check hosting, database and export details. A prototype that can only run inside the builder is different from an app you can deploy and own.
When would you outgrow it?
Iterating on a real app consumes allowance quickly. Compare the entry paid plans on the provider pages and test with your own project before upgrading.
Compare the plan details
| Plan detail | Lovable | Bolt.new | Emergent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access type | Ongoing free plan | Ongoing free plan | Ongoing free plan |
| Free allowance | Five build credits daily, capped at 30 monthly, plus monthly Cloud and in-app AI grants. | One million tokens monthly with a 300,000-token daily limit, hosting, databases, and public or private projects. | Free plan with 10 credits per month and access to the core platform features for building web and mobile apps. |
| Downloads on free | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not confirmed |
| Watermark on free | Yes | Yes | Not applicable |
| Commercial use on free | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Credit card required | No | No | Not confirmed |
| Published paid-plan terms | Pro starts at $25 monthly with 100 monthly credits; annual billing may reduce the effective monthly price. | Pro: $25 monthly with 10 million tokens, no daily token limit, custom domains, and branding removal. | Standard: $17/month billed annually or $20 monthly; Pro: $167/month annually or $200 monthly. |
| Main restriction | Daily build credits expire without rollover, the monthly build cap is 30, and free published projects retain Lovable branding. | Free sites carry Bolt branding, uploads are capped at 10 MB, and large projects can consume tokens quickly. | 10 free credits a month is a small allowance, and free-plan deployment and code-export terms were not stated on the pricing page. |
| Sources reviewed | Sep 23, 2026 | Sep 23, 2026 | Sep 27, 2026 |
“Not confirmed” and “Not applicable” do not mean yes. Compare billing periods and restrictions alongside prices; different allowance units are not directly equivalent.
Read the restrictions and original sources
Lovable
Prompt-based builder for web apps and sites with code generation, hosting, databases, and AI features.
Keep in mind: Daily build credits expire without rollover, the monthly build cap is 30, and free published projects retain Lovable branding.
Free workspaces receive five build credits per day, expiring daily, with a 30-credit monthly cap. They also receive 20 Cloud credits monthly and four credits for AI features inside deployed apps. Default-mode cost varies by task complexity.
Read Lovable plan details →Bolt.new
Browser AI app builder that generates, runs, and hosts full-stack projects from conversational prompts.
Keep in mind: Free sites carry Bolt branding, uploads are capped at 10 MB, and large projects can consume tokens quickly.
Free accounts can use at most 300,000 tokens daily within the one-million-token monthly pool. Larger projects consume more because Bolt repeatedly reads and synchronizes project files. Free tokens do not roll over.
Read Bolt.new plan details →Emergent
AI app builder that creates full-stack web and mobile applications from plain-language prompts, with one-click LLM integration.
Keep in mind: 10 free credits a month is a small allowance, and free-plan deployment and code-export terms were not stated on the pricing page.
Ten monthly credits are enough to explore the builder; how far credits go depends on the size of each build. Deployment and export limits for the free plan were not stated on the pricing page.
Read Emergent plan details →Choose around the requirement
Use the questions above to identify the allowance or permission your project requires. Check the matching source, then evaluate the actual workflow. These are source-based plan comparisons, not hands-on quality reviews or a measured ranking.
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