Dev tools · checked 2026-10-14

Can I vibecode Lovable?

KINDA· weekend project

Like v0, Lovable is a chat in front of models it doesn't own that writes a React project and shows it running, so a local studio calling the same API produces comparable code in about a weekend. That is why this is KINDA, the same call as v0. Lovable bundles more than v0 does: it hosts the finished app on a lovable.app address and sets up a managed backend (database, auth, storage and functions on a Supabase base) that has no one-click way out. A local build covers the chat, file writing, preview and git history, not the hosting or the backend, and you pay the model provider per token.

$25/moprice

$300you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeA weekend; the plan and build loop with error feedback takes the longest

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Node.js 22 and gitThe studio runs each app's Vite dev server and commits every turn.
An Anthropic API keyPaid per token. Each turn's cost shows in the studio.

Before you buildLovable Free gives 5 build credits a day, capped at 30 a month. If you already pay for a coding agent, asking it to build the app inside a Vite project may get you most of the way with no new tool.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a local prompt-to-app studio to replace Lovable. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript: a Fastify server and a React page on http://127.0.0.1:4810 with the chat
  on the left and a live preview on the right.
- Each app is a folder in ./apps/<slug>, copied from a template with Vite, React, TypeScript,
  Tailwind CSS v4 and shadcn/ui, plus a small Hono + better-sqlite3 API in server/ for apps that
  store data. One `npm run dev` starts both.
- Call the Anthropic API with @anthropic-ai/sdk; key and model name come from .env. The model gets four
  tools only: read_file, write_file, delete_file and install_package (an npm package name, nothing
  else). Any path outside the app folder is rejected.
- Two modes per message: Plan, where the model answers with a short numbered plan and touches no files,
  and Build, where it writes them. A plan shows a "Build this plan" button.
- The preview is the app's own Vite dev server in an iframe. After every Build turn run
  `tsc --noEmit` and collect the iframe's console errors; send them back to the model at most 3 times,
  then stop and show me the errors.
- Every turn is a git commit (simple-git) with my message. Undo reverts the last turn and a history
  list restores any earlier one. Export zips the app without node_modules.
- Show input and output tokens and the cost of each turn, a running total, and a monthly cap from .env
  that refuses new turns once it is reached.
- No accounts, no telemetry, local-first: the only network call is to the model API.
- Out of scope: hosting, custom domains, a managed database or auth service, GitHub sync, teams.
- README: setup, where apps live, how `npm run build` makes a dist folder for any static host, how to
  run the Hono server on a VPS, and a warning that generated code needs a security review before it
  holds anyone else's data.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Lovable.

Add a publish button to the studio in this folder. Requirements:

- Settings: SSH host, user, key path and a base domain in .env; one domain per app slug.
- Publish builds the app (`npm run build`), copies dist/ and the Hono server to the host with rsync over
  SSH, restarts the server under systemd, and writes a Caddyfile snippet for the domain.
- Show each step's output live and stop on the first failure; keep the last 3 releases so a rollback
  button can switch back.
- Never copy .env files or node_modules.
- Update the README with the one-time server setup.

Add a security review to the studio in this folder. Requirements:

- A Review button sends the app's server/ code to the model with a checklist: missing authentication or
  authorization on routes, SQL built from strings, secrets in client code, unvalidated input, open CORS.
- The answer is a list of findings with file and line, each with a suggested patch the user can apply as
  a normal commit.
- Also run `npm audit` and show the result next to the findings.
- State clearly that this is a first pass and not a security audit.
- Update the README.

Extend the studio chat in this folder. Requirements:

- Paste or drop up to 3 images into a message; send them to the model as image blocks and store them
  in the turn's commit under .studio/images/.
- Show thumbnails in the chat and warn when an image is over 5 MB instead of sending it.
- Count image tokens in the cost display.
- Update the README.

Add project import to the studio in this folder. Requirements:

- Open a local Vite + React project or clone a Git URL into ./apps/<slug>; detect the package manager.
- Before the first turn, summarize the project's structure and scripts into a .studio/notes.md file that
  is included in every model call.
- Refuse to run if the working tree has uncommitted changes, and say how to commit them.
- Update the README.

What you lose

One-click publishing to a lovable.app address or your own domain
Lovable Cloud: a managed database, auth, file storage and functions behind the app
Two-way GitHub sync and shared workspaces with roles and per-member credit limits
A bundled plan where hosting and the AI features inside your apps are part of the credit balance
The security center and scans that come with Business and Enterprise

Why people still pay

People pay for the path from idea to a live URL in one place: the app is written, hosted and given a database without a terminal. Teams share one credit pool instead of everyone holding API keys, and non-developers get a working prototype to show the same day.

Moatinfrastructure scale execution polish integrations

Do the math

Lovable or your own copy?

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Lovable, 1 yr$300

Your own copy, 1 yr$268running + build session

You keep$32pays for itself in 3 months

Estimate · The running cost is model tokens: from a few cents to tens of cents a turn, depending on the model and the project's size. Publishing is extra: a static build fits a free tier, a small API needs a $5 VPS. The build session is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Lovable

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Lovable

1Connect the project to GitHub: a workspace admin installs the Lovable GitHub app, then a project admin clicks Connect. Lovable creates a private repository and syncs both ways on one branch, the default branch unless you switch.
2Without GitHub, paid plans can download the code from Project settings > Git or from the Code editor.
3The backend is separate: Lovable Cloud runs on a Supabase base but has no one-click move to your own Supabase. Export the Cloud data from Advanced settings, then rebuild the schema in a new project.
4Disconnecting stops syncing but leaves the repository in place; reconnecting later makes a new one, and importing a GitHub repository into Lovable isn't supported.

2 · Cancel Lovable

1Open Workspace settings > Plans & credit usage, select Manage on your plan card, choose Downgrade to free and finish the flow.
2The current plan stays active until the end of the billing period, then the workspace moves to Free.
3You keep using remaining credits until the period ends; unused paid credits return if you re-subscribe before they expire. Credits aren't refundable.

Removing Cloud from a project deletes its instance for good: export the database and download stored files first.
Apps on Cloud can pause when a workspace has no credits and may need a manual Wake up, so test them after a downgrade.
Custom domains are a Pro feature and Free doesn't include them; the docs we read don't say what happens to one after a downgrade, so plan to repoint DNS.
Free workspaces can't buy top-ups.

Checked 2026-10-14 against Lovable's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

DyadOpen sourceLocal desktop app builder that works with your own model keys or Ollama; the core is Apache 2.0 and the src/pro folder has its own licence.★ 22k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
macOS, Windows, LinuxVisit ↗bolt.diyOpen sourceMIT community version of Bolt: prompt, run, edit and deploy full-stack apps with the LLM provider of your choice.★ 20k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗Open LovableOpen sourceMIT chat that builds React apps, including by recreating an existing site from its URL; runs on your own model and Firecrawl keys.★ 29k · active Oct 2026 · self-host, real ops
WebVisit ↗

All 4 free alternatives to Lovable ›

The numbers

Lovable pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Free	$0/workspace	$0/workspace	5 build credits a day up to 30 a month, 20 Cloud credits and 4 AI credits a month, unlimited collaborators, 5 lovable.app domains, workspace-private projects.
Pro	$25/workspace	$20.83/workspace	100 credits a month plus the daily and Cloud grants, custom domains, unlimited lovable.app domains, roles and permissions, per-member credit limits, badge removal, design systems.
Business	$50/workspace	$41.67/workspace	Everything in Pro plus a team workspace, role-based access, internal publishing, personal projects, SSO, a security center, design templates and priority support.
Enterprise	custom	—	SCIM, audit logs, restricted publishing, scheduled deep security scans, private npm registry, GitHub Enterprise, a custom SLA.

Free tier: 30 build credits a month; no custom domains and the Lovable badge stays.
Billing: Monthly, or yearly with two months free. Plans are priced by credits, not seats: every member of a workspace shares one balance. Students can claim up to 50% off Pro.
Hidden costs: Credits expire: monthly-plan credits two months after issue, annual-plan credits a month after the term ends, top-ups after 12 months, and none are refundable. Hosting a busy app and AI features inside your app draw on the same balance once the small included grants run out.
Source: lovable.dev

Also on the list

v0 by Vercel$30/mo · Dev toolsKINDA

Replit$20/mo · Dev toolsKINDA

Cursor$8/mo · Dev toolsKINDA

Questions

Lovable, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

Free grants 5 build credits a day, up to 30 a month, plus 20 Cloud credits and 4 AI credits a month.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: One-click publishing to a lovable.app address or your own domain, Lovable Cloud: a managed database, auth, file storage and functions behind the app.

About $25 a month on the Pro plan, $300 a year (checked 2026-10-14).

One-click publishing to a lovable.app address or your own domain; Lovable Cloud: a managed database, auth, file storage and functions behind the app; Two-way GitHub sync and shared workspaces with roles and per-member credit limits; A bundled plan where hosting and the AI features inside your apps are part of the credit balance; The security center and scans that come with Business and Enterprise. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.