Short answer
Pick Base44 if you want the whole app handled for you: database, login, hosting and backend functions are built in from the first prompt, and the Starter plan is $16 a month billed annually. Pick Lovable if you care where the code lives: Git sync works on every plan, the code is a standard web project you can deploy elsewhere, and pricing follows credits with unlimited workspace members. The trade is convenience against portability, because code exported from Base44 still runs on Base44's backend.
Base44 vs Lovable at a glance
| Base44 | Lovable | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI app builder with the backend built in, part of Wix | An AI app builder for web apps, driven by chat |
| Price to start | Free; Starter is $16 a month billed annually | Free; Pro from $25 a month, or $250 a year |
| How use is counted | Two meters: message credits for building, integration credits for what the app does | Build credits per message, plus usage-based billing for the app's backend and AI calls |
| Free plan | 25 message credits and 100 integration credits a month; up to 5 apps; code is view-only | 5 build credits a day, up to 30 a month; no custom domain or code download |
| Backend | Built in: database, login, hosting, file storage and backend functions in TypeScript | Built in: managed PostgreSQL, login and file storage; Supabase optional |
| Editing code | In the app on paid plans | Through Git sync on every plan; download on paid plans |
| Git sync | Two-way with GitHub, from Builder ($40 a month) up | Two-way with GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket, on every plan |
| Running it elsewhere | Exported code still calls Base44 for data, login and functions; the backend cannot be self-hosted | The code deploys elsewhere; the database is exported separately |
| Phones | Docs cover using the app on mobile and submitting it to app stores | Web apps only; a PWA or a Capacitor wrapper |
| Developer tools | A CLI, an SDK and an MCP server, plus skills for agents such as Claude Code and Cursor | A Lovable MCP server; chat through Slack, Telegram or ChatGPT |
| People | Workspaces with Editor, Viewer and Guest roles; everyone shares the workspace's plan and credits | Unlimited workspace members on every plan |
| Custom domain | From Starter, with a free domain for a year | On paid plans |
Pricing
Base44
- Free$025 message credits and 100 integration credits a month. Up to 5 apps. You can view the code, not edit it.
- Starter$16/moBilled annually. 100 message and 2,000 integration credits. Unlimited apps, code edits, custom domain.
- Builder$40/moBilled annually. 250 and 10,000 credits. Adds GitHub sync, ZIP export and a choice of AI model.
- Pro$80/moBilled annually. 500 and 20,000 credits. Early access to beta features.
- Elite$160/moBilled annually. 1,200 and 50,000 credits. Premium support.
Checked Nov 11, 2026 on base44.com
Lovable
- Free$05 build credits a day, up to 30 a month. No custom domain or code download.
- ProFrom $25/mo100 credits a month, or $250 a year. Tiers up to 10,000 credits. Custom domains, code download, no badge.
- BusinessFrom $50/mo100 credits a month. Adds SSO, role-based access, the Security center and design templates.
- EnterpriseCustomVolume credits by contract; SCIM, audit logs, EU inference.
- Students and teachers50% off ProOn the 100-credit Pro plan, billed monthly, for up to 12 months.
Checked Nov 11, 2026 on docs.lovable.dev
Base44 lists annual prices and says annual billing saves 20%, so paying monthly costs more than the figures shown. Each plan has two allowances: message credits, spent when you ask the AI to build, and integration credits, spent when the app itself sends an email, calls a model or handles a file. Lovable has one credit balance for building, with tiers of the same plan up to 10,000 credits a month, and bills the live app's backend and AI by usage.
The backend is the difference
Both tools build an app from a conversation. They differ in how much of the app they keep for themselves.
Base44 treats the backend as part of the product. Data models, login, hosting, file storage and backend functions exist from the first prompt, and you never pick a database. Backend functions are TypeScript and run on Base44. Its site says more than 10 million apps have been built on it.
Lovable generates a web project and gives it a built-in backend with a managed PostgreSQL database, login and file storage. Supabase is an optional alternative. The project is ordinary code: new apps use TanStack Start, and apps created before May 13, 2026 use React and Vite.
Getting your code out
This is where the two part ways.
On Lovable, Git sync is on every plan, the free one too. Edits in Lovable go to your repository and commits you push come back. It works with GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket. Paid plans can also download the code as a ZIP. The database is exported separately, and that export leaves out files in storage and secrets, so those move by hand.
On Base44, two-way GitHub sync and ZIP export start at the Builder plan, $40 a month billed annually. The Free plan can view the code but not change it. And the export has a catch that Base44's docs state plainly: "The exported code still relies on Base44 to run." The code uses Base44's SDK for data, logins, backend functions and integrations, and Base44 does not support self-hosting its backend. To leave completely you would replace the database, the login system and the integrations yourself.
If you might outgrow the builder, that is the question to settle first.
Two meters against one
Base44 gives every plan two allowances. Message credits are spent when you ask the AI to build or change something: 25 a month on Free, 100 on Starter, 250 on Builder, 500 on Pro and 1,200 on Elite. Integration credits are spent when the running app does something, such as calling a model or sending an email: from 100 a month on Free to 50,000 on Elite.
Lovable has one balance for building. A message in Plan mode costs 1 credit, and Build mode is priced by the work, from about half a credit for a small change to about 2 for a landing page. Every plan gets 5 daily build credits on top. The live app's database, storage and AI calls are billed by usage.
Working with developers
Base44 has grown a developer side: a CLI, an SDK and an MCP server, plus skills that teach coding agents such as Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and OpenCode how to work on a Base44 project. The agent scaffolds an app with base44 create and ships it with base44 deploy.
Lovable's route is the repository. Once the project syncs to Git, a developer or a coding agent can work on it like any other codebase and push changes back, with one rule to remember: pushing commits does not update the live site until you publish from Lovable.
Security and teams
Base44's docs cover security scans of your app. Lovable runs a quick security scan on every publish and has a deeper scan you start yourself. Its Security center, SSO and role-based access come with the Business plan, which starts at $50 a month.
Which to pick
Pick Base44 if
- You want database, login and hosting to exist without choosing anything.
- You want the cheapest paid plan: $16 a month billed annually.
- You plan to put the app in an app store.
- You are happy for the app to keep running on Base44.
Pick Lovable if
- You want the code in your own repository on any plan, the free one included.
- You may move the app to your own hosting later.
- You have a team and do not want to pay per seat.
- You use GitLab or Bitbucket, not GitHub.
Also consider
- BriefkinWe make thisA builder gets you the first version. When you take the code further with coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor, Briefkin shows every agent session on one board (working, needs you, done or failed) and pings you on Telegram when a Claude Code or Codex session stops for a permission.See how it works
- ReplitA cloud workspace with an Agent that also builds native mobile apps. See Replit vs Lovable.
- Cursor or Claude CodeFor the code once it is in your own repository: an AI editor or a terminal agent. See Cursor vs Claude Code.
- Coding agents comparedClaude Code and its alternatives in one list, for when you want an agent in your own codebase.
Questions
Which is cheaper, Base44 or Lovable?
Base44's first paid plan is cheaper: Starter is $16 a month billed annually, with 100 message credits. Lovable Pro starts at $25 a month, or $250 a year, for 100 credits. Both have free plans, as of November 2026.
Who owns Base44?
Wix. Base44's site carries a Wix.com Ltd. copyright, and Wix bought the company in 2025.
Can I export my code from Base44?
Yes, from the Builder plan up, as a ZIP or through two-way GitHub sync. Base44's docs add that the exported code still relies on Base44 to run: data, logins, backend functions and integrations go through its SDK, and the backend cannot be self-hosted.
Can I export my code from Lovable?
Yes. Git sync to GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket is on every plan, and paid plans can download a ZIP. The database is exported separately, and that export leaves out files in storage and secrets.
Which one is easier for a non-developer?
Both are built for people who do not code. Base44 leans further that way: database, login and hosting are part of the app from the first prompt. Lovable gives you more control over the code and where it lives.