Base44 vs Lovable comes down to two questions: how much do you want the platform to handle for you, and when do you want the code in your own GitHub? Base44 bundles a database, logins and integrations into every plan and is cheapest to start on a yearly bill. Lovable gives you GitHub sync even on its free plan, a monthly price, and a backend (Lovable Cloud) that you can swap for your own Supabase project.
We make Youmake, an AI app builder for websites, web apps, mobile apps and slide decks, so we compare these tools every week. Everything below comes from Base44's and Lovable's own pricing pages and documentation, checked on October 27, 2026. We didn't run paid test projects on either, so there are no made-up speed scores here.
Disclosure: Youmake competes with both Base44 and Lovable. We've stuck to what each company publishes, including the places where they're stronger than us.
Base44 vs Lovable: the short answer
- Pick Base44 if you're building an internal tool or a simple business app, you want logins and a database without connecting anything, and you're fine paying yearly.
- Pick Lovable if you want the code in GitHub from day one (even on Free), prefer to pay month to month, or think you may move the backend to your own Supabase project later.
- Pick Youmake if you build for clients, need a mobile app or a slide deck next to the web app, or want the code and the data in accounts you control from the first prompt.
Side by side
| Base44 | Lovable | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes: 25 message credits a month, up to 5 apps | Yes: 5 build credits a day, capped at 30 a month, plus a daily chat allowance |
| Cheapest paid plan | Starter, $16/month billed yearly | Pro, $25/month (or $250/year, $21/month) |
| Backend | Built in on every plan: MongoDB-compatible database, auth, serverless functions | Lovable Cloud, built on Supabase and managed by Lovable; or connect your own Supabase |
| GitHub | Two-way sync from Builder ($40/month yearly) | Git sync (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) on every plan, including Free |
| Edit and download code | In-app code edits from Starter | Edit and download code from Pro |
| Custom domain | From Starter, plus a free domain for one year | From Pro |
| Credits roll over | Not stated on the pricing page | Yes on Pro and Business |
| SSO | Enterprise | Business and Enterprise |
Pricing: Base44 vs Lovable plan by plan
Base44 pricing
Base44's pricing page shows yearly billing only.
| Plan | Price (billed yearly) | Message credits / month | Integration credits / month | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 25 | 100 | Up to 5 |
| Starter | $16/mo | 100 | 2,000 | Unlimited |
| Builder | $40/mo | 250 | 10,000 | Unlimited |
| Pro | $80/mo | 500 | 20,000 | Unlimited |
| Elite | $160/mo | 1,200 | 50,000 | Unlimited |
Base44 describes credits as "your monthly usage allowance for AI messages and integration actions," and adds that "exact usage varies based on the action and the selected AI model." Builder and up also let you pick the AI model.
Lovable pricing
Lovable sells its paid plans in credit tiers. The entry tier of each plan:
| Plan | Credits / month | Billed monthly | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | None (daily credits only) | $0 | $0 |
| Pro | 100 | $25 | $250 ($21/month) |
| Business | 100 | $50 | $500 ($42/month) |
| Enterprise | Volume-based | Custom | Custom |
Both paid plans go up to 10,000 credits a month: $2,250/month on Pro and $4,300/month on Business at the top tier. On top of the monthly credits, Free, Pro and Business each get 5 daily build credits, a daily chat allowance, a 20-credit monthly Cloud grant, a 4-credit monthly AI grant and a 1-credit monthly connector grant. Lovable says the Cloud, AI and connector grants are temporary and subject to change.
How the credits actually work
The two credit systems measure different things, so "100 credits" on one isn't "100 credits" on the other.
- Base44 splits usage into message credits (building with the AI) and integration credits (your app calling built-in features such as AI generation or email).
- Lovable uses one balance for building, chatting, hosting, the Cloud backend and AI features inside your deployed app. Its docs give example Build mode costs: 0.50 credits for a gray button, 0.90 to remove a footer, 1.20 to add authentication and 2.00 for a landing page with images. Plan mode costs 1 credit per message. Lovable notes its chat pricing applies through October 31, 2026, so expect a change there.
- When credits run out on Lovable, building stops, AI features in deployed apps stop, and Cloud-backed apps pause. That's worth knowing before you put a client's app on it.
- Rollover: unused Lovable monthly credits roll over on Pro and Business while the subscription stays active (on monthly plans they expire 2 months after issue). Base44's pricing page doesn't mention rollover.
On paper, Base44 is cheaper to start ($16/month yearly vs $21/month yearly for Lovable Pro). Lovable is the only one of the two with a public monthly price, which matters if you don't want to commit for a year.
Built-in backend vs Lovable Cloud
This is the biggest practical difference.
Base44's backend is part of every plan, including Free. Its docs describe a MongoDB-compatible database with row-level and field-level security, realtime subscriptions, login by email and password or Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple, Deno-based serverless functions, and custom integrations an admin can import from an OpenAPI spec. It all lives on Base44.
Lovable Cloud is the backend Lovable hosts for your app: a database, storage, authentication, realtime and functions, built on Supabase's open-source foundation and managed by Lovable. You can connect your own Supabase project instead. Moving an existing project off Lovable Cloud takes manual work, though: Lovable's docs say it "does not move a project from the built-in backend to your own Supabase project in one step," so you'd export and restore the database, move files, and reconfigure auth and secrets yourself.
So if you know you'll want the data in your own account, decide that before you start building, on either tool.
Code export and GitHub: which plan you need
- Base44: "Two-way GitHub sync exports the full source code to your own repo at any time," according to its FAQ. GitHub integration is listed from Builder ($40/month billed yearly). Starter gets in-app code edits but not GitHub.
- Lovable: Git sync with GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket is listed on every plan, Free included. Editing and downloading code inside Lovable start at Pro.
If owning the code is the main reason you're comparing, Lovable gets you there for less. Our guide to AI app builders that let you export your code goes through this for more tools.
Both companies say you can take your code out. Neither GitHub sync moves your database and users for you; with Base44 the data sits in Base44's backend, and with Lovable Cloud it sits in a Supabase instance Lovable manages.
Domains and publishing
- Base44: connect your own domain from Starter, and Starter and up include a free domain for the first year.
- Lovable: custom domains from Pro, which also removes the "Edit with Lovable" badge. Sharing a published app with invited people is capped at 10 people per project on Free and Pro, and unlimited on Business and Enterprise.
Who each one fits
Base44 fits non-developers building an internal tool, a booking app or a small business app who want logins and data handled for them, and who are fine with the backend living on Base44. Our Base44 review covers it in more depth.
Lovable fits founders and makers who want a monthly plan, Git sync from the free tier and a way to move to their own Supabase project later. If Lovable's credit model is the sticking point, our list of Lovable alternatives compares eight other options.
Neither is built around client hand-off or building a mobile app and a pitch deck alongside the web app. That's where we'd point you to something else.
Building for clients and tired of moving apps out of someone else's backend? Start a 3-day Youmake trial for $1 and build the first one in accounts you control.
Where Youmake is the better choice
| Base44 | Lovable | Youmake | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Builds | Web apps and websites | Web apps and websites | Websites, web apps, mobile apps and slide decks |
| Backend | Base44-hosted | Lovable Cloud or your own Supabase | Your own Supabase, plus Stripe and Vercel integrations |
| Code to GitHub | From Builder, $40/mo yearly | Every plan | Export or sync to GitHub; import an existing repo |
| Entry price | $16/mo yearly; free plan | $25/mo; free plan | $20/mo ($16/mo yearly); no free plan, 3-day trial for $1 |
Youmake is the stronger pick in three situations:
- You build for clients. The data lives in the client's own Supabase project from day one, the code syncs to GitHub, and the site publishes to the client's domain. There's no backend migration when you hand it over. Team seats come with Builder and up.
- You need more than a web app. The same workspace builds the marketing site, the web app, a mobile app and the slide deck for the pitch.
- You want predictable iteration. Youmake shows the credit cost of each change, and runs a security scan before publishing.
Where Base44 and Lovable are ahead: both have a free plan, and both host a backend for you so you don't have to set up Supabase yourself. If that's what you need most, that's a fair reason to pick one of them. For the full head-to-head with Lovable, see Youmake vs Lovable.
How to do this with Youmake
-
Start a trial at youmake.dev and choose Web App (or Mobile App, or Slides) in the composer.
-
Paste a prompt that names the data and the users. For example:
Build a client portal for a small accounting firm: clients log in and see their documents, upload new files and message their accountant. Accountants see every client, with a status for each one. Add a simple marketing homepage with a contact form.
-
Connect your own (or your client's) Supabase project, so logins and data are in that account from the start.
-
Refine in chat one change at a time; each change shows its credit cost.
-
Sync the code to GitHub, then publish to your own domain. See how code ownership works in Youmake.
Comparing more than these two? Our guide to the best AI app builders covers eight tools with current pricing, and the vibe coding and AI app building hub has the rest of our guides.
FAQ
Is Base44 or Lovable cheaper? Base44 is cheaper to start if you pay yearly: Starter is $16/month billed yearly, against $21/month for Lovable Pro billed yearly. Lovable Pro is $25 billed monthly; Base44's pricing page lists yearly prices only. The credits aren't directly comparable.
Which one lets me export my code? Both. Lovable lists Git sync on every plan, including Free, and code download from Pro. Base44 lists two-way GitHub sync from the Builder plan, $40/month billed yearly.
Does Lovable have a built-in backend like Base44? Yes. Lovable Cloud gives you a database, storage, authentication, realtime and functions, built on Supabase and managed by Lovable. You can also connect your own Supabase project. Base44's backend is its own and is included on every plan.
Which is better for client work? Neither is designed around hand-off. If you build for clients, Youmake keeps the code in GitHub and the data in the client's Supabase account from the first day, and builds websites, web apps, mobile apps and slides in one workspace.
Ready to build it in accounts you own? Start a 3-day Youmake trial for $1.
Sources
Checked on October 27, 2026:
- Base44 pricing and FAQ: https://base44.com/pricing
- Base44 backend features: https://docs.base44.com/developers/backend/overview/features
- Lovable subscription plans: https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/subscription-plans
- Lovable plans and credits: https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/plans-and-credits
- Lovable Cloud: https://docs.lovable.dev/integrations/cloud
- Youmake: https://www.youmake.dev/, https://www.youmake.dev/use-cases/client-portal and https://www.youmake.dev/features/code-ownership