Pick Base44 if you want an internal tool, dashboard or portal where the platform handles the backend and you never want to think about a database. Pick Lovable if you are building a customer-facing product, want the code in your own GitHub from day one, or expect to hand it to a developer. Neither needs separate hosting: both host the app inside the plan.
On price, Base44 is cheaper per credit on paper, but the two credit systems measure different things, so the sticker comparison misleads. The table below shows the maths.
What a credit costs
Prices are from each vendor’s pricing page, checked 28 September 2026 (our pricing index holds the full record). Base44 shows only annual-billing monthly rates; Lovable shows both. The per-credit column is our arithmetic: monthly price divided by monthly credits. Base44 credits are “message” credits; each plan also carries a separate pool of integration credits.
| Plan | Price per month | Monthly credits | Per credit (ours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base44 Free | $0 | 25 message + 100 integration | n/a |
| Base44 Starter | $16 (billed annually) | 100 message + 2,000 integration | about $0.16 |
| Base44 Builder | $40 (billed annually) | 250 message + 10,000 integration | about $0.16 |
| Base44 Pro | $80 (billed annually) | 500 message + 20,000 integration | about $0.16 |
| Lovable Free | $0 | 5 daily credits, max 30 a month | n/a |
| Lovable Pro | $25 monthly, $21 billed annually | 100 plus 5 daily build credits | $0.25 monthly, $0.21 annual |
| Lovable Business | $50 monthly, $42 billed annually | 100 plus daily credits | $0.50 monthly, $0.42 annual |
Sources: Base44 pricing, Lovable pricing.
Three things the sticker prices hide:
- A credit is not a fixed unit of work. Base44’s docs put a small text change at about 0.5 message credits and an app-wide change at 3 to 4. Lovable does not publish a fixed rate per prompt.
- Base44 charges twice. Message credits pay for building. Integration credits pay for what your live app does: sending email, calling an LLM (about 1 to 15 credits depending on the model), generating images. When they run out, your app’s actions fail. Source: Base44 credits docs.
- Lovable draws hosting from credits. Cloud usage beyond a 20-credit monthly grant comes out of your credit balance, and extra credits cost $15 per 50 on Pro ($0.30 each). Unused monthly credits expire after two months.
Base44’s monthly-billing price is not shown on its page (it says yearly billing saves 20%), so a like-for-like monthly comparison is not possible from primary sources. Treat the annual figures as the fair comparison.
What you can take with you
| Attribute | Base44 | Lovable |
|---|---|---|
| Code | GitHub integration on Builder and above; eject command copies frontend and backend definitions into a local project | Git sync with GitHub; code editing not on Free |
| Data | CSV export per table from the dashboard; eject copies schemas but starts with an empty database | Data sits in Lovable Cloud or your own Supabase project; there is no one-click move from Cloud to your own Supabase |
| Backend after leaving | Base44-specific: backend functions are written against its SDK | Standard Postgres, edge functions and auth you can host elsewhere |
Sources: Base44 eject docs, Base44 data docs, Base44 pricing, Lovable pricing. The Base44 SDK row is our reading of the docs, not a statement from Base44.
Older comparisons, including an earlier version of this page, describe Base44 as having no path to the code. That is out of date: the eject command and GitHub integration exist. The real gap is that you rebuild the data and re-point the backend, whereas a Lovable project on Supabase is closer to a standard stack. Our Lovable vs Supabase backend guide covers the Lovable side in more detail.
Pick by situation
| Your situation | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Internal dashboard, CRM or portal for your own team | Base44 | Managed backend, auth and data in one place, lowest cost per credit |
| Public SaaS you may sell | Lovable | Standard database and GitHub workflow make a later handover easier |
| App with heavy live use of email or AI calls | Lovable, or budget Base44 integration credits first | Base44 integration credits are metered separately and cap what live users can do |
| Non-technical, want to start free and see | Either | Both have free tiers; Lovable’s is 5 daily credits, Base44’s is 25 a month |
| You will hire a developer within months | Lovable | Code and data are closer to conventional tooling |
| Rough budget under $20 a month | Base44 Starter ($16 billed annually) | Lovable Pro is $25 monthly |
Ownership context: Wix announced its acquisition of Base44 on 18 June 2025; Lovable is independent. Neither fact tells you which builder produces a better app.
Base44 is one of our approved partners: if you want to try it, use the Base44 partner link, which costs you nothing extra. Read the full Base44 review and Lovable review, or see how both fare against a third option in Base44 vs Bolt.new and Lovable vs Bolt vs v0.
Across more builders, the lock-in and export matrix lays out code, database and hosting exits side by side.
Method
Researched from vendor pricing pages and documentation, checked 28 to 29 September 2026. We have not built the same app on both platforms, so nothing here says which one produces better output. Per-credit prices are our arithmetic on vendor prices. Prices change often; confirm on the vendor page before you buy.
Common questions
Is Base44 or Lovable better?
Neither wins outright. Base44 fits internal tools where a managed backend is the point; Lovable fits products where code and data portability matter. See the pick-by-situation table above.
Which is cheaper, Base44 or Lovable?
Per credit, Base44’s annual plans work out to about $0.16 against Lovable Pro’s $0.21 on annual billing. But Base44 also meters integration credits for live app activity, and credits are not equal units of work, so total cost depends on the app.
Can I move my app out of Base44?
Partly. GitHub integration and an eject command give you the code and data schemas, but the ejected project starts with an empty database; export your data as CSV first.