Lovable vs Bolt.new 2026: Pricing, Features & Shop Builder Prompts

Quick verdict: Choose Lovable if you want a polished, design-led app with minimal effort and are happy with its built-in backend. Choose Bolt.new if you're a developer who wants to see and edit the full JavaScript project in your browser, choose your framework, and pay less per month. Both have free plans, both sync to GitHub, and both can help you publish an online store in an afternoon.

This Lovable vs. Bolt comparison covers what each tool builds, a side-by-side comparison of pricing, free plans, code export, and hosting, plus ready-to-use e-commerce shop prompts you can paste directly into each tool. We'll also look at the Laravel option for stores that need a backend you fully control.

Key Takeaways

• Lovable is the faster path to a polished UI. It includes Lovable Cloud, a built-in backend based on Supabase, and Pro costs $25 per month or $21 per month when billed annually.

• Bolt.new runs a full JavaScript development environment in your browser. Pro costs $18 per month when billed annually and includes 10M tokens.

• Both free plans are enough to test a shop idea. Lovable provides five build credits per day, up to 30 per month. Bolt provides 1M tokens per month, with a 300K daily limit.

• Both let you own your code and sync to GitHub. Custom domains require a paid plan on both.

• For a store with real business logic, including inventory, roles, refunds, and reports, a Laravel app built with StackMivo gives you a backend you control.

Lovable vs. Bolt: Side-by-Side Comparison

Bolt pricing was checked on bolt.new/pricing on October 23, 2026. Lovable plans were checked on lovable.dev/pricing and its subscription plans documentation on October 23, 2026. Prices change frequently, so check both pages before buying.

For a more detailed cost breakdown, see our Lovable pricing guide and Bolt.new pricing guide.

What Lovable and Bolt Actually Build

Lovable

Lovable is a design-first AI app builder. Describe your app in plain English, and it generates a modern React interface that looks polished from the first version. Its built-in backend, Lovable Cloud, adds a database, storage, authentication, real-time features, and functions, built on Supabase's open-source foundation.

You refine the app by chatting, and you can edit the code after connecting GitHub. For landing pages, dashboards, booking tools, and simple stores, it's hard to beat when you want something you can show people quickly.

Bolt.new

Bolt.new, from StackBlitz, runs a real Node.js development environment inside your browser using WebContainers. It installs packages, starts a development server, and lets you edit any file while the AI works. You can choose your framework, and Bolt can create a database automatically when your project needs one.

That's the core difference between Lovable and Bolt: Bolt is a better fit if you want to stay close to the code. We've also compared Lovable vs. v0 and Bolt.new vs. Replit. If you're not a designer, you may need a few more prompts to reach Lovable's level of polish, but developers get more control.

Bolt.new and Lovable AI Shop Builder Prompts (Ready to Use)

Whichever tool you choose, these AI shop builder prompts are designed to get you a working store in one go, then refine it with follow-up prompts. Replace the brand details in brackets with your own. These are starting points, so expect to make adjustments after the first result.

Lovable e-commerce shop prompt

Lovable responds well to prompts that describe the pages, visual style, and user flows.

Build an online store called [Brand Name] that sells [handmade candles].

Pages:
- Home: hero banner, featured products grid, short brand story, newsletter signup
- Shop: product grid with filters for category and price, and a search bar
- Product page: image gallery, price, description, size/scent options, quantity, "Add to cart"
- Cart: line items, quantity editing, subtotal, "Checkout" button
- Checkout: shipping details form and payment with Stripe Checkout
- Order confirmation page with order number
- Account: sign up, log in, and order history

Admin (only for admin users):
- Add, edit and delete products with images, price, stock and category
- View orders and update status (paid, shipped, delivered, refunded)

Design: warm, minimal, lots of white space, earthy colors, rounded cards, mobile-first.
Use Lovable Cloud for the database, authentication and image storage.
Show "Out of stock" and disable "Add to cart" when stock is 0.

Bolt.new e-commerce shop prompt

Bolt works best when you specify the technology stack and data model, too.

Create a full-stack e-commerce store for [Brand Name] selling [handmade candles].

Stack: React + TypeScript + Vite, Tailwind CSS, React Router. Use the Bolt database.

Data model:
- products (id, name, slug, description, price_cents, stock, category, image_url)
- orders (id, user_id, status, total_cents, shipping_address, created_at)
- order_items (id, order_id, product_id, quantity, unit_price_cents)
- users with a role field: customer or admin

Features:
1. Storefront: product grid with category filter, search and sorting by price
2. Product detail page with quantity selector and add to cart
3. Cart stored per user, with update and remove actions
4. Checkout page with shipping form; integrate Stripe Checkout using environment variables for keys
5. Order history for logged-in customers
6. Admin dashboard at /admin: product CRUD, stock updates, order list with status changes
7. Email/password authentication; protect /admin so only admins can access it

Seed 8 sample products. Keep components small and put API logic in a separate folder.

Follow-up prompts for both tools

Once the first version works, add features one at a time:

• “Add discount codes with a percentage or fixed amount, validated at checkout.”

• “Send an order confirmation email after a successful payment.”

• “Add product reviews with a 1 to 5 star rating, visible on the product page.”

• “Add a low-stock alert on the admin dashboard for products with fewer than 5 items.”

• “Make the whole store fully responsive and check the checkout flow on mobile.”

For more prompts that work across AI builders, see our AI app builder prompts guide.

Chiara sells hand-poured candles in Bologna. In September, she pasted a prompt similar to the Lovable example above into the free plan, spent three days of daily credits refining the design, and upgraded to Pro to connect her domain. Her store was taking orders within a week. Her only regret was not planning stock syncing with her market stall from day one.

Chiara is an illustrative composite based on common small-shop scenarios.

Need inventory, roles, and refunds handled properly? StackMivo builds the same store as a complete Laravel app, with backend logic generated as real code you own.

Lovable vs. Bolt Pricing and Free Plans

Lovable pricing

• Free: Five build credits per day, up to 30 per month, plus monthly grants of 20 Cloud credits for hosting and backend use.

• Pro: Starts at $25 per month for 100 credits, or $21 per month when billed annually, with tiers scaling up to 10,000 credits. Adds custom domains, code editing and downloads, and removes the Lovable badge.

• Business: Starts at $50 per month, adding team controls such as SSO.

• Enterprise: Custom pricing.

Lovable charges credits for building. App hosting and in-app AI also draw from the same balance beyond the included grants. Lovable says most small apps fit within the free hosting allowance. Its current chat pricing and daily chat allowance are temporary through October 31, 2026, so check the documentation if you're reading this later.

Bolt.new pricing

• Free: $0, with 1M tokens per month and a 300K daily limit. Includes private projects and hosting, but published sites are public and display Bolt branding.

• Pro: $18 per month when billed annually ($216 per year), with 10M tokens per month and rollover, custom domains, and no Bolt branding.

• Teams: $27 per member per month when billed annually.

• Enterprise: Custom pricing.

The biggest pricing difference between Bolt and Lovable is how they measure usage. Bolt charges tokens, so long sessions and large projects use more. Lovable charges credits for each build request, so repeated back-and-forth can cost more. With either tool, iterating on a store you don't fully understand is a quick way to burn through your plan.

Lovable vs. Bolt on Code Export and Hosting

Code ownership: Lovable states that you own your code, and GitHub sync works on every plan, including Free. Editing code inside Lovable and downloading it require Pro or above. Bolt includes built-in version history and can also sync to GitHub, and you can see every file as it's written. In either case, you get a JavaScript and TypeScript codebase.

Hosting: Both tools let you publish for free on their own subdomains. Custom domains require a paid plan on both. Bolt's free published sites are always public, which is fine for a store but worth knowing if you're building internal tools.

Backend lock-in: This is a detail many comparisons overlook.

• Lovable: Lovable says it can't migrate a project from its built-in backend to your own Supabase project in one step. Decide early whether you want Lovable Cloud or your own Supabase project.

• Bolt: Bolt says there's currently no supported way to migrate an existing Bolt database to Supabase. Pro and Teams users can choose Supabase when creating a project.

If you expect to outgrow the built-in backend, choose your own Supabase project from the start on either tool.

The Laravel Option: Build the Same Shop With StackMivo

Lovable and Bolt both produce JavaScript apps using a hosted backend. If your store needs substantial business logic, such as stock shared across channels, staff roles, refunds, VAT rules, or supplier reports, that logic lives in the backend. A Laravel app gives you more control over that layer, and that's where StackMivo's Laravel-native intelligence matters.

StackMivo is an AI app builder for Laravel. Describe the same store in plain English:

Build a Laravel e-commerce store for handmade candles with products, categories,
stock tracking, cart, Stripe checkout, customer accounts with order history,
an admin panel for products and orders, and roles for admin and staff.

StackMivo generates the full application, including Eloquent models and migrations, controllers, authorization policies, an admin panel, checkout, and tests. The code uses standard Laravel, so any Laravel developer can maintain it. You can deploy it to Laravel Cloud or Forge on Build plans, or to any server you choose.

Our guide to building an e-commerce store in Laravel with AI walks through the process step by step.

For more detail on backend differences, see StackMivo vs. Lovable on the backend and the StackMivo and Bolt backend comparison.

Mateo runs a small agency in Valencia. A client's Bolt-built shop worked well until they added wholesale pricing, three staff roles, and stock shared with a physical store. Mateo rebuilt the backend as a Laravel app, kept the client's product data, and the client now handles wholesale orders without manual spreadsheets.

Mateo is an illustrative composite based on common agency scenarios.

Lovable vs. Bolt.new: Which Should You Choose?

• Choose Lovable if you're non-technical, design matters most, and you want the shortest path from idea to a professional-looking store.

• Choose Bolt.new if you're a developer, want to see and edit every file, care about framework choice, or want the lower monthly price.

• Choose StackMivo if the store's backend is central to the business: inventory, roles, refunds, integrations, and code you'll maintain for years.

Some teams use both: a Lovable or Bolt storefront connected to a Laravel API for orders, stock, and payments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lovable or Bolt better for building an online store?

Lovable is better if you want a polished store quickly without touching code. Bolt is better if you're a developer who wants to edit the code and choose the stack. Both can help you build a store using their free plans.

What's a good AI shop builder prompt for Bolt.new or Lovable?

A good shop prompt lists every page, the data you need (products, orders, and users), the payment method, and the design style. Copy the Lovable or Bolt prompt above, replace the brand details, and add features one at a time with follow-up prompts.

Is Bolt.new cheaper than Lovable?

At the entry level, yes. Billed annually, Bolt Pro costs $18 per month and Lovable Pro costs $21 per month. Billed monthly, Lovable Pro costs $25; Bolt's pricing page lists annual pricing. Your actual costs depend on how many tokens or credits you use.

Can I export my code from Lovable and Bolt?

Yes. Lovable says you own your code, and GitHub sync works on all plans. In-app code editing and downloads require Pro or above. Bolt includes built-in version history and can sync to GitHub.

Do Lovable and Bolt have free plans?

Yes. Lovable's free plan provides five build credits per day, up to 30 per month. Bolt's free plan provides 1M tokens per month, with a 300K daily limit. Published Bolt sites are public.

Can I build the same store in Laravel?

Yes. StackMivo generates a full Laravel e-commerce app from a plain-English prompt, including models, an admin panel, checkout, and tests, as code you own.

The Bottom Line

The Lovable vs. Bolt decision comes down to who's building. Lovable gets non-technical founders to a beautiful store quickly. Bolt gives developers more control for less money. Both are capable tools, both have free plans, and both let you keep your code.

Copy the shop prompt for your chosen tool, build the first version this week, and see where it struggles. If the challenge is in the backend, that's your cue to look at Laravel.

Build your store in Laravel with StackMivo, free to start →