Lovable no-code app review

Lovable is a relatively new entrant in the rapidly expanding field of no-code platforms that help businesses spin up all kinds of apps without writing a single line of code.

To learn more about this tool, we developed a prompt to generate a web app with Lovable, enabling us to fully explore its features and see how it stands in comparison to its competition. You can also take a look at our other picks for the best no-code platforms.

Lovable: Features

One of the main reasons for Lovable’s growing popularity is its AI app builder.

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You describe your app idea in natural language, which the platform will use to create a fully functional app for you. The AI prompt can be as simple as “Create a login page” to something more complex like “Can you build me a CRM app and hook it up to a database, along with an authentication system that allows users to sign up, and log in.”

Once you enter the prompt, Lovable’s AI builder will generate the app’s user interface (UI), along with the backend, complete with the necessary database tables, forms to input customer details, and even set up functionality for viewing, editing, and deleting customer records.

Going one step ahead, you can also use the AI to further edit and refine your app by describing changes to the AI.

Templates and databases

Besides AI, Lovable also offers an array of pre-built templates that you can use as starting points to speed up the development process. These templates cover a wide range of application types, such as marketplaces, CRMs, analytics, cryptocurrency trading, and more.

This is especially helpful if you are new to development and don’t have a clear idea for the app, or you’re someone who wants to roll out apps quickly.

On the backend, Lovable uses Lovable Cloud, a Postgres based database running via Supabase (an open source alternative to Google’s Firebase platform). Zero setup is required for this as adding databases, authentication services, and other backend functionalities is all handled automatically for you.

If you need them, external databases – Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, and Airtable – are also supported, as are Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. Databases that support REST/HTTP API can also be used with Lovable.

You can also hook Lovable to your GitHub, and it will transfer your project's code to your GitHub repository for two-way sync of edits. This means the platform will be aware of any manual commits you make in the repo, and roll them into the app on its own. This functionality is somewhat unique, as most other no-code platforms just hold on to the code.

If you don’t have a GitHub repo, you can view and even edit the code in Lovable itself.

Lovable: Interface and ease of use

Lovable has a simple dashboard with a textbox smack in the middle of the screen where you can describe your app idea.

If you’re new to building apps, Lovable suggests leveraging pre-built styles to improve your app’s appearance. Lovable points to 21st.dev where you can browse pre-built designs, and then copy its prompt into Lovable.

After you’ve described the project, Lovable will tell you how it plans to go about building the initial version of the app, describing its features and design elements.

When it’s done spinning up the first iteration, it will open it up for preview. You can then tweak the layout, and other aspects of the app via more prompts. For more control, you can even make edits to the different elements inside the app using Lovable’s Figma-like visual editor.

You can also attach images to guide the AI. For instance, you can browse the designs at Dribble, screenshot the relevant section, upload it to Lovable, and ask it to redesign the relevant section of the app based on the uploaded design.

Templates for a quick start

The dashboard also gives you access to various templates for a quick start. The intuitive interface makes it fairly simple to navigate through the different pages in your app. You can also easily switch between the manual edit mode, and the AI mode.

Lovable ensures the UI of your app is responsive, and works well on both desktops and mobile devices. You can easily toggle between web, and mobile views to visualize how your app looks across different screen sizes.

Very helpfully the platform also lets you define global styles by adding a system prompt in the project settings’ Knowledge field, such as “make sure all buttons have rounded corners.” From then on, every time you ask Lovable to add a button, the AI builder will ensure it adheres to this predefined style.

If you’re struck by an idea for a web app while away from your computer, Lovable available as a mobile app for both Android and iPhone. While the user interface is stripped-back, it has largely the same menu options, and supports not just fresh and revised prompts, but restoring earlier builds of your project and even publishing/deploying. You can also manage connectors and review the generated code in the app, and run the preview project.

Lovable: Integration and extensibility

Lovable leverages popular tools and frameworks such as React, Tailwind CSS, and the Vite JavaScript build tool to optimize frontend performance. This helps ensure your app adheres to industry best practices.

One way to extend your app is to ask Lovable AI to modify the database to connect the frontend UI to the backend, for instance, to create and save login details. Based on this information, Lovable will then automatically create the appropriate tables as required, and it’ll write the SQL for you.

You can instruct Lovable to integrate payment gateways, social media APIs, or data analytics tools directly into your project. Simply ask the AI to "help me integrate Stripe into my app," and then follow its instructions to implement the integration, which basically involves handing it your API keys. Paddle is also supported.

However, it's important to note that Stripe integration doesn’t work in the preview. To test the integration, make sure to first deploy your app. You can refer to the platform’s documentation to see how to make test payments using dummy card details.

Besides Stripe, Supabase, and GitHub, Lovable also has a list of over a dozen verified integrations that work well with the platform. These include OpenAI, Anthropic, Replicate, Highcharts, p5.js, Clerk, and more.

Elsewhere, connectors to various popular apps are available, with everything from Asana and Gmail to Wiz and Notion. These open up your options considerably for integrations with your no-code web app.

Lovable: Deployment and maintenance

Deploying and maintaining apps built on Lovable is pretty straightforward.

Once you’re happy with the way the project looks, you can deploy it. Various deployment options are available. You can share it directly to GitHub, but your project can also be hosted on Lovable. By default, your app is accessible via a Lovable subdomain, but you can also connect it to any custom domain you own. For free plans, this is only available as a public option, but if you use a paid Lovable plan, you can keep it private – perhaps sharing with collaborators or colleagues for internal use.

You can maintain, and debug your apps using the Lovable AI. For most issues, the platform will give you a “Try to fix” button that will automatically solve many issues for you. If that doesn’t work, you can describe the error in detail to the AI, and ask it for directions.

Lovable: Creating a crypto price calculator

To test Lovable’s ability at building a usable and user-friendly web app without any coding at all, I explored several potential projects. Eventually, I settled on a tool that calculates the price for popular cryptocurrencies in standard national currencies (USD, GBP, and Euro), relying on an open API.

This same prompt has been used with various no-code tools that we’ve looked at:

Build a tool that compares the price of a specific asset (like Bitcoin) against multiple fiat currencies simultaneously.

Functional requirements

API Integration: Connect to a free API (like CoinGecko or ExchangeRate-API).

Input Handling: A field where the user enters a "Budget" (e.g., $1,000$).

Dynamic Calculation: A list or table that automatically updates to show how much of the asset that budget buys in USD, EU, GBP

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The resulting no-code web app was recorded as taking 1 minute and 4 seconds to complete. Lovable delivered a working preview of a web app that met the specifications of the prompt. However, it also went beyond the requirements: it added other fiat currencies such as the Yen and Canadian dollar.

Based on the preview, the tool responded well, delivering instant calculations for the selected cryptocurrency in each of the fiat currencies. I asked it why the additional currencies were included, and it responded: “Good catch — the spec only asked for USD, EUR, and GBP. I added JPY, CHF, and CAD as extras thinking "more = better," but that wasn't requested. Want me to trim the list back to just the three?”

I agreed; the revision was completed in just 27 seconds.

Note that none of this processing had any impact on my PC or browser. Using the Linux resource monitor top, I observed no additional RAM or CPU usage, which confirms that Lovable runs entirely as a cloud AI tool.

Revising your project

If you’re not happy with the no-code creation, some amendments can be made.

With a paid plan, you can edit the code if tweaks and revisions are required in the background. Otherwise, all plans can make changes to the design, layout, and CSS elements using the Visual edits button. This presents you with the option to click into the generated interface and make changes to each element, revise the text, change colors – pretty much anything you would do in a CSS file.

Once I was happy, I published the project – you can view it here: https://budget-asset-bliss.lovable.app/

One of the best things about Lovable is that it actively monitors your code, and might recommend refactoring your code to make it more scalable, and easier to maintain.

The platform also includes built-in version control, which allows you to track changes, bookmark important versions, and via the history tool, effortlessly roll back to previous versions. This makes it easier to track, and review your progress, and undo any mistakes.

Lovable: Pricing and documentation

Lovable has a tiered pricing plan, starting with a free tier with limited functionality, followed by several paid plans that offer more features and higher usage limits.

For instance, on the free plan, you can prompt the AI five times/day, with a total limit of 30 messages/month.

The Pro plan costs $25/month (working out at $21/month if you pay annually) and increases this to 100 messages a month, with no daily caps, and an additional 5 messages per day (these don’t roll over, but any left over from the 100 will be available the following month). If this isn’t enough, you can increase the number of messages/AI credits.

For more features such as team workspaces and internal-only publishing, the Business plan is $50/month (or $42/month if you pay for a year up front) but by default also gives you just 100 messages a month. Again, you can scale this up with more messages, with options for 200, 400, 1200 all the way up to 10000 messages per month.

Lovable handholds you through a series of illustrated introductory documentation, quick start guides, and video tutorials. They cover everything from helping you write the right AI prompts, to fleshing out your apps by integrating them with third party services, , Stripe, and other verified and unverified services.

You can take your queries to Lovable’s Discord community, while paid users also get access to premium support options.

Lovable: The competition

Lovable shares the space with other AI-assisted no-code app builders.

For instance, Bubble, one of the popular platforms, also has an AI builder with a 2,500-character limit to the prompts. Bubble is often touted as a good option for building complex apps, as it offers greater flexibility, but has a steeper learning curve.

Then there’s Softr, although this solution has a tighter 200 character limit on its prompts. It’s very user friendly, but might fall short for those of you who need deep customization, and control over their apps.

Hostinger Horizons is a strong alternative. Like Lovable, you can use Horizons to build, edit, and enhance your apps just by using AI, and deploy it instantly to existing Hostinger hosting.

Lovable: Final verdict

Lovable’s extensive use of AI for everything from creating the app, to adding new functionality, and debugging, makes it one of the best no-code platforms for anyone who’s new to building apps.

You’ll need to hone your prompt writing skills to get the most out of the platform, especially if you are on the lower tiers of its paid plans. Based on the list of featured projects, it appears the platform can manage rather complex workflows, which is a definite plus.

Our test project was based on a straightforward prompt which yielded excellent results. While it over-delivered on the request, Lovable reacted positively to revision instructions, and the ability to easily tweak the user interface further emphasizes its no-code credentials.

All things considered, Lovable’s user-friendly interface, integration capabilities, and extensibility, make it a compelling option for anyone looking to build apps in record time.