# Lovable vs Softgen

> Lovable vs Softgen: Lovable is our pick, leading for beginners and developers. They split on public api and metering unit. Verified August 2026.

![Lovable logo](https://www.versusref.com/logos/lovable.png) ![Softgen logo](https://www.versusref.com/logos/softgen.png)

Lovable (AI full-stack app builder / "vibe coding" platform) and Softgen ("From Idea to App in Days" - full-stack builder emphasizing full code ownership, 12+ selectable AI models, and wholesale-rate pay-per-use pricing vs. competitors' opaque monthly credit bundles) are AI app builders platforms, priced from $21/mo and $2.75/mo respectively. Below: the bottom line, verified head-to-head facts, and real production costs.

AI app builders platforms · 29 facts compared · all sourced · pricing verified Aug 31, 2026

## Bottom line

Lovable takes the bottom line by leading across nearly every use case that matters here. It documents bidirectional GitHub sync where Softgen's sync runs one way, a decisive edge for developers working from their own repository. Its free plan spells out a concrete cap of 5 build credits per day, up to 30 per month, while Softgen leaves its free-tier limits and post-cancellation behavior undocumented. Lovable also documents SSO and element-level editing that Softgen does not publish. The two tie only on running the builder itself locally, since neither publishes offline, licensing, or bring-your-own-key details. Across beginners, developers, free plans, internal tools, mobile apps, and UI design, Lovable is the stronger documented choice.

## Verdict summary

| Use case | Winner | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Beginners | Lovable | Both tools offer an autonomous agent mode that builds multi-step from a prompt, so new users get hands-off building either way. |
| Developers | Lovable | Both tools export the full project as real code, so leaving the platform is possible either way. |
| Free Plans | Lovable | Lovable publishes exactly what its free plan caps at: 5 build credits per day, up to 30 per month, before you need to pay. |
| Internal Tools | Lovable | Both tools provision a managed Postgres backend automatically, Lovable through Lovable Cloud and Softgen through an auto-provisioned Supabase project, so internal dashboards get real data storage either way. |
| Mobile Apps | Lovable | For a phone-first build, Lovable documents its mobile output as an installable progressive web app, giving app builders a defined path even though it is web-based rather than a compiled native app; Softgen does not publish a mobile output format at all. |
| Self-Hosted | Tie | Neither Lovable nor Softgen publishes whether the builder itself runs offline, what license it ships under, or whether you can bring your own API keys instead of paying through a subscription, the details that matter most for running the tool locally rather than in the vendor's cloud. |
| UI Design | Lovable | Neither tool publishes details on importing a Figma file or screenshot, so that part of the design workflow is untested ground for both. |

## Lovable vs Softgen: head-to-head facts

| Fact | Lovable | Softgen | Verified |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Metering unit | credits ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/user-guides/credits)) | tokens ([source](https://academy.softgen.ai/plans/understanding-tokens.md)) | Aug 31 |
| What the free plan caps | 5 build credits/day up to 30/mo ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/subscription-plans)) | n/a | Aug 31 |
| Cheapest paid plan (monthly) | $25 ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/subscription-plans)) | n/a | Aug 31 |
| Cheapest paid plan (annual) | $21 ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/subscription-plans)) | $2.75 ([source](https://academy.softgen.ai/plans/membership.md)) | Aug 31 |
| Metering pool at entry plan | 100 credits/mo ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/subscription-plans)) | n/a | Aug 31 |
| Published per-action unit cost | Plan mode: 1 credit/message. Build mode illustrative exam... ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/user-guides/credits)) | n/a | Aug 31 |
| Output stack | React + TypeScript ([source](https://lovable.dev/)) | React, Next.js ([source](https://academy.softgen.ai/resources/faq.md)) | Aug 31 |
| Backend model | Lovable Cloud (managed Supabase: Postgres ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/integrations/supabase)) | Managed Supabase auto-provisioned by default ("creates a... ([source](https://academy.softgen.ai/fullstack/supabase/supabase-onboarding.md)) | Aug 31 |
| Code export | full project ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/integrations/git-integration)) | full project ([source](https://academy.softgen.ai/plans/membership.md)) | Aug 31 |
| GitHub sync | bidirectional ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/integrations/git-integration)) | one_way ([source](https://academy.softgen.ai/integrations/github-integration.md)) | Aug 31 |
| Self-host the output | ✓  Yes ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/integrations/git-integration)) | ✓  Yes ([source](https://academy.softgen.ai/guides/deployment.md)) | Aug 31 |
| Keeps working if you stop paying | Published apps remain accessible/viewable after cancellation ([source](https://lovable.dev/terms)) | n/a | Aug 31 |
| Mobile output | pwa ([source](https://lovable.dev/faq/capabilities/mobile/lovable-mobile-app)) | n/a | Aug 31 |
| Agent mode (autonomous multi-step builds) | ✓  Yes ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/user-guides/credits)) | ✓  Yes ([source](https://softgen.ai/)) | Aug 31 |
| Element-level editing | ✓  Yes ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/faq)) | n/a | Aug 31 |
| Training-on-your-code policy | From 2026-09-09 ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/features/business/data-opt-out)) | n/a | Aug 31 |
| Public API | ✗  No ([source](https://docs.lovable.dev/integrations/lovable-api)) | ✓  Yes ([source](https://academy.softgen.ai/api-reference/openapi.json)) | Aug 31 |

## Lovable vs Softgen pricing: true cost at 3 usage tiers

True monthly cost at 3 builder profiles: weekend prototyper (1 app, ~40 edit prompts/mo), active builder (2-3 apps, ~250 edit prompts/mo), small team (5 seats, continuous). Vendors with a published per-action cost resolve to a real $/mo; effort-based or unpublished metering renders honestly as "metered - conversion not published" rather than a guess. Open-source/local tools show license + BYO-API-key cost, never $0.

| Volume | Buyer | Lovable | Softgen | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 app, ~40 edit prompts/mo | Weekend prototyper | $21/mo | $2.75/mo - metered, conversion not published | A single side project, built once and lightly iterated on over a weekend or two a month. |
| 2-3 apps, ~250 edit prompts/mo | Active builder | $28.50-$141/mo | $2.75/mo - metered, conversion not published | Several projects in flight at once with a steady daily edit cadence - the volume where a credit pool that looked generous at signup starts to run out. |
| 5 seats, continuous builds | Small team | $50/mo | $2.75/mo - metered, conversion not published | A 5-person team building continuously. Priced off each vendor's own published team/business plan, not a per-seat guess - pooled-credit workspaces (Lovable, Rocket) do not simply multiply the solo price by seat count, so a tool with no published flat team rate renders honestly as not published rather than an invented multiply. |

## Lovable vs Softgen: verdicts by use case

### Beginners → Lovable

Both tools offer an autonomous agent mode that builds multi-step from a prompt, so new users get hands-off building either way. Lovable also publishes click-to-edit element-level editing, letting a beginner fix what the agent got wrong without touching code, a capability Softgen does not document. Lovable's free plan caps out at 5 build credits per day, up to 30 per month, giving a clear picture of how far a beginner can go before paying, while Softgen does not publish an equivalent free-tier cap. With editing and free-tier details spelled out and agent mode matched, Lovable is the safer pick for a first-time builder.

### Developers → Lovable

Both tools export the full project as real code, so leaving the platform is possible either way. The bigger split is GitHub sync: Lovable offers bidirectional sync between the editor and the repository, while Softgen's sync is one way, a real constraint for a team that wants to branch and merge outside the builder. Both let you self-host the generated output. Softgen adds a public API that Lovable does not offer, useful for scripting builds, but for engineers who want the AI to scaffold and then hand off clean control of the repo, bidirectional sync outweighs that extra.

### Free Plans → Lovable

Lovable publishes exactly what its free plan caps at: 5 build credits per day, up to 30 per month, before you need to pay. Softgen does not publish an equivalent free-tier cap, leaving that question unanswered for anyone comparing before signing up. Lovable also states that published apps keep working after you cancel, a detail Softgen does not document. Both let unused credits roll over and both offer a custom domain on paid plans. With Lovable's free-tier limits and cancellation behavior spelled out and Softgen's left undocumented, Lovable is the clearer choice for testing the product before committing to a subscription.

### Internal Tools → Lovable

Both tools provision a managed Postgres backend automatically, Lovable through Lovable Cloud and Softgen through an auto-provisioned Supabase project, so internal dashboards get real data storage either way. Both also ship built-in authentication and live collaboration for a team working on the same admin panel. The split shows up on single sign-on: Lovable documents SSO on its Enterprise plan, a detail IT teams typically need for gated internal tools, while Softgen does not publish an SSO option. Softgen describes its integrations as not a fixed marketplace rather than naming reachable systems. With SSO documented and integrations left vague on the other side, Lovable edges ahead for internal tooling.

### Mobile Apps → Lovable

For a phone-first build, Lovable documents its mobile output as an installable progressive web app, giving app builders a defined path even though it is web-based rather than a compiled native app; Softgen does not publish a mobile output format at all. Underneath, Lovable generates React with TypeScript while Softgen generates React with Next.js, both web frameworks rather than native mobile toolchains, so neither has an edge there. Both let you self-host the generated project and both run an autonomous agent mode to scaffold the build. With Lovable at least defining what a mobile user gets and Softgen silent on it, Lovable is the narrow pick for phone-targeted projects.

### Self-Hosted → Tie

Neither Lovable nor Softgen publishes whether the builder itself runs offline, what license it ships under, or whether you can bring your own API keys instead of paying through a subscription, the details that matter most for running the tool locally rather than in the vendor's cloud. Both do let you self-host the generated output, so once an app is built you can host it yourself, but that says nothing about running the builder outside each vendor's hosted service. Without published facts on offline operation, licensing, or bring-your-own-key billing for either tool, there is no decisive way to call a winner for self-hosting the builder.

### UI Design → Lovable

Neither tool publishes details on importing a Figma file or screenshot, so that part of the design workflow is untested ground for both. Where they differ is fine-tuning the result afterward: Lovable documents element-level editing, letting a designer click a specific piece of the interface and adjust it directly without writing a prompt, a capability Softgen does not document. Both output React, Lovable pairs it with TypeScript and Softgen pairs it with Next.js, and both support live collaboration and version rollback for iterating on a design. With direct, no-prompt editing documented only on one side, Lovable is the better documented choice for polishing UI after generation.

## Lovable vs Softgen: common questions

### Is Lovable cheaper than Softgen?

No. Softgen's cheapest plan costs $2.75 per month on an annual commitment, well below Lovable's cheapest plan, which costs $21 per month on an annual commitment or $25 per month billed monthly. Softgen does not publish a separate monthly rate, only the annual one. On entry price, Softgen is the cheaper option of the two.

### Lovable vs Softgen: which is better for beginners?

Lovable is the better choice for beginners. Both tools include an autonomous agent mode that builds from a prompt, but Lovable also documents element-level editing, letting you click a piece of the interface and fix it without touching code, a capability Softgen does not publish. Lovable's free plan also states a clear cap of 5 build credits per day, up to 30 per month, while Softgen does not publish an equivalent limit.

### How do Lovable's and Softgen's annual plans compare in price?

Lovable's cheapest paid plan runs $21 per month on an annual commitment. Softgen's annual plan runs $2.75 per month, a much lower entry price. Lovable's figure reflects a credit-based plan built around Lovable Cloud; Softgen does not publish a separate monthly price, only the annual rate.

### Does Lovable or Softgen offer a public API?

Softgen publishes a public API for programmatic access, according to its own documentation. Lovable does not currently offer a public API. If scripting builds or integrating with your own tooling matters, Softgen is the one with a documented API between the two.

### Do unused credits roll over on Lovable and Softgen?

Yes for both. Lovable states that unused credits roll over month to month, and Softgen makes the same claim for its unused credits. Neither takes back what you did not use, so a slow month does not mean losing your remaining balance.

### Is Lovable or Softgen better for teams that need SSO?

Lovable documents SSO as available on its Enterprise plan, which internal-tools and IT teams typically require for gated access. Softgen does not publish an SSO option in its documentation. For teams with a hard SSO requirement, Lovable is the one with that capability on record.

### What does Lovable's free plan cap?

Lovable's free plan caps out at 5 build credits per day, up to 30 credits per month, before you need a paid plan. That gives you a fixed number of build actions each day to test the product before committing to a subscription.

### Can I export my full project source code from Softgen?

Yes. Softgen supports full project code export, so you can take the generated codebase with you rather than staying locked into the platform. It also lets you self-host the resulting output on your own infrastructure.

### Does Softgen host the app for me, or do I need my own hosting?

Softgen includes hosting for the apps it builds, according to its documentation. You do not need to set up separate hosting to get a generated app live; the platform handles serving it for you.

Source: https://www.versusref.com/app-builders/lovable-vs-softgen/