July 3, 2025 • 17 mins
🎙️ In this episode, we get into:
- What Bolt, Replit, and Lovable actually are — and how they think about building
- Why Bolt is built for speed, tokens, and full-stack flexibility
- How Replit became the go-to for power users, polyglots, and AI-assisted chaos
- Where Lovable fits for non-coders who want real apps without touching code
- The tradeoffs behind tokens, credits, and emotional support UIs
- Which platform’s secretly the best for getting real stuff shipped
Not a tutorial. Not a teardown. Just the honest conversation I wish I had heard before I wasted 3 weekends. ☠️
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Broadcasting live from somewhere inside the
algorithm, this is AI on air,the official podcast from
whatisthat.ai, we're your AIgenerated hosts, let's get into
it.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Alright. Let's untack this. Today, we're stepping into
the arena for a deep dive intothree online integrated
development environments orIDEs, Bolt, Replit, and Lovable.
Uh-huh. Think of it like a techshowdown where each contender
has a unique set of skills.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
It's precisely that. Yeah. Kinda like a fight club
for your dev soul as our sourcematerial perfectly puts it. Each
of these platforms brings adistinct philosophy to coding,
collaboration, and evengenerating applications from
thin air.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
We're
Speaker 1 (00:52):
here to help you cut through the noise, understand
their core strengths, and maybeuncover some surprising quirks.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
And that's exactly what we're aiming for. Whether
you're a seasoned developer,maybe just dipping your toes
into code, or perhaps anentrepreneur eager to launch an
idea without writing a singleline of code.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yeah. That's a big one now.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
This deep dive is designed to arm you with the
essential insights. By the end,you'll hopefully have a clearer
picture of which of thesechampions might be the perfect
fit for your workflow.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Sounds good.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Alright. Let's jump into round one. First
impressions. Each of these IDEspresents itself with distinct
personality.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
A vibe. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah. A vibe and a compelling unique selling
proposition right from thestart. First up, we have Bolt.
Our sources characterize itsvibe as well, almost aggressive,
like a hyper efficient hustlebro.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah. That's the quote.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Nearly went under but is now back, token powered and
apparently unstoppable. It'sbilling itself as resurrected
from startup purgatory, speakingin tokens, spinning up something
called web containers Mhmm. Anddropping AI code like its
currency.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
What's fascinating here isn't just the, you know,
their marketing spin. Bolt'score strength really lies in
providing full featured IDEcapabilities right in your
browser.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Okay. So no local setup hassle.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Exactly. You get a powerful coding environment
instantly. It excels at realtime collaborative coding,
letting teams work togetherseamlessly and its AI prompt
generation is genuinelyimpressive. And integrations. Oh
yeah.
It comes with integrated supportfor services like Supabase and
Firebase. Right. Those arepopular back end tools plus
Netlify for easy deployment andStripe for payments.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Right.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
But the real standout, the extra, is its web
containers technology. It'spowered by Stackblitz.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Stackblitz.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Yeah. This creates full isolated development
environments like having a preconfigured coding machine
instantly right in your browser.Saves you all that setup time.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
That instant setup sounds incredibly appealing.
Okay. Next up, Replit.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Ah, Replit.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
It its vibe is definitely that of a tech wizard
who codes in their sleep. Itsbio proudly boasts support for
50 plus languages, cloudterminals, AI ghostwriter,
everything but a home cookedmeal.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah. And if we connect this to the bigger
picture, Replit's strength isreally its maturity and
versatility. Mhmm. It offersreal time multiplayer editing,
robust deployment options, builtin database hosting, all
complemented by its AIassistant, Ghostwriter.
Ghostwriter.
Yeah. Its key differentiator Ithink is that native support for
nearly every coding languageimaginable.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Wow. 50 plus?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah. Plus seamless deployment, container uptime
guarantees, and that integratedGhostwriter AI helping you out.
It's a really comprehensivepackage.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
And then there's Lovable, perhaps the contender
with the most unique persona.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
You say that.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Its vibe is genuinely described as emotional support
in your dev tool. Seriously. Itsbio claims it will turn your
idea into an app and whispercompliments while doing it.
Uh-huh. I'm picturing it tellingme, great job on that semicolon,
you beautiful genius.
Is it really that personal?
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Well, the emotional support bit is probably more
about the user experience. Yeah.You know, prioritizing
encouragement and ease of use.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Okay. Makes sense.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
But what Lovable actually does is pretty
remarkable. It takes naturallanguage input like you just
describe what you want and itgenerates full stack
applications.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Woah. Really? From just text?
Speaker 1 (04:14):
From text. No. Bills the whole thing. It's strengths
include direct Supabase andStripe integrations, easy GitHub
deployment, custom domainsupport. The significant extra
here is its mature, no codefocused features.
Things like real time data sync,building user authentication,
database management, all withoutyou needing to code it.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
That's huge. And it's not
Speaker 1 (04:36):
just a small player. It's apparently nearing a
$2,000,000,000 valuation.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Really leading Europe's vibe coding wave as
they call it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Okay. Vibe coding. I like that. So with those first
impressions setting the stage,let's see how these contenders
stack up when it comes to, well,your wallet.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Always important.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Now as we move into what we'll call round two, the
pricing punch. The pricingmodels here are quite distinct.
They're not all the same.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
No. Definitely not. Bolt, for instance, offers a
free editor, which gives youabout a 150,000 tokens per day
or a million per month.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Tokens. Explain that.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Tokens are essentially the currency you use
for AI interactions and certainplatform operations. Their paid
tiers are entirely token based.Starts at 20 for 10,000,000
tokens, goes up to $200 for a120,000,000. Team plans range
from 30 to $210 per seat.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
This token model, it's interesting. It really
makes you think about the costof every AI interaction or
build. That's a fascinatingmodel. But it sounds like it
could lead to unpredictablecosts maybe, if you're
experimenting a lot, compared tojust a flat monthly fee.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
It could. Yeah. It rewards efficiency. Replit, on
the other hand, is moretraditional. Provides a free
tier with usage credits andcommunity features.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Then it moves to a $20 a month hacker plan, a $40
per user per month team plan,and custom enterprise pricing.
More predictable perhaps.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Right. And Lovable.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Lovable also has a free tier that includes five
messages per day. So fiveprompts to its AI.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Only five.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
On the free tier. Yeah. Yeah. And 100 gigabytes of
hosting bandwidth. It's paidtiers start at $25 a month for a
100 messages per day, then a $30per user per month team plan and
custom enterprise options.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
So you can really see how these different currencies,
tokens, usage, credits, messageskind of guide how you might use
each tool and what fits yourbudget or project style.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Definitely. Alright, let's get into the Feature
FlexOff round three. This iswhere we really dive into the
technical capabilities.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
The nitty gritty.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Exactly. Who's got the knockout features? Which
ones truly empower specificworkflows? What stands out to
you first?
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Well, the fundamental thing they all share, and it's a
huge draw is the IDE in thebrowser.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Alright. No downloads.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
No downloads. Bolt, like we said, uses web
containers for those instantenvironments. Replit is often
called the OG browser IDE.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah. They've been around.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
They have. And Lovable adds this really neat
select and edit UI that youclick directly on visual
elements in your app and tweakthem.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Oh, interesting. More visual.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Very visual. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And speaking of innovation, AI code generation.
This seems like where things arereally heating up. What's the
landscape here? Is it just basicauto complete or
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Oh, it's way beyond simple completion now. Bolt
offers powerful prompts usingGPT four or Claude to generate
code blocks or even wholefunctions.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Replit has its ghostwriter AI, which acts more
like a coding assistant rightthere with you.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Like a pair programmer.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Kinda. Yeah. Yeah. But Lovable Lovable really
stands out with its text to appcapability. You describe an
entire application idea innatural language?
The whole app. The whole basicstructure. Yeah. And it
generates a functional startingpoint. Plus, it offers AI tweaks
for existing code.
It's a different paradigm.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
That natural language app generation for Lovable is
wow. That's a majordifferentiator, especially like
you said, for non coders.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
What about framework support? You know, for people
who rely on specific toolkitslike React or Vue.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Good question. Bolt covers a lot of the modern web
frameworks. Mhmm. Astro, Fite,Next JS, Svelte, Vue, Remix,
popular choices for cutting edgestuff.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Gotcha.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Replit again, impresses with its sheer breadth
over 50 languages supported.It's truly polyglot, meaning it
speaks almost every codinglanguage. Super versatile.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Lovable is more focused. Primarily supports
React, which is great for userinterfaces, and it seems
optimized for building internaltools and dashboards quickly.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Right. And for the back end and database support,
you need somewhere to store dataand manage users.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Yep. Bold integrates nicely with Supabase and
Firebase.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
The usual suspects.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Pretty much. Replit, because it supports so many
languages, can handle basicallyany database that language works
with. You have a lot of freedomthere.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Lovable focuses on Supabase integration plus it has
its own built in authenticationsystem and Stripe integration
for payments right out of thebox.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Makes sense for its target audience and deployment.
Getting your app live.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Crucial step. Bolt offers instant Netlify
deployment. Yeah. Super quickfor web projects.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Replit provides one click deployment also with
custom domain support,streamlines the whole process.
Yeah. And Lovable also supportsdeployment to Netlify or Vercel,
again with custom domainintegration. Pretty comparable
on that front.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Okay. And for teams collaboration and sync, how do
they handle people workingtogether?
Speaker 1 (09:23):
All three are actually quite strong here. Bolt
has a proper multiplayer editor,multiple people coding in the
same file at the same time.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Like Google Docs for code.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Exactly. Replit offers shared REPLs, that's
their term for the environments,and is integrated chat for
communication. And Lovableprovides real time
synchronization with distinctuser roles, which helps keep
things organized in a teamsetting.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Good features across the board there. How about error
debugging? Because let's faceit, bugs happen.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Always. Bolt features live error detection, so you see
mistakes as you type, basically.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
That's helpful.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Replit gives you standard terminal access and
logs, which is what mostdevelopers are used to for deep
debugging. Right. Lovableincludes AI revisions to help
suggest fixes for issues, and italso has a revert feature to
easily roll back changes ifsomething goes wrong. That's
quite handy.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
That AI revision sounds interesting. Okay. Now,
for many of our listeners,especially folks maybe coming
from outside of coding orentrepreneurs, This next point
might be the absolute gamechanger.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
How accessible are these tools if you're not a
seasoned developer? Let's talknon coder accessibility.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah. This is where the differences really become
stark. Bolt, even with its AI,still kinda requires you to
understand prompts and have somecoding knowledge to guide it
effectively.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So it helps coders be faster, but doesn't replace
them.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Pretty much. Replit offers good support for
beginners learning to code. It'sa solid environment for that
early stage. Okay. But Lovable.
Lovable is explicitly designedfor no code for non devs. Its
whole premise is enabling anyoneto generate a functional app
from text.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Without writing a single line of code yourself
initially. That's a massive leapin accessibility.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Huge difference. Okay. And finally, just for fun,
the vibe score our sourcesmentioned.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Right. The feel of it. Bolt gets a nine out of 10
for hustle coder, that efficientaggressive feel. Okay. Replit
scores a 10 out of 10 for fullstack chaos, which kinda
captures its broad power, maybeslightly overwhelming
versatility.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah. I get that.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
And Lovable gets a 12 out of 10 off the charts for
wholesome dev joy. Reallyemphasizes that supportive user
friendly approach.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
12 out of 10. Okay. But, you know, every champion
has vulnerabilities. Sure. Sofor round four, red flags and
missing bits.
Let's look at potentialpitfalls. What did our sources
point out? No tool is perfect.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Definitely not. For Bolt, that token model, while
innovative, does add complexityto managing costs. It's not a
simple flat fee like wediscussed. Right. And
historically, the platformnearly ceased operations back in
2023.
That's something to keep in mindregarding long term stability
perhaps.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Plus small detail. Those free tokens don't roll
over month to month. So yougotta use them or lose them if
you're on the free plan.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Good to know. And Replit sounds like a jack of all
trades, but any downsides?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Some users have noted what they feel are hidden costs,
especially when projects scaleup beyond the basic tiers.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Ah, the scaling costs.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Yeah. And there can be container limits, how much
processing or storage you getand some reports of performance
hiccups under really heavy load.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Okay. Performance could be an issue for big apps.
Potentially. And Lovable. Itsounds almost magical for non
coders but there must belimitations.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Oh absolutely. It's incredibly powerful for MVP's,
minimum viable products, thosefirst versions to test an idea.
But it can become limited if youneed to build something super
complex or require very specificpixel perfect custom designs.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
So complexity and design constraints.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Exactly. And those credit and message caps on the
free and lower tiers can berestrictive if you're doing a
lot of iteration.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
And ironically for really advanced features, you
might actually still need todive into custom code or export
the code and work on itelsewhere. Kinda undercuts the
pure no code angle sometimes.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Right. So it gets you started fast, but maybe not all
the way for everything.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
That's a good way to put it.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
So after all those rounds, features, pricing, red
flags, who's the ultimatechampion for you, the listener,
our source breaks it down nicelyby user type.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Yeah. This is helpful. If you're a pro or
hobby developer who loves fullstack development and really
value speed Mhmm. Bolt is likelyyour best bet.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Why Bolt specifically?
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Those instant environments, the token economy
that rewards efficiency, and itsstrong AI capabilities Yeah.
Just make it super appealing forrapid development, even on
larger projects.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Okay. What about the language hopping power coder?
Someone who works in Pythontoday, go tomorrow. JavaScript
next week.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
For that person, Replit really stands out. Right.
It's mature ecosystem, the solidAI features with Ghostwriter,
and that comprehensive supportfor over 50 languages.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeah. That 50 plus is key.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
It makes it pretty unparalleled for versatility.
Yeah. If you need to switchcontexts often, Replit's
probably your jam.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Gotcha. And finally, for the non coder or the
entrepreneur who just wants afast real app without getting
tangled in code.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
For them, Lovable seems like the clear winner.
Yeah. That ability to go fromtext to app in minutes is huge.
Yeah. Plus the built inintegrations for things like
payments and databases andhonestly, the significant
investor buzz around it.
Yeah. It all points to Lovablebeing really strong in that
accessible fast launch space.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Makes total sense. Okay. So to wrap up our deep
dive, let's touch on some finalextras, little tidbits that
might just seal the deal for youdepending on what you need.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Yes. Some bonus points. Bolt for instance is
surprisingly versatile. Greatfor quick MVPs. Yes.
But also capable of handlinglarger projects. It even
supports mobile development viaExpo, which is a framework for
building universal apps.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Oh, mobile too. Didn't expect that.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Yep. And it offers a local open source version on
GitHub, which gives developersmore control if they want it.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Okay. Cool. Extras for Replit.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Replit is very education friendly. You see it
used a lot in schools, codingboot camps.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Right. For learning.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Exactly. Yeah. It also boasts really robust
community chat forums, which canbe invaluable for getting help
or just learning from others.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Community is big.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Definitely. And its integrated Hosty and database
services are super convenient.Plus it has a growing plugin
marketplace to extend itsfunctionality.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Plugin marketplace nice. And lovable's extras.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
That select and edit UI we mentioned to be able to
click elements on your app andjust describe changes in natural
language. Yeah. That'sincredibly intuitive.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Yeah. Sounds very user friendly.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
It really is. It also emphasizes code export
ownership. The code it generatesis yours. You can take it and
run.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
That's important. No vendor lock in.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Exactly. And it's apparently widely used already
to spin up new startups andbuild internal tools for
businesses quickly.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Wow. What a deep dive into the world of these online
IDEs. It's really clear thatwhether you're, you know,
building a side project,launching a full startup, or
just experimenting Mhmm. There'sa powerful tool out there
tailored to your specific needs.Each one has its own unique
advantages and challenges.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Indeed. The landscape is just evolving so incredibly
fast, especially with AIbecoming so core to these
platforms.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Right.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
It really makes you wonder, doesn't it? As these
tools get more sophisticated,especially the ones aimed at non
coders like Lovable,
Speaker 2 (16:34):
how
Speaker 1 (16:35):
is that going to fundamentally change the
definition of developer?
Speaker 2 (16:39):
That's a depth question.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Is that line blurring to the point where it almost
disappears or is this shifting?Maybe the expertise shifts from
writing raw code to effectivelyprompting AI or designing
systems. Yeah. And will thatvibe we talked about the user
experience become just ascrucial as the underlying tech
specs, Something to mull over, Ithink, as you explore which of
(17:01):
these amazing tools might beright for you.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
That's it for this episode of AI on Air powered by
whatisthat.ai. If your brainsurvived this episode, go ahead
and subscribe. We drop newepisodes every week. Wanna go
deeper? Join our community onSubstack to get early drops,
tool breakdowns, and weird AIstuff the mainstream hasn't
caught yet.
See you there.
Broadcasting live from somewhere inside the
algorithm, this is AI on air,the official podcast from
whatisthat.ai, we're your AIgenerated hosts, let's get into
it.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Alright. Let's untack this. Today, we're stepping into
the arena for a deep dive intothree online integrated
development environments orIDEs, Bolt, Replit, and Lovable.
Uh-huh. Think of it like a techshowdown where each contender
has a unique set of skills.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
It's precisely that. Yeah. Kinda like a fight club
for your dev soul as our sourcematerial perfectly puts it. Each
of these platforms brings adistinct philosophy to coding,
collaboration, and evengenerating applications from
thin air.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
We're
Speaker 1 (00:52):
here to help you cut through the noise, understand
their core strengths, and maybeuncover some surprising quirks.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
And that's exactly what we're aiming for. Whether
you're a seasoned developer,maybe just dipping your toes
into code, or perhaps anentrepreneur eager to launch an
idea without writing a singleline of code.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yeah. That's a big one now.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
This deep dive is designed to arm you with the
essential insights. By the end,you'll hopefully have a clearer
picture of which of thesechampions might be the perfect
fit for your workflow.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Sounds good.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Alright. Let's jump into round one. First
impressions. Each of these IDEspresents itself with distinct
personality.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
A vibe. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah. A vibe and a compelling unique selling
proposition right from thestart. First up, we have Bolt.
Our sources characterize itsvibe as well, almost aggressive,
like a hyper efficient hustlebro.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah. That's the quote.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Nearly went under but is now back, token powered and
apparently unstoppable. It'sbilling itself as resurrected
from startup purgatory, speakingin tokens, spinning up something
called web containers Mhmm. Anddropping AI code like its
currency.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
What's fascinating here isn't just the, you know,
their marketing spin. Bolt'score strength really lies in
providing full featured IDEcapabilities right in your
browser.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Okay. So no local setup hassle.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Exactly. You get a powerful coding environment
instantly. It excels at realtime collaborative coding,
letting teams work togetherseamlessly and its AI prompt
generation is genuinelyimpressive. And integrations. Oh
yeah.
It comes with integrated supportfor services like Supabase and
Firebase. Right. Those arepopular back end tools plus
Netlify for easy deployment andStripe for payments.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Right.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
But the real standout, the extra, is its web
containers technology. It'spowered by Stackblitz.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Stackblitz.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Yeah. This creates full isolated development
environments like having a preconfigured coding machine
instantly right in your browser.Saves you all that setup time.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
That instant setup sounds incredibly appealing.
Okay. Next up, Replit.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Ah, Replit.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
It its vibe is definitely that of a tech wizard
who codes in their sleep. Itsbio proudly boasts support for
50 plus languages, cloudterminals, AI ghostwriter,
everything but a home cookedmeal.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah. And if we connect this to the bigger
picture, Replit's strength isreally its maturity and
versatility. Mhmm. It offersreal time multiplayer editing,
robust deployment options, builtin database hosting, all
complemented by its AIassistant, Ghostwriter.
Ghostwriter.
Yeah. Its key differentiator Ithink is that native support for
nearly every coding languageimaginable.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Wow. 50 plus?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah. Plus seamless deployment, container uptime
guarantees, and that integratedGhostwriter AI helping you out.
It's a really comprehensivepackage.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
And then there's Lovable, perhaps the contender
with the most unique persona.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
You say that.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Its vibe is genuinely described as emotional support
in your dev tool. Seriously. Itsbio claims it will turn your
idea into an app and whispercompliments while doing it.
Uh-huh. I'm picturing it tellingme, great job on that semicolon,
you beautiful genius.
Is it really that personal?
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Well, the emotional support bit is probably more
about the user experience. Yeah.You know, prioritizing
encouragement and ease of use.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Okay. Makes sense.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
But what Lovable actually does is pretty
remarkable. It takes naturallanguage input like you just
describe what you want and itgenerates full stack
applications.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Woah. Really? From just text?
Speaker 1 (04:14):
From text. No. Bills the whole thing. It's strengths
include direct Supabase andStripe integrations, easy GitHub
deployment, custom domainsupport. The significant extra
here is its mature, no codefocused features.
Things like real time data sync,building user authentication,
database management, all withoutyou needing to code it.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
That's huge. And it's not
Speaker 1 (04:36):
just a small player. It's apparently nearing a
$2,000,000,000 valuation.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Really leading Europe's vibe coding wave as
they call it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Okay. Vibe coding. I like that. So with those first
impressions setting the stage,let's see how these contenders
stack up when it comes to, well,your wallet.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Always important.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Now as we move into what we'll call round two, the
pricing punch. The pricingmodels here are quite distinct.
They're not all the same.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
No. Definitely not. Bolt, for instance, offers a
free editor, which gives youabout a 150,000 tokens per day
or a million per month.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Tokens. Explain that.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Tokens are essentially the currency you use
for AI interactions and certainplatform operations. Their paid
tiers are entirely token based.Starts at 20 for 10,000,000
tokens, goes up to $200 for a120,000,000. Team plans range
from 30 to $210 per seat.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
This token model, it's interesting. It really
makes you think about the costof every AI interaction or
build. That's a fascinatingmodel. But it sounds like it
could lead to unpredictablecosts maybe, if you're
experimenting a lot, compared tojust a flat monthly fee.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
It could. Yeah. It rewards efficiency. Replit, on
the other hand, is moretraditional. Provides a free
tier with usage credits andcommunity features.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Then it moves to a $20 a month hacker plan, a $40
per user per month team plan,and custom enterprise pricing.
More predictable perhaps.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Right. And Lovable.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Lovable also has a free tier that includes five
messages per day. So fiveprompts to its AI.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Only five.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
On the free tier. Yeah. Yeah. And 100 gigabytes of
hosting bandwidth. It's paidtiers start at $25 a month for a
100 messages per day, then a $30per user per month team plan and
custom enterprise options.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
So you can really see how these different currencies,
tokens, usage, credits, messageskind of guide how you might use
each tool and what fits yourbudget or project style.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Definitely. Alright, let's get into the Feature
FlexOff round three. This iswhere we really dive into the
technical capabilities.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
The nitty gritty.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Exactly. Who's got the knockout features? Which
ones truly empower specificworkflows? What stands out to
you first?
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Well, the fundamental thing they all share, and it's a
huge draw is the IDE in thebrowser.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Alright. No downloads.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
No downloads. Bolt, like we said, uses web
containers for those instantenvironments. Replit is often
called the OG browser IDE.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah. They've been around.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
They have. And Lovable adds this really neat
select and edit UI that youclick directly on visual
elements in your app and tweakthem.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Oh, interesting. More visual.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Very visual. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And speaking of innovation, AI code generation.
This seems like where things arereally heating up. What's the
landscape here? Is it just basicauto complete or
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Oh, it's way beyond simple completion now. Bolt
offers powerful prompts usingGPT four or Claude to generate
code blocks or even wholefunctions.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Replit has its ghostwriter AI, which acts more
like a coding assistant rightthere with you.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Like a pair programmer.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Kinda. Yeah. Yeah. But Lovable Lovable really
stands out with its text to appcapability. You describe an
entire application idea innatural language?
The whole app. The whole basicstructure. Yeah. And it
generates a functional startingpoint. Plus, it offers AI tweaks
for existing code.
It's a different paradigm.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
That natural language app generation for Lovable is
wow. That's a majordifferentiator, especially like
you said, for non coders.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
What about framework support? You know, for people
who rely on specific toolkitslike React or Vue.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Good question. Bolt covers a lot of the modern web
frameworks. Mhmm. Astro, Fite,Next JS, Svelte, Vue, Remix,
popular choices for cutting edgestuff.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Gotcha.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Replit again, impresses with its sheer breadth
over 50 languages supported.It's truly polyglot, meaning it
speaks almost every codinglanguage. Super versatile.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Lovable is more focused. Primarily supports
React, which is great for userinterfaces, and it seems
optimized for building internaltools and dashboards quickly.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Right. And for the back end and database support,
you need somewhere to store dataand manage users.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Yep. Bold integrates nicely with Supabase and
Firebase.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
The usual suspects.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Pretty much. Replit, because it supports so many
languages, can handle basicallyany database that language works
with. You have a lot of freedomthere.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Lovable focuses on Supabase integration plus it has
its own built in authenticationsystem and Stripe integration
for payments right out of thebox.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Makes sense for its target audience and deployment.
Getting your app live.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Crucial step. Bolt offers instant Netlify
deployment. Yeah. Super quickfor web projects.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Replit provides one click deployment also with
custom domain support,streamlines the whole process.
Yeah. And Lovable also supportsdeployment to Netlify or Vercel,
again with custom domainintegration. Pretty comparable
on that front.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Okay. And for teams collaboration and sync, how do
they handle people workingtogether?
Speaker 1 (09:23):
All three are actually quite strong here. Bolt
has a proper multiplayer editor,multiple people coding in the
same file at the same time.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Like Google Docs for code.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Exactly. Replit offers shared REPLs, that's
their term for the environments,and is integrated chat for
communication. And Lovableprovides real time
synchronization with distinctuser roles, which helps keep
things organized in a teamsetting.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Good features across the board there. How about error
debugging? Because let's faceit, bugs happen.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Always. Bolt features live error detection, so you see
mistakes as you type, basically.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
That's helpful.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Replit gives you standard terminal access and
logs, which is what mostdevelopers are used to for deep
debugging. Right. Lovableincludes AI revisions to help
suggest fixes for issues, and italso has a revert feature to
easily roll back changes ifsomething goes wrong. That's
quite handy.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
That AI revision sounds interesting. Okay. Now,
for many of our listeners,especially folks maybe coming
from outside of coding orentrepreneurs, This next point
might be the absolute gamechanger.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
How accessible are these tools if you're not a
seasoned developer? Let's talknon coder accessibility.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah. This is where the differences really become
stark. Bolt, even with its AI,still kinda requires you to
understand prompts and have somecoding knowledge to guide it
effectively.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So it helps coders be faster, but doesn't replace
them.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Pretty much. Replit offers good support for
beginners learning to code. It'sa solid environment for that
early stage. Okay. But Lovable.
Lovable is explicitly designedfor no code for non devs. Its
whole premise is enabling anyoneto generate a functional app
from text.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Without writing a single line of code yourself
initially. That's a massive leapin accessibility.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Huge difference. Okay. And finally, just for fun,
the vibe score our sourcesmentioned.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Right. The feel of it. Bolt gets a nine out of 10
for hustle coder, that efficientaggressive feel. Okay. Replit
scores a 10 out of 10 for fullstack chaos, which kinda
captures its broad power, maybeslightly overwhelming
versatility.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah. I get that.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
And Lovable gets a 12 out of 10 off the charts for
wholesome dev joy. Reallyemphasizes that supportive user
friendly approach.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
12 out of 10. Okay. But, you know, every champion
has vulnerabilities. Sure. Sofor round four, red flags and
missing bits.
Let's look at potentialpitfalls. What did our sources
point out? No tool is perfect.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Definitely not. For Bolt, that token model, while
innovative, does add complexityto managing costs. It's not a
simple flat fee like wediscussed. Right. And
historically, the platformnearly ceased operations back in
2023.
That's something to keep in mindregarding long term stability
perhaps.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Plus small detail. Those free tokens don't roll
over month to month. So yougotta use them or lose them if
you're on the free plan.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Good to know. And Replit sounds like a jack of all
trades, but any downsides?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Some users have noted what they feel are hidden costs,
especially when projects scaleup beyond the basic tiers.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Ah, the scaling costs.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Yeah. And there can be container limits, how much
processing or storage you getand some reports of performance
hiccups under really heavy load.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Okay. Performance could be an issue for big apps.
Potentially. And Lovable. Itsounds almost magical for non
coders but there must belimitations.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Oh absolutely. It's incredibly powerful for MVP's,
minimum viable products, thosefirst versions to test an idea.
But it can become limited if youneed to build something super
complex or require very specificpixel perfect custom designs.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
So complexity and design constraints.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Exactly. And those credit and message caps on the
free and lower tiers can berestrictive if you're doing a
lot of iteration.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
And ironically for really advanced features, you
might actually still need todive into custom code or export
the code and work on itelsewhere. Kinda undercuts the
pure no code angle sometimes.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Right. So it gets you started fast, but maybe not all
the way for everything.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
That's a good way to put it.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
So after all those rounds, features, pricing, red
flags, who's the ultimatechampion for you, the listener,
our source breaks it down nicelyby user type.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Yeah. This is helpful. If you're a pro or
hobby developer who loves fullstack development and really
value speed Mhmm. Bolt is likelyyour best bet.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Why Bolt specifically?
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Those instant environments, the token economy
that rewards efficiency, and itsstrong AI capabilities Yeah.
Just make it super appealing forrapid development, even on
larger projects.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Okay. What about the language hopping power coder?
Someone who works in Pythontoday, go tomorrow. JavaScript
next week.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
For that person, Replit really stands out. Right.
It's mature ecosystem, the solidAI features with Ghostwriter,
and that comprehensive supportfor over 50 languages.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeah. That 50 plus is key.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
It makes it pretty unparalleled for versatility.
Yeah. If you need to switchcontexts often, Replit's
probably your jam.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Gotcha. And finally, for the non coder or the
entrepreneur who just wants afast real app without getting
tangled in code.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
For them, Lovable seems like the clear winner.
Yeah. That ability to go fromtext to app in minutes is huge.
Yeah. Plus the built inintegrations for things like
payments and databases andhonestly, the significant
investor buzz around it.
Yeah. It all points to Lovablebeing really strong in that
accessible fast launch space.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Makes total sense. Okay. So to wrap up our deep
dive, let's touch on some finalextras, little tidbits that
might just seal the deal for youdepending on what you need.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Yes. Some bonus points. Bolt for instance is
surprisingly versatile. Greatfor quick MVPs. Yes.
But also capable of handlinglarger projects. It even
supports mobile development viaExpo, which is a framework for
building universal apps.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Oh, mobile too. Didn't expect that.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Yep. And it offers a local open source version on
GitHub, which gives developersmore control if they want it.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Okay. Cool. Extras for Replit.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Replit is very education friendly. You see it
used a lot in schools, codingboot camps.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Right. For learning.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Exactly. Yeah. It also boasts really robust
community chat forums, which canbe invaluable for getting help
or just learning from others.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Community is big.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Definitely. And its integrated Hosty and database
services are super convenient.Plus it has a growing plugin
marketplace to extend itsfunctionality.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Plugin marketplace nice. And lovable's extras.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
That select and edit UI we mentioned to be able to
click elements on your app andjust describe changes in natural
language. Yeah. That'sincredibly intuitive.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Yeah. Sounds very user friendly.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
It really is. It also emphasizes code export
ownership. The code it generatesis yours. You can take it and
run.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
That's important. No vendor lock in.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Exactly. And it's apparently widely used already
to spin up new startups andbuild internal tools for
businesses quickly.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Wow. What a deep dive into the world of these online
IDEs. It's really clear thatwhether you're, you know,
building a side project,launching a full startup, or
just experimenting Mhmm. There'sa powerful tool out there
tailored to your specific needs.Each one has its own unique
advantages and challenges.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Indeed. The landscape is just evolving so incredibly
fast, especially with AIbecoming so core to these
platforms.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Right.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
It really makes you wonder, doesn't it? As these
tools get more sophisticated,especially the ones aimed at non
coders like Lovable,
Speaker 2 (16:34):
how
Speaker 1 (16:35):
is that going to fundamentally change the
definition of developer?
Speaker 2 (16:39):
That's a depth question.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Is that line blurring to the point where it almost
disappears or is this shifting?Maybe the expertise shifts from
writing raw code to effectivelyprompting AI or designing
systems. Yeah. And will thatvibe we talked about the user
experience become just ascrucial as the underlying tech
specs, Something to mull over, Ithink, as you explore which of
(17:01):
these amazing tools might beright for you.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
That's it for this episode of AI on Air powered by
whatisthat.ai. If your brainsurvived this episode, go ahead
and subscribe. We drop newepisodes every week. Wanna go
deeper? Join our community onSubstack to get early drops,
tool breakdowns, and weird AIstuff the mainstream hasn't
caught yet.
See you there.
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