Open Lovable vs Lovable (2026)
Head-to-head comparison for vibe coders: scores, free tiers, pricing and best-for, using the same evidence-based methodology. Rankings are never for sale.
Open-source chat-to-React builder from Firecrawl that can recreate any website
Build apps and websites by chatting with AI
Side-by-side comparison
| Criterion | Open Lovable | Lovable |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 63/100 | 86/100 |
| Free tier | Yes: the code is free; Firecrawl's Free plan gives 1,000 credits a month with no card | Yes: 5 build credits/day (up to 30/mo) plus 20 Cloud credits/mo |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Pricing | Free and open source (MIT). Needs a Firecrawl API key (Free plan 1,000 credits/mo, Hobby $16/mo billed yearly), a model provider key and a Vercel Sandbox or E2B account | Pro from $25/mo (100 credits; $21/mo annual); Business from $50/mo |
| Best for | Developers who want to clone or redesign an existing website as a React app with their own keys | Non-coders shipping a full-stack web MVP from prompts |
| Category | AI app builders | AI app builders |
Score breakdown
| Criterion | Open Lovable | Lovable |
|---|---|---|
| Fit for the use case /25 | 15 | 24 |
| Vibe-coder friendliness /15 | 7 | 15 |
| Output quality & reliability /15 | 9 | 12 |
| Pricing & free tier /15 | 11 | 10 |
| Ecosystem & integrations /10 | 6 | 9 |
| Momentum /10 | 7 | 9 |
| Code ownership & lock-in /10 | 8 | 7 |
Based on desk research of official pricing pages and docs; see methodology.
How they differ
Lovable is a full hosted product: chat to build, then publish with its own Cloud backend, database and sign-in. Open Lovable is an MIT-licensed example app from Firecrawl that you clone and run yourself. It builds React apps from chat and is especially good at recreating an existing website from its URL, but it has no hosting, database or sign-in built in.
What you pay
Open Lovable’s code is free, but you need a Firecrawl API key (Free plan 1,000 credits a month with no card, Hobby $16/mo billed yearly), a model provider key and a Vercel Sandbox or E2B account. Lovable Free gives 5 build credits a day (up to 30 a month); Pro starts at $25/mo ($21 annual).
Which to pick
Lovable for shipping a real app with users and data, especially if you don’t code. Open Lovable if you’re a developer who wants to turn an existing site into a React codebase you own, then keep building it with a coding agent.
Who wins: Open Lovable or Lovable?
By score, Lovable wins Open Lovable vs Lovable at 86/100 vs 63/100. Lovable: The most beginner-friendly full-stack builder, and you own the code. Credit costs add up on larger projects. Open Lovable: Popular (~28.7k GitHub stars, MIT) and the fastest way to turn an existing site into an editable React app. It's an example app rather than a full product: no hosting, database or auth built in, and you need three separate services set up before the first prompt. Lovable is best for Non-coders shipping a full-stack web MVP from prompts. Open Lovable is best for Developers who want to clone or redesign an existing website as a React app with their own keys.
FAQ
- Which is better, Open Lovable or Lovable?
- By our score, Lovable (86/100) ranks above Open Lovable (63/100). Lovable is best for Non-coders shipping a full-stack web MVP from prompts. The right pick still depends on your workflow; see the side-by-side table.
- What is the Open Lovable vs Lovable score?
- Open Lovable scores 63/100 and Lovable scores 86/100 on PromptToProd's evidence-based ranking. Scores are never for sale.
- Is Open Lovable made by Lovable?
- No. It is an example app from the Firecrawl team, and its README points to Lovable.dev for a complete cloud solution.
- Is Open Lovable free?
- The code is free under the MIT license. You pay for the services it uses: Firecrawl (free plan available), your model provider and the code sandbox.