Base44
Prompt to full-stack appAI app builder that turns natural-language prompts into full-stack web apps with a built-in database, auth, storage and hosting — no external services to wire up.
- Maker
- Base44 (a Wix company)
- Founded
- 2025
- Pricing
- Free tier · from $20/mo
- Last checked
- July 2026
Verdict
AI app builder that turns natural-language prompts into full-stack web apps with a built-in database, auth, storage and hosting — no external services to wire up.
Score breakdown
vs Claude Code, the category leaderNon-technical founders and builders who want to ship a working full-stack web app from a prompt without managing infrastructure
Key features
- Natural-language prompt-to-app generation for full-stack web apps
- Built-in database, user authentication, file storage, email and hosting
- Unlimited apps across all tiers
- Custom domains on Builder plan and above (first year free)
- Backend functions and AI-model choice on higher tiers
- GitHub integration for code sync
- Frontend React code export
Strengths
- +Batteries-included backend — database, authentication, storage, email and hosting are built in, so there is no Supabase or third-party wiring like Lovable and Bolt require
- +Genuinely fast prompt-to-app flow that non-technical builders can use to ship a working web app in one sitting
- +Real free tier and a low $20/mo Starter plan make it accessible for hobby projects and prototypes
- +Unlimited apps on every paid tier rather than a per-project cap
- +Backed by Wix's infrastructure and hosting after the June 2025 acquisition
Weaknesses
- −Two-meter credit system (message credits plus integration credits) that does not roll over, and debugging AI-introduced bugs burns credits fast — the most common complaint
- −AI reliability degrades on complex apps: it can ignore instructions or break working features, forcing credit-costing retries
- −Platform lock-in — export gives you frontend React code only, while the database, backend logic and auth stay on Base44
- −Weak support (multi-day response, no live support on lower tiers) and billing complaints; Trustpilot sits around 2.8/5
Overview
Overview
Base44 is an AI app builder that turns a natural-language description into a working full-stack web app. It was founded in 2025 by solo founder Maor Shlomo in Israel, bootstrapped with no outside funding, and acquired by Wix in June 2025 for a reported ~$80M upfront (up to roughly $170M with performance earn-outs through 2029). It now operates as a Wix subsidiary. At acquisition the company had fewer than 10 employees.
Its defining choice is a batteries-included backend. Where Lovable and Bolt lean on external services — Supabase for database and auth, for example — Base44 bundles database, authentication, file storage, email and hosting natively, so a non-technical builder can go from prompt to a live, data-backed app without wiring anything together. That simplicity is the whole pitch, and it drove unusually fast traction: reported figures include $1M ARR within about three weeks of launch and roughly $3.5M ARR by the time of the acquisition, with the product scaling much further under Wix since.
The trade-offs are real. Base44 meters usage with two non-rolling credit types — message credits for building and integration credits for live-app operations — and users report that debugging AI-introduced bugs burns credits quickly. The AI can also struggle as apps grow complex, and export gives you the frontend React code only; the backend, database and auth remain on the platform, which limits how cleanly you can leave. Public review sentiment is mixed, with Trustpilot around 2.8/5.
Key Benefits
- No infrastructure to manage: Database, auth, storage and hosting are provisioned automatically, removing the integration step that trips up beginners on other builders.
- Fast time-to-app: A single prompt session can produce a deployed, functional web app.
- Low entry cost: A free tier plus a $20/mo Starter plan make experimentation cheap.
- Wix backing: Post-acquisition, the product runs on Wix’s hosting and infrastructure.
Use Cases
- Internal tools — Build lightweight CRUD dashboards, trackers and admin panels backed by the built-in database without standing up a backend.
- MVPs and prototypes — Non-technical founders validate an idea with a working, data-backed app before hiring engineers.
- Client micro-apps — Freelancers and agencies ship small custom apps with auth and storage quickly.
- Learning and experimentation — Beginners explore full-stack app structure through prompting rather than boilerplate setup.
Pricing
Checked July 2026 · USD- 25 message credits per month (max 5/day)
- 100 integration credits per month
- Unlimited apps
- For testing and evaluation
- 100 message credits per month
- 2,000 integration credits per month
- Unlimited apps
- 250 message credits per month
- 10,000 integration credits per month
- Custom domain (first year free)
- Backend functions and AI-model choice
- 500 message credits per month
- 20,000 integration credits per month
- Custom domain and GitHub integration
- 1,200 message credits per month
- 50,000 integration credits per month
- Highest limits for sustained building