Directory / Site Builders & Deploy
AI site builders: what the free tier actually gets you (2026)
Every "vs" page in this category is written by someone selling a competing builder. This one is not: SearchAll.ai does not make a site builder. Below is what each tool's free tier actually allows, what a custom domain really costs, and whether you can take your code with you. Each row carries the date we last confirmed it and a link to the vendor page we confirmed it against.
The custom domain paywall
This is the axis no competitor page compares, and it varies by more than 20x. Softr allows a custom domain on its free tier. Glide requires the $199/mo Business plan for the same thing. If putting a site on your own domain is the actual goal, this column matters more than the headline price.
| Tool | Free tier | Custom domain from | Code export | Bills in | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lovable | 5 build credits/day, capped at 30/month | Pro tier | Yes, GitHub sync | credits | secondary |
| Bolt.new | 300K tokens/day, 1M/month | $25/mo (Pro) | Yes, in-product | tokens | |
| v0 | $5 credits, 7 messages/day | Via linked Vercel project | Yes, bi-directional GitHub | credits | |
| Framer | 1 GB bandwidth, subdomain, 3 editors, 500 one-time AI credits | $10/mo (any paid plan) | Not verified | seats + AI credits | |
| Base44 | 25 message credits/month, 5 apps | $16/mo (any paid plan) | Yes, two-way GitHub, full source | credits | |
| 10Web | None, 7-day trial only | $10/mo (any paid plan) | Yes, genuine WordPress: SFTP, SSH, phpMyAdmin, backups | flat monthly | |
| Carrd | 3 sites, carrd.co subdomain, Carrd branding | $19/year (Pro Standard) | Yes, Site Downloads on Pro Plus ($49/yr) | flat annual | |
| Softr | 10 users, 5K records, 5 AI credits | Free tier | None | seats + records | |
| Glide | 1 editor, 25K rows | $199/mo (Business) | None | seats + rows | |
| Durable | Permanent: subdomain, 5 images/mo, 10 AI chats/mo, 10 CRM contacts | $22/mo (any paid plan) | None | flat monthly | |
| B12 | b12sites.com subdomain, 5 AI credits/day capped at 30/mo | Paid plan | None, lock-in vendor-confirmed | flat monthly | |
| Hostinger Horizons | 5 credits, one-shot | $13.99/mo (Starter); excluded on Free and Explorer | Yes, one-way ZIP. No GitHub, cannot re-import | credits |
Why the prices here cannot be compared directly
These tools bill in five mutually incomparable units: tokens (Bolt.new, v0), credits (Lovable, Base44, Hostinger Horizons), seats and records (Softr, Glide), flat monthly (Durable, B12, 10Web), and flat annual (Carrd). Any table claiming to rank them by "credits per dollar" is comparing quantities that do not convert. Lovable alone runs three distinct credit types.
The practical consequence: you cannot see what a prompt will cost before you send it, and failed attempts still bill. That is the single most common complaint across every one of these products.
What we could not confirm
Several vendors block automated checks, geo-lock their pricing, or render it in JavaScript. Rather than guess, those figures are marked. This is what is outstanding:
- Lovable: Dollar figures and credit mechanics are secondary. Lovable runs three distinct credit types and its own docs conflict with third-party descriptions; the model migrated away from message-based billing. Treat as unsettled until re-checked in a browser.
- Bolt.new: Export exists; the tier that unlocks it is not stated on the pricing page.
- v0: The $20 Premium tier is sunsetted and closed to new signups, confirmed in vendor FAQ.
- Framer: Pricing and free-tier limits verified. Code export status could NOT be confirmed on any official page; historically Framer has not offered it. Do not publish a claim either way until checked in a browser.
- 10Web: Advertised annual rates are 50%-off promotional; the non-promotional rate is undisclosed. Elementor dependency is inference, not vendor-stated.
- Carrd: Annual billing only. carrd.co/pricing is a 404; the live page is /pro. Carrd has no AI features, verified by absence.
- Durable: Tier names Starter/Business are stale; current tiers are Launch and Grow. durable.co now redirects to durable.com. Absence of export is confirmed by omission, not by an affirmative vendor statement.
- Hostinger Horizons: The one-way export limitation is vendor-documented verbatim. Vendor claims plans renew at intro price, which contradicts Hostinger pricing behaviour elsewhere; treat renewal pricing as unverified.
Related
If the question is specifically what you can do without paying, see free AI site builders: what "free" actually gets you, which ranks every free tier by what breaks first.
Head-to-head comparisons
Where a specific pair involves a real decision rather than a marginal preference, we have written it up in detail:
- Lovable vs Bolt.new: Bolt bills in tokens and shows you the meter.
- v0 vs Lovable: v0 is a UI generator that fits an existing repo through bi-directional GitHub sync.
- Bolt.new vs v0: Bolt generates and runs a full-stack app inside the browser.
- Base44 vs Lovable: Base44 puts a custom domain within reach at $16/month and includes a free domain for the first year.
- 10Web vs Durable: This is the clearest ownership contrast in the category.
- Softr vs Glide: Softr allows a custom domain on its free tier.
- Framer vs Carrd: Carrd's Pro Standard is $19 per year.
Sources
- Lovable lovable.dev · checked 2026-07-18
- Bolt.new bolt.new · checked 2026-07-18
- v0 v0.app · checked 2026-07-18
- Framer www.framer.com · checked 2026-07-18
- Base44 base44.com · checked 2026-07-18
- 10Web 10web.io · checked 2026-07-18
- Carrd carrd.co · checked 2026-07-18
- Softr www.softr.io · checked 2026-07-18
- Glide www.glideapps.com · checked 2026-07-18
- Durable durable.com · checked 2026-07-18
- B12 support.b12.io · checked 2026-07-18
- Hostinger Horizons www.hostinger.com · checked 2026-07-18
SearchAll.ai does not sell a site builder and is not affiliated with any tool listed here. Some outbound links are affiliate links, marked as sponsored. Affiliate status never affects ranking or the figures above. Corrections: the vendor page linked in each row is the authority, and we update when it changes.