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AI App Builders Comparison

Bolt.new vs. Thunkable

At a glance

At a glance

Bolt.new

Best for

Best for quickly validating an idea with a working full-stack prototype.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized

Thunkable

Best for

Best for solo makers and small teams that want to describe a mobile app, then refine it visually or in code and publish it to both stores.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.

Full Comparison

Criterion Bolt.new Thunkable
Starting price Free tier; paid credits above The free limits are reached quickly. Free plan; paid from $18 / month Billed yearly; billed monthly the same plans cost $19, $59 and $189. Every plan carries a monthly AI token allowance, from 2,000 on Free to 100,000 on Advanced. Enterprise and education plans are quoted on request.
Free trial Free tier Free plan with 3 public projects, 5 screens per project and no published apps
Commercial use Yes Not stated
Output Full-stack app in the browser, with automatic hosting Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, published from one project
What it generates Full-stack app, built and run in the browser through StackBlitz WebContainers Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, generated from a written description by the AI Builder and then editable screen by screen
Stack and frameworks Multi-framework Drag-and-drop designer with blocks, plus a built-in code editor for direct edits alongside the AI
Auth and database Not out of the box, needs external services Local tables, Google Sheets, Airtable, Webflow, the Firebase Realtime Database and Cloudinary; user sign-in through the Firebase Authentication REST API
Hosting and deploy Yes, automatic hosting, prompt to deploy Published from the platform to the Apple App Store, Google Play and the web on a custom domain, with TestFlight for iOS beta builds
Payments Yes, Stripe for one-time payments and subscriptions, via Supabase or Bolt Database Yes, in-app purchases through RevenueCat, plus AdMob for advertising
Access to the code Yes, download the project as a zip or push it to GitHub Compiled builds rather than a repository: downloading an Android app sends an APK by email, and publishing sends an AAB to upload to the Play Store. No source-code export or Git sync is documented, so edits stay in the builder
Deployment Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
Support Not stated Chat, Community forum
Onboarding Not stated Documentation and knowledge base
Company size Freelancers, Small and mid-sized more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
Integrations Not stated Firebase, Google Sheets, Airtable, Webflow, Cloudinary, OpenAI, Google Maps, Google Translate, RevenueCat, AdMob, OneSignal

Compare more tools

Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.

The short version

Key Differences

  • Starting price Bolt.new Free tier; paid credits above Thunkable Free plan; paid from $18 / month
  • Free trial Bolt.new Free tier Thunkable Free plan with 3 public projects, 5 screens per project and no published apps
  • Company size Bolt.new Freelancers, Small and mid-sized Thunkable Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
  • Output Bolt.new Full-stack app in the browser, with automatic hosting Thunkable Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, published from one project
  • What it generates Bolt.new Full-stack app, built and run in the browser through StackBlitz WebContainers Thunkable Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, generated from a written description by the AI Builder and then editable screen by screen

Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.

The trade-offs

Strengths and Limitations

Bolt.new

Strengths

  • No setup, seamless prompt to deploy
  • Multi-framework flexibility
  • Great for quick idea validation

Limitations

  • Database and auth are not out of the box, they need external services
  • Costs rise with larger codebases
  • Free limits are reached quickly

Thunkable

Strengths

  • AI Builder turns a written description into a working, fully editable project
  • One project publishes to iOS, Android and the web
  • Visual blocks and a built-in code editor sit side by side, so edits are not limited to prompting
  • Documented data sources and integrations cover Firebase, Google Sheets, Airtable, OpenAI, RevenueCat and more

Limitations

  • The free plan has no private projects and no published apps
  • Every plan meters AI use by token allowance
  • Live published apps are capped below the Advanced plan
  • Private projects fall back to read-only if the subscription lapses

Plans

Pricing

Bolt.new

  • Free $0 Limits are reached quickly.
  • Credits Not stated
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Thunkable

  • Free $0 2,000 AI tokens per month, 3 public projects, 5 screens per project. No private projects and no published apps.
  • Accelerator $18 Per month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly). 20,000 AI tokens, 5 public and 1 private project, 10 screens per project.
  • Builder $37 Per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly). 50,000 AI tokens, unlimited public projects, 10 private projects, unlimited screens, 1 live published app, custom branding.
  • Advanced $99 Per month, billed yearly ($189 billed monthly). 100,000 AI tokens, unlimited private projects and unlimited live published apps, priority support.
  • Enterprise Not stated Quoted on request, for teams. A separate education plan covers students, teachers and districts.
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What users say

Review Scores · opens after launch

Bolt.new

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Thunkable

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Where this comes from

Where this comes from

Bolt.new https://bolt.new · no check date recorded yet

Thunkable https://thunkable.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-12

This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.