Lovable or Base44: which should an Australian founder use to build an app with AI?
Pick Lovable when you start from a design or a developer will take the code on: it imports Figma and screenshots, builds on a Supabase database and puts your own domain on any paid plan. Pick Base44 when the app must talk to Gmail, Slack, HubSpot or Stripe and your operations team will run it; it too puts your own domain on any paid plan.
Both build a working application rather than a brochure site, both price as a base plan plus metered AI credits, and both bill Australian customers in US dollars. The split is what sits around the AI: a designer-and-developer workflow on one side, a business-tools workflow on the other. If what you need is a brochure site, read Durable vs Wix instead.
Plans and pricing checked October 2026, and every figure below is read live from our pricing database and checked against each vendor's own pricing page. The table and calculator rank on published prices only, and we may earn a commission if you buy through our links, which never changes the order.
Lovable vs Base44 pricing: the subscription is a floor
Lovable's entry paid plan is $35/mo (Pro) and Base44's is $28/mo (Starter). Both bill month to month with no lock-in: the billing basis row reads True monthly for Lovable and True monthly for Base44, and the contract row reads None and None.
The meter is where they differ. Lovable's AI usage row reads 100/mo on Pro and on Business. Base44's reads 25 message credits/mo (Free) to 1,200 (Elite), and on Base44 the monthly message allowance is the real constraint. The domain does not split them: Base44's Custom domain row reads Starter plan and above and Lovable's reads Paid plans only, so on either an app on your own domain lands on a paid plan from the first rung. What Base44 does hold back for its Builder plan and above is the model selector and the GitHub sync.
The calculator takes Websites (set it to the number of apps you plan to run), Users, Own domain and Sell online?. Leave Own domain on Yes and each estimate drops the free plan and moves to the first paid plan that fits your other inputs; the Custom domain rows carry each vendor's own wording. Treat both estimates as a floor: the AI is metered on top, building is iterative, and the plan you need depends on how often you rebuild.
What each one builds
Both sit on the application side of this category. In each vendor's own words, the AI does Builds custom websites and web apps by chat (Lovable) and Builds full-stack apps and websites by chat (Base44). Backend and database: Full-stack: Supabase (Postgres) + auth for Lovable, Yes, full-stack (database + auth + payments) for Base44.
The starting point is where they part. Lovable has no template gallery (templates: None, output is generated) but takes a design in (design import: Figma + image import). Base44 starts you from Community app templates gallery, and its design import row reads No. A business with a brand guide and a designer feels that on day one; one that wants an internal tool by Friday may prefer a template.
- Online store: Lovable Buildable, including payments, Base44 Buildable, payments included
- Team members: Lovable Unlimited on every plan, Base44 Multi-user editing on every plan
- Storage: Lovable Included in the credit grant, Base44 Cloud storage included
Buildable is the honest word on the store row: neither hands you a checkout, both let you build one with payments wired in, and a checkout means order state, refunds and failed payments.
Who is each one built for
Lovable's integrations (Stripe, Supabase, GitHub, custom APIs) are a developer's list: a payment processor, a database, a code host and any API you point it at. That suits a founder with a technical co-founder, or a contractor waiting to take over.
Base44's integrations (Gmail, Slack, Notion, Google Drive, HubSpot, Salesforce, Stripe) are an operations list: inbox, chat, notes, file store, CRMs and a payment processor. That suits an internal tool, a client portal or a booking flow that has to drop a record into HubSpot or ping a Slack channel.
Support follows the same split: Community and email for Lovable, Premium support on Elite for Base44. Community and email suits a founder who can read an error message. A business whose client portal takes the bookings wants to know which plan carries a faster answer.
The AI model, and whether you can change it
Lovable runs on Anthropic Claude and lets you move between tiers (Choose your AI: Yes, Claude tiers (Sonnet/Opus)), but not to another vendor's model. Base44 makes the model a plan feature (AI model: Selectable (model select on Builder+); Choose your AI: Yes, model selector (Builder+)), so not every subscriber gets the selector.
This matters when the generator sticks on the one feature you need. A different model is a lever where your plan offers one; check what it does to your credit use before you lean on it.
Custom domain, export and what you keep
Neither free plan carries your own domain: Lovable's free plan row reads Yes, 5 lovable.app domains, no custom domain and Base44's reads Yes, up to 5 apps, no custom domain. An app on a vendor subdomain cannot sit on an invoice next to your ABN, so treat both as a way to test the tool. From the first paid plan both carry your own domain, so the row that separates them is Export, not Custom domain.
- Sites per plan: Lovable Unlimited on paid plans, Base44 Unlimited apps on paid plans (5 on Free)
- Export: Lovable Yes, GitHub sync, Base44 Yes, two-way GitHub sync (Builder+)
- Hosting: Lovable Yes, covered by the credit grant, Base44 Yes, production infrastructure
Both export to GitHub, and Base44's two-way sync starts on its Builder plan, so neither traps the code; what differs is what the code needs to run. Lovable's database is Supabase (Postgres), and its hosting row says running the app draws on the same credit grant as building it. Base44's backend is integrated into its platform, so an exported app is more work to re-home. If the app is the business, read Export and Backend before the price.
Paying in US dollars, GST and where the customer data lives
Neither bills in Australian dollars (local pricing: No, US dollars only for Lovable, No, US dollars only for Base44), so the table converts at a recorded rate and the amount on your card moves with the exchange rate. Many Australian business cards add an international transaction fee that never appears on the vendor's invoice. An overseas vendor may also add GST unless you give it your ABN, so check the first invoice.
The bigger question is the data. An app holds customer records, logins and possibly payments, and you are responsible for them. Whether the Privacy Act binds your business depends on turnover and what you do with the data, and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme follows where it applies, so read the OAIC's small business guidance before launch. Ask both vendors where the database is hosted before you store a customer record: Lovable's sits in Supabase (Postgres), so ask which region; Base44's is integrated, so ask Base44.
The verdict
Decide on one question: when the app is finished, who maintains it? If a developer, use Lovable. The code lands in GitHub, the database is Postgres on Supabase, and your own domain comes with the first paid plan. If your operations team, use Base44. Its integrations are the tools they already open, a template shortens the first week, your own domain also comes with the first paid plan, and the model selector and GitHub sync start on its Builder plan. Set Websites to the number of apps you plan to run, leave Own domain on Yes, and compare the plans the calculator lands on. Neither figure is a total: the AI meter sits on top of both, and so does the exchange rate.