Last updated: 2026-08-24
Bolt.new is StackBlitz's AI app builder, launched in 2024, that turns plain-English prompts into full-stack React, Vite, or Expo projects. Its differentiator is WebContainers: a browser-native Node.js runtime that fetches packages, builds the project, and returns a working preview, with no local setup or remote build server needed.
About Bolt.new
Bolt.new is StackBlitz's AI-powered, browser-based full-stack development platform. StackBlitz was founded in San Francisco in 2017 by Eric Simons and Albert Pai, and has raised $135 million in total funding, including a $105 million Series B in January 2025 led by Emergence Capital and GV. Bolt.new itself launched in 2024, shortly after Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet made zero-shot code generation reliable enough to power a prompt-to-app product, and the platform has since moved to Claude Opus 4.6. An open-source fork, bolt.diy, lets developers run the same prompt-to-app workflow with any LLM of their choice. What separates Bolt.new from most AI code generators is WebContainers, StackBlitz's technology for running a complete Node.js environment inside the browser tab itself. Generated code does not sit in a static sandbox file tree: it actually compiles, executes, and serves a running preview, so a project behaves the same way it would on a local machine without ever leaving the tab.
Pricing
Free plan: $0/month, 1M tokens/month (300K daily cap), Bolt branding, 10MB uploads. Pro: $25/month, 10M tokens/month, no daily cap, custom domains, SEO tools, AI image editing, removed branding, 100MB uploads. Teams: $30/member/month, adds centralized billing, admin controls, and private NPM registry. Enterprise: custom pricing with SSO, audit logs, and dedicated support. Annual billing saves up to 28%, and unused tokens roll over on paid plans.
Key Features
- Prompt-to-app generation in WebContainers: Describe an app in plain English and Bolt generates a full React or Vite project that installs dependencies and runs a live preview entirely inside the browser, no local environment needed.
- Bolt Cloud backend bundle: Adds built-in databases, authentication, file storage, edge functions, analytics, and hosting so prototypes can connect to a real backend without setting up Supabase or Firebase separately.
- MCP Connectors: Built-in MCP connectors for GitHub, Notion, Linear, Jira, Sentry, Miro, Granola, and Context7 give the AI live access to your tools during a build, plus support for custom remote MCP servers.
- Figma import: Drop a Figma design directly into the chat so the AI builds from a pixel-accurate visual reference instead of a text description alone.
- Agentic error recovery: When a build fails, the agent reads the error output and attempts a fix automatically before the user has to intervene, a core addition in Bolt v2 (October 2025).
- Team Templates: Turn an existing project into a reusable starter so new builds inherit the same structure, dependencies, and conventions across a team.
Pros
- Goes from a text prompt to a deployed Netlify URL with no local setup, environment configuration, or installs required.
- Solo builders can try a real prototype on the free plan without ever entering a credit card.
- The built-in MCP connectors read live project context from tools like GitHub and Linear during a build, something most one-shot app generators skip.
Cons
- Token costs scale fast: complex apps can consume 80,000-150,000 tokens per generation, and one reported authentication bug fix burned over 20 million tokens, pushing many users to $50-200/month plans.
- Small edits can trigger full-file rewrites that break unrelated parts of the app, the most common complaint across 182 Trustpilot reviews.
- No published HIPAA or ISO 27001 certification; only StackBlitz's platform-level SOC 2 covers the product.
- Can generate React Native/Expo code but cannot run EAS builds or ship signed binaries, since WebContainers cannot run Xcode or Android Studio.
Data Handling
- Compliance
- SOC 2 (StackBlitz platform-level)
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Bolt.new cost in 2026?
Bolt.new has four tiers: a token-metered Free plan with Bolt's branding kept on generated sites, a Pro plan that removes that branding and adds custom domains plus SEO tools, Teams at $30 per member a month, and a custom-priced Enterprise plan with SSO and audit logs. Annual billing on Pro and Teams saves up to 28%.
Does Bolt.new have a free plan?
Yes, and it needs no credit card. The free tier includes 1 million tokens a month, capped at 300,000 per day, generated sites carry Bolt's branding, and uploads are capped at 10MB. There's no separate trial: the free plan itself has no time limit, only the token allowance, which resets daily and monthly.
What should you use instead of Bolt.new?
Lovable is the closest rival: it targets a similar prompt-to-app workflow but layers on a more visual, drag-and-drop editing experience for non-technical builders. v0 by Vercel fits teams already deployed on Vercel who want polished frontend components rather than a full backend. Replit is the pick for developers who want one browser-based coding environment across many languages, not just a disposable app prototype.
What separates Bolt.new from Lovable?
Both turn a plain-English prompt into a working React app, but Bolt.new's edge is WebContainers, which builds and previews the whole project live inside the browser tab itself rather than on a remote server. Lovable instead syncs every change straight to a connected GitHub repository automatically and ships a more polished drag-and-drop visual editor for non-technical users. Bolt.new is the better pick if you want to touch generated code sooner; Lovable is the better pick if automatic version control and visual editing matter more.
How long does it take to get going with Bolt.new?
Go to bolt.new and sign in with GitHub or email; the free tier needs no credit card. Type a plain-English description of the app you want in the chat box, and within seconds Bolt has a React or Vite project scaffolded with a working preview visible in the tab. From there, connect an MCP Connector like GitHub or Linear, drop in a Figma file for a visual reference, or keep prompting to refine the build before deploying to Netlify.
Top Alternatives
- Lovable: Pick Lovable if you want automatic GitHub sync and a more polished visual editor over Bolt's deeper in-browser dev environment.
- v0: Pick v0 if you're a Vercel-based team that wants polished frontend components rather than a full-stack app generator.
- Replit: Pick Replit if you want a persistent collaborative cloud IDE across 50+ languages instead of Bolt's disposable browser prototypes.
HokAI guides covering Bolt.new
- Best AI App Builder in 2026: Pick by What You're Building: HokAI tracks 28 AI app builders priced $0 to $36,300 a year under one label. Here is how to pick by native mobile, web, or enterprise output, not by ranking.
- Best AI Website Design Tools in 2026: Framer, Durable, 10Web and the Line Between Them: Framer, Durable and 10Web build AI-native websites; Wix and Squarespace bolt AI onto templates. Compare pricing, credits and when an app builder fits better.
- The Best AI for Designing UI in 2026, and When Figma Still Wins: AI UI/UX design tools split into two camps in 2026: Figma AI speeds up an existing workflow, while Stitch, v0 and Bolt.new skip design software entirely.