Search "Base44 vs Bolt" or "Bolt vs Base44" and you land on two builders making opposite bets. Base44 bets you want the platform to do more: permissions down to the field, connectors already built, single sign-on for staff. Bolt bets you want fewer walls: import from Figma or GitHub, run your own Supabase, deploy through Netlify, ship to the app stores through Expo. Neither bet is wrong, and which one suits you is decided by who ends up using the software.
Base44 goes deep inside its own model rather than wide across other people's. The data layer is an entity system defined in JSON Schema, and what you get for accepting it is access control the platform enforces at two levels -- which records a person can reach, and which fields within them they can see. Around that sit serverless functions triggered by schedules, database events or connector webhooks, and a catalogue of connectors covering Slack, Google Workspace, Snowflake, Databricks, Gmail, Resend and ElevenLabs that you configure rather than write. Enterprise workspaces add OIDC single sign-on through Okta or Microsoft Entra ID plus SCIM provisioning. Template stacks include React via Vite, Vue, Solid, Refine, Hono and React Native, and in-app AI can be pointed at your own OpenAI, Claude, Groq or Mistral account. The trade is consistent throughout: more supplied, fewer ways out. Base44 has been owned by Wix since 2025.
Bolt's distinguishing feature is the number of doors it leaves open. It is one of the very few builders that will start from something you already have, importing from Figma and from GitHub rather than insisting on a blank prompt, across four documented project types: website, app, prototype and slides. Bolt Cloud is the first-party backend, documented as covering databases, authentication, file storage, secrets, security, email, server functions, user management, hosting with analytics, and domains including purchase, DNS and certificates -- but Supabase is documented as a supported alternative to Bolt Database, and Netlify as an alternative to Bolt hosting, so either half of the stack can be swapped out. Expo is the documented route to publishing on the app stores. Model selection is automatic, routed per task to balance quality against cost, and the meter is tokens rather than credits.
| Feature | Base44 | Bolt | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start from something you already haveMost builders in this category only start from a prompt. Bolt starting from a design file or a repository is genuinely unusual. | Not documented | Import from Figma and from GitHub | Bolt |
| Swap the databaseA documented alternative to the built-in database is a meaningful hedge, because the data layer is the hardest part to move later. | Base44 entities, and only those | Bolt Database or your own Supabase project | Bolt |
| Choose where it deploysBolt lets you publish through its own hosting or take deployment somewhere else without rewriting the app. | Base44 hosting | Bolt hosting or Netlify | Bolt |
| Publishing to the app storesBolt covers the part that usually causes trouble -- store submission -- rather than only the part that writes mobile code. | React Native template | Expo, documented through to store publishing | Bolt |
| Field-level permissionsBase44 documents field-level rules as a platform capability, which is the difference between hiding a record and hiding one column in it. | Rules covering records and individual fields | Bolt Cloud security plus your own code | Base44 |
| Business system connectorsFor a tool that has to read a warehouse table or post to a channel, Base44 starts with that already built. | Slack, Google Workspace, Snowflake, Databricks, Resend | Server functions you write in Bolt Cloud | Base44 |
| Sign-in for staff (SSO and SCIM)Base44 publishes an explicit enterprise identity story. Bolt's public documentation does not cover single sign-on or provisioning. | OIDC via Okta or Entra ID, plus SCIM | Not publicly documented | Base44 |
| Who picks the modelAutomatic routing removes a decision and is genuinely convenient. Your own account gives you control over who bills you. Which is better depends on whether you want the choice. | Your own key, for what the app does | Routed automatically per task | Tie |
| Unused allowanceBolt documents rollover for one additional month, valid up to two months in total, and it requires an active paid subscription. | Credits reset without carrying over | Unused tokens carry into the following month | Bolt |
| How the meter worksNeither unit maps cleanly onto "one feature", so neither tells you what something costs until you have built it once. | Message credits to build, integration credits at runtime | Tokens, with a daily ceiling on the free plan | Tie |
| GitHub integrationBolt documents the broader GitHub feature set, including organisation-level access controls. | Connect for version control and local work | Version control, backup, branch sync, org access controls | Bolt |
| Frontend stack choiceThey offer breadth along different axes -- Base44 across frameworks, Bolt across the kind of artefact you are producing. | React via Vite, Vue, Solid, Refine, Hono, React Native | Four project types: website, app, prototype, slides | Tie |
| IndependenceRelevant if platform independence forms part of your risk assessment. | Owned by Wix since 2025 | Independent (StackBlitz) | Bolt |
Tokens against credits is mostly a presentation difference: neither unit tells you what a given feature will cost until you have built something similar once. Two things underneath the labels do matter. The first is rollover. Bolt documents unused tokens carrying into the following month -- for one additional month, valid up to two months in total, and only while a paid subscription is active -- which is better than a pool that simply expires, though it is a short reprieve rather than a bank. The second is the second meter. Base44 charges message credits while you build and integration credits for what the deployed application does, so its bill keeps moving in a month when you write nothing at all. Bolt Cloud usage deserves the same scrutiny before you assume the token allowance is the entire cost. Both vendors changed their published rates during 2026, so treat any figure you read elsewhere, including in older comparisons, as a starting point for checking rather than as a fact.
Bolt hedges lock-in by offering alternatives -- another database, another host, another starting point. Fabricate takes the same instinct further and simply hands over the code: React with Vite and a Hono API on Cloudflare Workers, downloadable in full. The scope is narrower and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. There is no Figma import, no Expo route to the app stores, no Vue or Solid, and no way to start from a repository you already own. If any of those is on your list, Bolt is the better fit and you should pick it.
Compare Fabricate and Supabase. Full-stack AI app builder vs backend-as-a-service. Find out which is right for your proj...
Read moreCompare Fabricate and Retool. AI app builder vs internal tool builder. See which is right for dashboards, admin panels, ...
Read moreCompare Fabricate and Vercel. Full-stack AI app builder vs deployment platform. See which is right for building and ship...
Read moreSee how Fabricate stacks up against every major tool.
Read moreDescribe your idea and get a deployed full-stack app in minutes.
Read moreFabricate builds complete full-stack applications with AI. Database, authentication, and deployment included. Start free today.