--- url: /docs/getting-started/comparison/ai-app-builders.md description: >- Looking for a Lovable or Bolt alternative? Compare Luna Park with AI app builders: control, maintenance, backend, code ownership, and pricing model. --- # Luna Park vs AI app builders Looking for a **Lovable alternative** or a **Bolt alternative** that keeps you in control of your app? Luna Park uses AI to build visual logic you can read and edit, in a full-stack Vue and Node.js application that you own. AI app builders such as **Lovable** or **Bolt** generate a full application from a conversation. You describe what you want, the AI writes the code (usually React with a Supabase or similar backend), and you see the result in a few minutes. Luna Park also uses AI, but in a different way: the AI builds **visual logic that you can read and edit yourself**, instead of code you need to trust. ## At a glance ### Building | | Luna Park | AI app builders | |---|---|---| | **How you build** | Visual editor, with an AI assistant | Conversation with an AI | | **What the AI produces** | Components, visual logic graphs, routes, tables | TypeScript / React code | | **Editing without AI** | Visually, without knowing how to code | Only by editing the code | | **AI model** | Your choice: hosted provider, local model, or local agent | Chosen by the platform | ### Data and backend | | Luna Park | AI app builders | |---|---|---| | **Backend** | Built-in: routes, crons, PostgreSQL | Supabase or the platform's own backend | | **Database access** | Routes query PostgreSQL directly, on the same server | Often from the browser, through Supabase's HTTP API | ### Ownership and costs | | Luna Park | AI app builders | |---|---|---| | **Code ownership** | Readable Vue + Node.js code | Yes, often synced to GitHub | | **Hosting** | Anywhere | The platform, or your choice | | **Pricing model** | Fixed subscription, AI with your own key or local models (desktop) | Credits or tokens consumed by the AI ([Lovable](https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/plans-and-credits), [Bolt](https://support.bolt.new/best-practices/maximizing-token-efficiency)) | | **Platforms** | Web (single-page app, PWA), desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux), mobile (Android, iOS) | Mostly web | ::: info This comparison reflects our understanding of these tools as of October 2026. They evolve very fast: check their websites for current features and prices. ::: ## Where AI app builders are stronger * **Speed to a first version**: a working prototype in minutes, from a single prompt. * **No tool to learn**: you only need to describe what you want. * **Standard code**: the result is a common React project that any developer can take over. ## Where Luna Park is stronger ### You understand your app With an AI app builder, the app is code. As long as the AI gets it right, everything is fine. When it doesn't, or when the project grows, you need to read that code, or keep prompting and hope the next fix doesn't break something else. In Luna Park, everything the AI builds is visual: [components](../../fundamentals/interface/components), [logic graphs](../../fundamentals/logic/visual-scripting/introduction), [routes](../../fundamentals/data/routes), [tables](../../fundamentals/data/database). You can see what it did, understand it, and fix it yourself, without knowing how to code. ### AI that checks its work The [Sidekick](../sidekick-settings) does not only write files: it runs your backend routes and clicks through the live preview like a user to test what it built. Database and cookie changes made during these tests are rolled back. It shows the diff of each change, and its **Plan** and **Review** modes let it propose or inspect before touching anything. ### The database next to your logic Generated apps usually query Supabase from the browser, through its HTTP API. Each query is a network round trip, data access rules live in database policies, and complex queries end up in SQL functions or edge functions. In Luna Park, a [route](../../fundamentals/data/routes) runs on the same server as PostgreSQL and talks to it directly. One call from the interface can run several queries, with joins, aggregates, and [transactions](../../fundamentals/data/database#specialized-nodes), and your logic in between, protected by [guards](../../fundamentals/data/auth#protect-routes) you can read. ### Your AI, your costs AI app builders bill AI usage: Lovable [uses credits per message](https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/plans-and-credits), and Bolt [uses tokens](https://support.bolt.new/best-practices/maximizing-token-efficiency), which also cover the AI reading your project. In Luna Park, you connect the AI provider and model of your choice with your own key, use a local model in the desktop app, or let your own coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor...) work on the project through [MCP](../../integrations/ai-agents). And when you don't need AI, editing is free: you just use the editor. ### Built to be maintained Generated code tends to grow in every direction with each prompt. Luna Park projects follow a fixed structure ([project files](../../fundamentals/project-files)), typed data shared between frontend and backend, and a compiler that produces consistent code. Your app stays organized as it grows, whoever (or whatever) works on it. ## Things to know before switching * **Getting started takes longer.** You need to learn the editor and the basics of visual scripting (see [Is Luna Park right for me?](../target-users)). * **You host the backend.** Routes, database, and crons run on your own server (see [Self-hosting](../../deployment/deployment)). * **AI needs a provider.** Sidekick uses your own API key or a local model (see [Sidekick](../sidekick-settings#configure-a-provider)). ## Which one to choose? **Choose an AI app builder** to test an idea in an afternoon, or if you are a developer comfortable taking over the generated code. **Choose Luna Park** if you want the speed of AI without losing control: an app you can understand, modify, and maintain yourself as it grows.