Base44

What Is Base44?

Base44 is an AI-powered platform that lets you build full-stack web applications using natural language. You describe what you want, and the platform generates not just a UI but a working app with a backend behind it. Base44 automatically sets up the logic and infrastructure so your app works out of the box, including user logins, authentication, and data storage.

The pitch is straightforward: skip the scaffolding entirely. It is an all-in-one stack covering UI, database, auth, and hosting, all within Base44, with no external database or hosting required. That is the core differentiation from tools like Bolt, which give you a browser IDE but expect you to wire up your own backend.

Who It Is For

Base44 sits in an interesting middle ground. It is not purely aimed at non-technical people, even though non-coders can use it. Go with Base44 if you are a developer or technical founder who cares about flexibility, API integrations, and scaling real AI systems. That said, reviews highlight rapid prototyping, intuitive "vibe coding," and strong end-to-end flow, with many non-technical users shipping MVPs quickly.

The sweet spot is internal tooling, MVPs, and functional prototypes where you need something working fast. It struggles with complex business logic and custom requirements , so if you are building something with deep domain-specific workflow complexity, you will likely hit its ceiling.

Using proper developer terms in your prompts will improve your outcomes. You do not need to write code, but knowing what glassmorphism or role-based permissions actually means will get you better results faster.

Pricing

Base44 has four premium plans ranging from $16 to $160 per month billed annually, plus a limited free plan. Here is the breakdown:

The credit system becomes problematic when estimating monthly costs, making it hard to predict consumption patterns during planning phases. Message credits are spent on prompts that build or modify your app. Integration credits are used each time users of your app perform actions that require integrations, such as LLM calls, file uploads, email and SMS sends, and database querying. This dual-credit model is something to factor in carefully before committing to a tier.

One notable point: unlike Airtable, which charges per user and limits records and automation, Base44 allows unlimited apps across all paid tiers , which makes the flat monthly pricing genuinely attractive for teams building multiple internal tools.

Strengths

The platform's biggest strength is genuine speed from idea to deployed app. Base44 was acquired by Wix for $80M, and with Wix's infrastructure and ecosystem, users can expect ongoing development, reliability, and deeper integrations going forward. That acquisition also addresses one concern common with newer dev tools: whether the platform will still exist in two years.

On paid plans, Base44 allows you to choose between AI models like Claude 3.5 and GPT-4o, and also offers a GitHub integration. Being able to swap models is a practical advantage when a particular model handles your type of app better.

Limitations

The most significant concern for developers is vendor lock-in. For a platform that builds applications, the lack of full backend export is a notable issue. While Base44 allows you to export front-end code on paid plans, the critical backend and database components are not exportable.

You can export a ZIP or push to GitHub, but it is unclear how you would migrate the database if you later move off the platform. Vendor lock-in risk means convenience now might cost flexibility later.

The platform also lacks end-to-end testing for debugging, so you need to manually test every function, a time-consuming process that can miss edge cases. And complex prompts burn through monthly message credits very quickly , which can make the cost unpredictable on larger builds.

Bottom Line

Base44 delivers on its core promise: get a working, hosted, auth-enabled app from a text description in under an hour. For internal tools, quick MVPs, or proof-of-concept work, it is hard to beat the speed. The credit model and backend lock-in are real constraints, and serious production workloads with complex requirements will push against its limits. But for the use cases it targets, it is genuinely capable and increasingly stable with Wix's backing.