Lovable

Our verdict on Lovable

Lovable is, for us, a way to get an idea on screen fast. Jordan has filed it next to Bolt for front-end demos since our first episode, and later next to Replit for apps you plan to throw away. By April 2026 we had mostly stopped using it, and the guests who brought it up said the hard part is moving from a Lovable prototype to production.

A plain note on evidence: none of the builds we documented on the show lists Lovable in its stack. This page is our framework for when to reach for it and what founders and guests told us, not a walkthrough of a Lovable build.

What we built with Lovable

Very little that made it to air. In Episode 38 (at 15:09), Sam looked back on early demos built with Bolt and Lovable that we had stopped using. Our documented builds went elsewhere: small tools with a backend to Replit, AI-powered demos to Google AI Studio, and bigger software to Claude Code and OpenAI Codex.

Lovable still shows up indirectly. Jordan first saw Remotion used as a video editing library in the early days of vibe coding with Lovable and Bolt, which later led to our recruiter video editor (Episode 36, at 10:15). In Episode 2, he named Bolt and Lovable among the AI tools that cut our own Figma use.

Back in the day, we've demoed things we've built on Bolt and Lovable that, you know, we're not really using anymore.

— Sam Nadler, Episode 38

How we use Lovable

These are the rules we follow when choosing Lovable or a tool like it, taken from what we said on air:

1. Use it for front-end demos. Jordan's rule in Episode 1 (at 20:04): for a product demo or a front end for a product team, Bolt or Lovable; for anything needing an API, database or auth, Replit.
2. Keep it to short-lived apps. In Episode 38 Jordan put Lovable in the bucket for apps that need a quick database and will be thrown away.
3. If the app needs AI, plan the plumbing. In Episode 19 (at 13:30) Jordan pointed out that adding AI in Bolt or Lovable means building a backend, picking an API and handing over a key. For that kind of app, he now starts in Google AI Studio.
4. Talk instead of typing. Jordan dictates prompts with Wispr Flow and called it great for vibe coding in Cursor, Bolt or Lovable (Episode 1, at 32:24).
5. Plan the exit to a real codebase. If the prototype is worth keeping, expect to move it to Cursor or a coding agent for the last mile.

Where Lovable falls short

• Production. Hooman Radfar, co-founder of Collective, said the most common complaint from his founder friends is that moving a Lovable app into production is hard.
• Not yet part of the stack. Later in the same episode, Hooman said tools like Lovable and Replit still have to move from something everyone tries to something that is actually part of a company's stack.
• AI features take extra work. Unlike AI Studio, you wire up the model API yourself.

Like, Lovable, for example, one of my favorite complaints from all my fellow founders is, yeah, it's great for setting up ideas, but then moving into production is hard.

— Hooman Radfar, Episode 14

Guests also use Lovable as a reference point. Autonomy AI's Adir Ben-Yehuda said his app's interface will feel familiar from Bolt or Lovable, and that his 10-year-old son keeps building things on Lovable. David Petrou placed his product between low-level tools like Claude Code and someone who would use Lovable. We did not discuss Lovable's pricing on the show.

Lovable compared

• Cursor vs Lovable: Lovable to set up the idea, Cursor for the last mile to production.
• Google AI Studio vs Lovable: AI Studio wins for apps with AI features because Gemini is already built in.
• Bolt vs Replit: the same split applies to Lovable; front-end demos versus apps with a backend.

Episodes featuring Lovable

• Episode 1: Jordan's first tool-picking rule.
• Episode 14: Hooman on the prototype-to-production gap.
• Episode 19: why AI Studio is a step up for apps with AI.
• Episode 38: where Lovable sits in Jordan's framework now.
• Episode 43: Autonomy AI and a 10-year-old Lovable builder.

FAQ

What is Lovable good for?

Getting an idea up quickly. Jordan groups it with Bolt for front-end product demos, and with Replit for apps that need a quick database and will be thrown away.

Can you build a production app with Lovable?

Collective's Hooman Radfar said his founder friends find Lovable great for setting up ideas but hard to move into production, and they often move over to Cursor for that last mile.

Lovable vs Google AI Studio: which is better for AI features?

Jordan said AI Studio is a step up when your app needs AI, because Gemini is already built in. In Lovable or Bolt you have to set up a backend, choose an API and supply a key yourself.

Do you still use Lovable?

Not much. In April 2026 Sam said we were not really using Bolt and Lovable anymore; throwaway demos now go to Google AI Studio and real software to Claude Code or Codex.