AI can now write code for you, or build a whole app from a description. Many of these tools have free plans, but the limits work very differently. We checked the official pricing pages of four popular options on October 25, 2026.
At a glance
- Bolt: 1M tokens a month (max 300K a day), no card required.
- Lovable: 5 build credits a day, up to 30 a month, plus 20 Cloud credits a month.
- GitHub Copilot: free plan with limited chat and agent usage.
- Claude: free plan with usage limits, no card needed.
For building an app without coding: Bolt or Lovable
Bolt describes its free plan as “free forever, no card required”. You get 1 million tokens a month, with a daily cap of 300,000, plus a 10MB file upload limit. Tokens measure how much text the AI reads and writes, so a big app with many changes uses them faster. Pro costs $18 a month billed yearly for 10 million tokens.
Lovable counts in credits instead. Free users get a daily grant of 5 build credits, up to 30 a month, plus 20 Cloud credits a month for hosting. Each message to Lovable costs credits depending on how complex the request is. Lovable also notes that plan credits expire and are not refundable.
Which is more generous? For a small prototype, both are enough. Bolt’s allowance is easier to stretch across a few long sessions; Lovable’s daily grant suits a little building every day.
For developers: GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot works inside your code editor and on GitHub. The free plan offers limited chat and agent usage; heavier features such as agent mode, code review and the command-line tool consume GitHub AI Credits. Pro costs $10 a month.
For explaining and writing code in chat: Claude
Claude’s free plan is open to everyone, with usage limits that reset over time. It is useful for explaining errors, writing scripts and reviewing code you paste in. Pro costs $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly.
Tips to make free limits last
- Plan your app in plain text first, then ask for it in one clear request rather than many small ones.
- Start a new chat for each feature; long conversations use more tokens. See what a context window is.
- Test the generated app yourself. AI-written code can have bugs and security gaps.
Browse all AI coding tools with their current free limits.
Sources
- GitHub Copilot pricing — GitHub Copilot
- Bolt pricing — Bolt
- Lovable pricing — Lovable
- Claude pricing — Claude