Minute Verdict
Base44 turns a written description into a working app, website or AI agent, with the database, the login, the hosting and a way to take payments already in place, from $20 a month. It is a fair buy for a solo founder or a small business owner who needs a tool with real users in a week and has no one to run a server. It is not for a team buying seats, and not for a buyer who needs a fixed cost per build.
Best for: a solo builder shipping a first app with logins, data and payments. Not for: a team that needs a per seat price or a build cost it can forecast. From: $20/mo billed monthly, or $16/mo billed yearly, checked November 5, 2026
What Base44 does
You describe the app, Base44 builds it. The builder generates the screens, the data model, the user accounts and the deployment, then keeps changing them while you chat with it. The result is a running application on a Base44 address, which can move to a custom domain, not a mockup to hand to a developer.
The backend is the part that separates it from a form builder. Every project gets a database with row level security, Google sign in, file storage, server side functions, realtime sync and one click hosting, on one account and one credit wallet. The developer side is documented: any frontend framework works, server code runs as TypeScript functions on Deno, and a command line tool, npx base44, scaffolds, syncs and deploys a project from a terminal or from an AI coding agent such as Claude Code and Cursor.
Around the builder, Base44 sells Superagents, agents that connect to a mailbox, a calendar or a CRM and take actions on their own, plus an SEO dashboard, a social content generator and an analytics panel inside the app. The company belongs to Wix: the copyright line on its own site reads Wix.com Ltd., and the about page says the momentum of Base44 caught Wix’s attention and that it now builds with Wix’s support.
On this page
What you get for the money
Every price below was read on the pricing page on November 5, 2026, in both billing views.
| Plan | Price | What is included | The limit that matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | No charge | 25 message credits and 100 integration credits a month, core features, up to 5 apps | 25 messages a month is a trial, not a workflow |
| Starter | $20 a month, or $16 billed yearly | 100 message credits, 2,000 integration credits, unlimited apps, custom domain | No AI model select, and the free domain only comes with yearly billing |
| Builder | $50 a month, or $40 billed yearly | 250 message credits, 10,000 integration credits, AI model select, GitHub integration | Two rounds of feature work can spend the monthly allowance |
| Pro | $100 a month, or $80 billed yearly | 500 message credits, 20,000 integration credits, early access to beta features | Twice the Builder price buys twice the credits, not a new capability |
| Elite | $200 a month, or $160 billed yearly | 1,200 message credits, 50,000 integration credits, premium support | Ten times the Starter price, for a builder who may not need priority support |
Starter is the reference at $20 a month: 100 message credits, unlimited apps, a custom domain and the whole backend. Twelve months at that rate cost $240, against $192 if the year is paid up front, so yearly billing saves a fifth of the bill. Builder at $50 adds the model select and 150 more messages a month, Pro at $100 doubles the credits again, and Elite at $200 is the tier with premium support. Anyone comparing the two billing views should note that the free domain for a year and the 25 credits to share with a friend are listed on the yearly cards only.
Where it falls short
- The meter is credits per account, and Base44 publishes no price per credit and no usage table. Base44 states that usage varies with the action and the model, so the cost of a build past the included allowance cannot be worked out before it starts.
- Starter carries 100 message credits a month. A build with several screens and a round of corrections spends that, and the next tier is $50 a month.
- AI model select and GitHub integration start on Builder. On Starter the builder picks the model for you.
- The free domain for a year is tied to yearly billing, and the monthly view drops it.
- Enterprise is quote only. Single sign on, custom credits and an account team have no published price, so a company that needs an invoice has to talk to sales.
Base44 alternatives
Base44 sits between the builders that write the whole app from a chat and the editors where an agent writes code next to you.
- Emergent builds and hosts the same kind of full-stack app from a chat, at $20 a month or $17 a month billed yearly, with 100 credits a month and a free tier of 10 (Emergent review).
- Cursor is the code first route: from $8 a month on Plus, or $30 a month on Premium for four times the usage, for a builder who writes part of the app and lets the agent write the rest (Cursor review).
- Lovable builds the same kind of full-stack app from a description, at $25 a month for 100 credits or $21 a month billed yearly, and it is the closest match for a builder who wants the database and the logins generated with the screens (Lovable review).
Who it is for: Base44
Base44 fits the person who has an app in their head and no one to build it. A running club that needs a members area, a shop that needs an order tracker, a consultant who wants a client portal with logins: these are the jobs where paying $20 a month and describing the app beats waiting for a developer or assembling five services. It also fits a builder coming from a form tool who has hit the point where data, accounts and payments have to live somewhere, because the backend and the hosting come with the plan.
It fits less well as a team purchase. There is no seat price, the credits belong to the account, and the model select sits two tiers above the entry plan. A studio billing several clients will hit the allowance on Pro at $100 a month, and a company that needs single sign on has to ask for a quote. A buyer who wants a fixed price per app, agreed before the work starts, will not find it here.
How we checked
Base44’s pricing page, homepage, developer page, about page and affiliate page were read on November 5, 2026, and the pricing page was read twice, once in each billing view. Every price, quota and inclusion on this page comes from those pages. We did not buy a plan or build an app, so nothing here is a test of what the builder ships. A hands on review will follow once the $20 Starter plan has been paid for and the same app built on it and on its alternatives.
What to do next
Start on the free plan and spend its 25 message credits on one small app with a login and a table, which is enough to see how the builder reads a description and how far the first version lands from it. If the result holds, take Starter at $20 a month rather than the yearly price: the monthly plan costs $240 over a year against $192, but it can be left after one cycle, and it is the cheaper way to find out whether 100 message credits cover the work. Move to Builder only when the model select matters and 100 credits a month run out before the app is finished. The glossary entry on credits explains how metered plans of this kind are billed, and the deals page lists the tools with a verified code, which Base44 does not have.
FAQ
How much does Base44 cost? Paid plans run from $20 a month on Starter, or $16 a month billed yearly, to $200 a month on Elite, or $160 a month billed yearly. The free plan costs nothing and carries 25 message credits a month. Prices checked November 5, 2026.
Is there a free plan? Yes. It needs no card, carries 25 message credits and 100 integration credits a month, and runs up to 5 apps.
What does a message credit buy? It is the unit Base44 charges when the builder creates or changes something. Each plan carries a monthly allowance, and Base44 states that exact usage varies with the action and the model selected.
Is Base44 owned by Wix? Yes. The copyright line on base44.com reads Wix.com Ltd., and the about page says the company now builds with Wix’s support.
Does Base44 have a discount? Yearly billing takes 20 percent off every paid plan. The affiliate program pays $100 per referral with a 30 day cookie window, and no coupon code is published.
Can I export an app built on Base44? Yes. The developer documentation documents an eject to a local project at any time and a two way sync with GitHub.
Sources
Sources
- base44.com/pricing (checked November 5, 2026). The five plans, both billing views, the message and integration credit allowances, and the feature split by plan.
- base44.com/developers (checked November 5, 2026). The command line tool, the Deno functions, the supported frameworks, the eject and the GitHub sync.
- base44.com/about-us (checked November 5, 2026). The founder, the mission and the account of Wix’s involvement.
- base44.com/about-us/affiliates (checked November 5, 2026). The $100 commission, the 30 day cookie window and the $300 minimum payout.
- emergent.sh/pricing and cursor.com/pricing (checked November 5, 2026), and docs.lovable.dev/introduction/subscription-plans (checked November 6, 2026). The entry prices of the three alternatives.
Update log
- Published November 5, 2026. Prices last checked November 5, 2026.
- Alternatives updated November 6, 2026: the Replit entry, which pointed at a review that is not live, now points to the Lovable review.
- Next price check due by January 4, 2027.
