Bolt.new review

What Bolt.new is

Bolt.new, from StackBlitz, is an AI app builder that runs entirely in your browser. You describe what you want (“a booking site for a yoga studio with a class calendar and Stripe checkout”) and Bolt’s coding agents generate the project, run it in a live preview and let you keep refining it through chat. When you’re ready, Bolt Cloud hosts it and provides databases and integrations, so you don’t need separate hosting accounts.

Bolt’s pitch is speed with less friction: it automatically routes each task to the model it thinks fits best, tests and refactors as it goes, and says it can now handle projects “1,000 times larger than before” thanks to improved context management. Its site lists users at companies including Google, Microsoft, Shopify and Stripe.

Key features

Chat-to-app building

Start from a prompt, a template (dashboards, storefronts, portfolios) or your design system. Bolt writes the code, installs dependencies and shows a working preview you can click through.

Automatic model routing and error fixing

Instead of choosing an AI model yourself, Bolt picks one per task to balance quality and token cost, and automatically tests and iterates to reduce errors.

Bolt Cloud

Hosting, databases, integrations, custom domains and SEO optimization in one place. Paid plans support up to 1M web requests on the listed Pro tier.

Collaboration

Teams get a shared workspace, centralized billing and per-member token allotments.

Pricing breakdown

Checked on bolt.new/pricing on October 16, 2026 (monthly billing shown; yearly saves up to 28%).

Plan	Price	Tokens	Highlights
Free	$0	1M/month, 300K/day	Public and private projects, Bolt branding, 10MB uploads
Pro	From $25/mo	From 10M/month, no daily limit	No branding, private sharing, custom domains, SEO tools, token rollover
Teams	$30/member/mo	Per-member allotment	Everything in Pro plus centralized billing and team workspace

Higher token tiers are available on Pro for heavier use. Paid tokens roll over for one extra month while your subscription is active.

Best use cases

• Idea validation: a founder builds a clickable MVP with sign-up and a dashboard to show investors in an afternoon.
• Marketing pages: a growth team spins up campaign landing pages with SEO and hosting built in.
• Internal tools: an operations manager builds an inventory tracker instead of waiting on IT.
• Learning: a student turns a class project into a working app and reads the generated code to learn.

How to get started

1. Go to bolt.new and sign up free.
2. Describe your app in one paragraph: users, main screens and key actions.
3. Review the plan and preview; click through every screen.
4. Request changes one at a time (“make the header sticky,” “add email login”).
5. Connect a database or integration through Bolt Cloud when needed.
6. Publish, then upgrade to Pro for a custom domain and no branding.

Tips and tricks

• Be specific up front. A clear first prompt saves tokens on rework.
• Make small, focused requests rather than giant multi-feature prompts.
• Start from a template when one is close to your idea.
• Download or review the code before handling real customer data.

Example starting prompt:

Build a web app for a dog-walking business. Pages: home with services and prices, booking form with date and time picker, and an admin page listing bookings. Use a clean, friendly design with a green accent color. Store bookings in a database.

Pros and cons

👍 Pros

• No local setup: build, run and deploy in the browser
• Generous free tier for learning
• Hosting, databases and custom domains built in
• Paid tokens roll over for a month
• Automatically picks a model per task to balance quality and cost

👎 Cons

• Token consumption can be hard to predict on large projects
• Free sites carry Bolt branding
• Generated code still needs review for security and edge cases
• Browser-only workflow may not suit established codebases

Who should (and shouldn't) use Bolt.new

✅ A good fit if you…

• Want to validate an app idea in a day
• Need landing pages or internal tools without hiring a developer
• Are learning to build by doing

⛔ Look elsewhere if you…

• Maintain a large existing codebase (an AI IDE like Cursor fits better)
• Need native mobile apps
• Want fixed, predictable costs regardless of usage

Bolt.new alternatives

• Lovable — AI software engineer that builds websites and web apps from chat, with hosting via Lovable Cloud and team workspaces. (from $25/mo for 100 credits (Pro); $21/mo billed annually)
• v0 — Vercel's AI builder that turns prompts into working apps and publishes them in seconds. (from $30/user/mo (Plus))
• Replit — Build and publish apps by describing them to Replit Agent, all in the browser. (from See replit.com/pricing (price not confirmed))
• Cursor — AI coding agent and code editor that builds, tests and ships software from the desktop, CLI, Slack and GitHub. (from $8/mo (Plus); $80/yr)

FAQ

Is Bolt.new free?

Yes. The free plan includes 1 million tokens per month with a 300,000-token daily limit, public and private projects, a 10MB upload limit and Bolt branding on websites.

How much does Bolt.new Pro cost?

Pro starts at $25 per month billed monthly with 10 million tokens per month and no daily limit. Yearly billing saves up to 28%, and higher token tiers cost more.

Do Bolt tokens roll over?

Yes, on paid plans. Since July 1, 2025, tokens from a paid subscription roll over for one additional month, so they are valid for up to two months, as long as the subscription stays active.

What are tokens in Bolt?

Tokens measure how much AI processing your prompts and code generation use. Bigger projects and longer conversations consume more tokens per message.

Can I use my own domain with Bolt.new?

Yes. Paid plans include custom domain support, private site sharing and removal of Bolt branding.

How does Bolt Teams pricing work?

Teams costs $30 per member per month billed monthly. Each paid member receives a monthly token allotment, with centralized billing and a shared workspace.

Sources

This is an editorial review based on research of official Bolt.new pages and documentation, not hands-on benchmark testing. Prices are in USD and were checked on October 16, 2026; vendors change plans often, so confirm on the official pricing page before buying.

1. Bolt.new pricing and billing FAQ
2. Bolt.new homepage (features and Bolt Cloud)