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Introduction

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AI-powered app builders are a next-generation family of development platforms allowing users to build software via prompts expressed in natural language, automated code generation, and AI-driven design artifacts. They became a reality thanks to the capability of large language models (LLMs) to produce increasingly reliable code and app architecture specifications. In essence, these platforms significantly reduce the effort required to move from idea to final product by automating much of the heavy lifting.

Interested in knowing five of the most popular AI-powered app builders available today? Here is an overview.

1. Lovable

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Lovable is designed primarily to build functional web apps and websites based on instructions specified in natural language and provided to a conversational AI assistant. Some of its most attractive features are an extremely fast idea-to-prototype workflow, seamless database integration, and a very accessible learning curve for beginners. On the other hand, its support for complex backends is limited, and it struggles to accommodate large enterprise environments due to scalability constraints.

2. Replit

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Replit is an online integrated development environment (IDE) featuring AI-assisted coding that facilitates collaborative full-stack app development directly from a browser. Its versatility supports frontend, backend, production-ready deployment, and databases from a single location. However, it is less suitable for absolute beginners in AI-assisted development due to its steeper learning curve and the higher amount of manual setup required.

3. Dyad

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Dyad places a special focus on privacy and ownership in an offline-friendly AI app development environment. As a fully open-source framework, it grants the developer full ownership of the code and data. Its support for both local models and API keys adds extra flexibility to the mix. While promising, it operates at a lower level of maturity compared to other tools and requires more technical skill to configure environments.

4. Bolt.new

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Bolt.new is an innovative platform that can produce both frontend and backend code directly in your browser, allowing for prototyping at an unprecedented level of efficiency. Since it runs entirely in a browser, no local installations are needed. Additionally, it offers robust support for the latest JavaScript and TypeScript frameworks. However, its ability to handle complex or highly customized backend projects is limited, and it can be potentially costly if certain usage levels are exceeded.

5. FlutterFlow

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The drag-and-drop, visually appealing features of FlutterFlow are attracting attention for generating user interfaces (UIs) and the underlying logic, e.g. mobile apps, as well as for rapid user experience (UX) prototyping. Its low-code approach makes it an accessible option for novice developers. Its main limitation when compared to other AI-centric platforms is its lack of prompt-first functionality and its lower capability to accommodate highly customized software architectures.

Iván Palomares Carrascosa is a leader, writer, speaker, and adviser in AI, machine learning, deep learning & LLMs. He trains and guides others in harnessing AI in the real world.