A field guide for people who build with AI · verified 2026-11

Ship the app.
Keep it alive.

The tools, the real prices, and the habits that keep an AI-built app working after the demo. Written from vendor pages and official docs, and corrected by anyone in the open.

Walk the roadmap →Browse 69 tools
tools listed
69
free tiers documented
18
prices with a date
16
open source
18

21st.dev, Aider, Amp, Appwrite, Auth.js, Base44, Better Auth, Bolt, Claude Code, Clerk, Cline, Cloudflare Workers, CodeRabbit, Codex CLI, Convex, Coolify, Cursor, Dependabot, Devin (formerly Windsurf), Emergent, Expo, Figma Make, Firebase App Hosting, Firebase, Fly.io, Framer, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, GitHub Copilot, Gitleaks, Google Antigravity, Google Stitch, Goose, JetBrains Junie, Kinde, Kiro CLI, Kiro, Lemon Squeezy, Lovable, Magic Patterns, Neon, Netlify, OpenCode, Paddle, Playwright, PocketBase, Polar, PostHog, Railway, Relume, Render, Replit, Rocket, Same, Semgrep, Sentry, shadcn/ui, Stripe, Supabase, Tempo, Trae, Turso, Uizard, UptimeRobot, v0, Vercel, Vitest, WorkOS, Zed

01

Start where you are

Five common situations, one page each.

  1. AI have an idea and have never shipped an appThree questions, then a starting tool set with prices.Find a starting stack →
  2. BI want to know what this will costEntry plans for 16 tools, each checked on the vendor's own page.Compare prices →
  3. CIt works on my screen. Is it safe to launch?Eight checks that catch the problems AI-built apps ship with most often.Open the launch checklist →
  4. DSomething broke and the AI keeps making it worseA six-step method, three prompts, and when to stop prompting.Debug it calmly →
  5. EI code, and want an agent in my own repoAI IDEs and terminal agents that work on an existing codebase.See the agents →
02

From first prompt to a healthy app

Open the interactive roadmap →
  1. 1Before you buildSet things up so mistakes are cheap.
    • — Git from day one
    • — A rules file for the AI
    • — A well-known stack
  2. 2While you buildHabits that stop small changes from turning into big messes.
    • — One change per prompt
    • — Commit when it works
    • — Protect working code
  3. 3Before you launchA ship-ready checklist.
    • — Database access rules
    • — No secrets in the browser
    • — Login on the live domain
  4. 4When something breaksIt will happen, and it is fixable.
    • — Reproduce it
    • — Read the real error
    • — Find the change
  5. 5After launchKeeping a live app healthy.
    • — Errors and uptime
    • — Package updates
    • — Features on branches
03

The directory

All 69 tools →
9 tools · 5 with a free tierAI app buildersDescribe the app in plain language and get a working web app, usually with hosting included. Best for non-developers and fast prototypes.
  • Base44
  • Bolt
  • Emergent
  • Lovable
  • Replit
  • Rocket
  • Same
  • Tempo
  • v0
Compare builders →9 toolsAI IDEsOwning the code once you outgrow a builder.9 toolsCLI coding agentsDevelopers working in large codebases.8 toolsUI and design generatorsScreens, components and marketing pages.7 toolsBackend and databaseStoring users and data safely.9 toolsAuth and paymentsLogin and money, done by proven services.9 toolsDeploy and hostingPutting exported code on the internet.9 toolsTesting and securityFinding problems before your users do.
04

What a small SaaS usually runs on

One common starting stack for a vibe-coded SaaS with login and payments. It isn't the only answer, and the which-tool finder will suggest others for your case.

Find yours →
  1. 01LovableAI app buildersfree tier
  2. 02SupabaseBackend and databasefree tier
  3. 03ClerkAuth and paymentsfree tier
  4. 04StripeAuth and paymentsper use
  5. 05VercelDeploy and hostingfree tier
  6. 06SentryTesting and securityfree tier