Bolt.new Review: Can You Actually Build Real Apps With It?

Bolt.new is one of those tools that sounds too good to be true. Type what you want in plain English, and it builds you a full-stack web app — frontend, backend, database — right in your browser. No local setup, no terminal, no deployment headaches.

It went from near-death startup to $40M ARR in six months. That kind of growth doesn't happen by accident. But hype and reality don't always line up, so let's talk about what Bolt actually delivers and where it falls short.

What Bolt.new Actually Does

Bolt is a browser-based AI app builder built on top of StackBlitz's WebContainers technology. The core idea: you describe what you want, and the AI writes the code, sets up the project structure, installs dependencies, and gives you a live preview — all without leaving your browser tab.

Under the hood, it's running Node.js directly in your browser via WebContainers, which is genuinely impressive technology that the StackBlitz team spent seven years building. The AI layer (powered by Anthropic's Claude) interprets your prompts and generates full working applications.

You can build React apps, Next.js projects, backend APIs, connect databases, and even generate mobile apps via Expo. The whole thing runs in-browser, which means no cloud server spin-up time, no Docker containers, no VS Code extensions to configure.

The Good Stuff

Speed of Prototyping

This is where Bolt genuinely shines. If you need a working prototype in 15 minutes, Bolt delivers. I've seen people go from idea to deployed landing page in under 10 minutes. For hackathons, client demos, or testing whether an idea has legs, it's borderline magical.

You type something like "build me a project management dashboard with Kanban boards, user authentication, and a dark mode toggle" and you get... a working project management dashboard with Kanban boards, user authentication, and a dark mode toggle. The first time you see it, it feels like the future arrived early.

Zero Setup

No installing Node. No fighting with package.json conflicts. No "works on my machine" problems. You open a browser tab and start building. For people who've lost hours of their life to environment configuration, this alone might be worth the subscription.

Built-in Deployment

Bolt hosts your sites directly. You build it, you deploy it, you share the link. Custom domains are supported on paid plans. For simple projects, you never need to think about Vercel, Netlify, or any other hosting provider.

The Iteration Loop

You can keep refining your app through conversation. "Make the header sticky." "Add a search bar to the user list." "Change the color scheme to something less corporate." Each prompt modifies the existing codebase rather than starting from scratch. It's like pair programming with a very fast, very patient junior developer.

The Not-So-Good Stuff

Complexity Ceiling

Here's the uncomfortable truth: Bolt is fantastic for simple to medium-complexity apps. But the moment you need serious business logic, complex state management, or non-trivial backend architecture, it starts struggling.

I've seen it produce apps that look great on the surface but have questionable code underneath — duplicated logic, inefficient database queries, security patterns that would make a senior engineer wince. For a prototype, that's fine. For something you're shipping to production with real users and real data? You'll want a developer to review everything.

Token Burn Rate

This is the biggest complaint in the Bolt community, and it's legitimate. The free tier gives you 1M tokens per month, which sounds generous until you realize a moderately complex app can eat through that in a couple of sessions. The Pro plan at $25/month starts at 10M tokens, but heavy users report burning through that in a week or two.

Every prompt, every iteration, every "actually, make that button blue instead" costs tokens. And when you hit your limit, you're done until next month (or you upgrade). The pricing feels reasonable until you're actually deep in a project and the token meter is ticking.

Debugging is Painful

When Bolt's code works, it's great. When it doesn't, you're in trouble. The AI will sometimes generate code with subtle bugs, and debugging AI-generated code you didn't write is arguably harder than debugging your own code. You're reverse-engineering someone else's (or something else's) thought process.

Bolt does try to fix errors when you report them, but it sometimes enters a loop of breaking one thing while fixing another. Experienced developers can step in and manually fix the code, but at that point, you might wonder why you didn't just write it yourself.

Limited Backend Sophistication

Bolt can set up basic backends and databases, but it's not building you a properly architected API with rate limiting, caching layers, proper error handling, and security middleware. For anything beyond CRUD operations, you'll need to bring your own backend expertise or use it as a starting point and build from there.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: $0/month — 1M tokens/month, 300K daily limit, Bolt branding, basic hosting

• Pro: $25/month — 10M tokens/month, no daily limit, custom domains, SEO tools, no branding

• Teams: $30/month per member — everything in Pro plus admin controls and centralized billing

• Enterprise: Custom pricing — SSO, audit logs, dedicated support

The free tier is genuinely useful for trying Bolt out and building small projects. Pro is where most serious users land. The value proposition depends entirely on how token-intensive your workflow is.

Who Should Use Bolt

Non-technical founders: If you have an app idea and zero coding skills, Bolt is probably the fastest path from concept to working prototype. You'll eventually need a developer for production, but Bolt can get you something tangible to show investors or test with users.

Developers building quick prototypes: If you need to validate an idea fast, Bolt saves hours of boilerplate setup. Build it in Bolt, test the concept, then rebuild properly if it has legs.

Freelancers and agencies: For client demos and simple websites, Bolt can dramatically speed up delivery. Build a working demo in the client meeting, iterate in real-time based on feedback.

Students and learners: Watching Bolt generate code and then studying what it produced is actually a decent way to learn modern web development patterns.

Who Should NOT Use Bolt

Teams building production SaaS: If you're building something that needs to scale, handle sensitive data, and be maintained for years, Bolt-generated code is a starting point at best. You need proper architecture, testing, and code review.

Anyone who needs predictable costs: The token-based pricing means your monthly bill can vary wildly depending on how much you iterate. If you're on a tight budget, this unpredictability is stressful.

Bolt vs the Competition

Bolt vs Lovable: Lovable focuses more on beautiful UI out of the box and has tighter Supabase integration for backends. Bolt is more flexible with framework choices and has the WebContainers advantage for speed. Lovable tends to produce prettier apps; Bolt tends to handle more complex requirements.

Bolt vs v0: Vercel's v0 is primarily a frontend tool — it generates gorgeous UI components but doesn't do backend or databases natively. If you need full-stack, Bolt wins. If you need beautiful React components to drop into an existing project, v0 is sharper.

Bolt vs Cursor/Replit Agent: These are more developer-oriented tools. Cursor is an AI-powered code editor for people who already know how to code. Replit Agent builds full apps but in a more traditional development environment. Bolt's browser-only approach is simpler but less powerful for complex projects.

The Bottom Line

Bolt.new is genuinely impressive and represents a real shift in how software gets built. For prototyping, simple apps, and getting non-technical people from idea to working product, it's one of the best tools available right now.

But it's not a replacement for actual software engineering. It's a really good first draft machine. The code it generates is functional but rarely production-ready. The token pricing can get expensive fast. And complex projects will hit a ceiling where you need human developers to take over.

My recommendation: use Bolt for what it's great at — speed, prototyping, and making ideas tangible fast. Don't try to make it something it's not. At $25/month for Pro, it's an easy yes if you regularly need to spin up prototypes or build simple web apps. Just go in with realistic expectations about what "AI-built" actually means in 2026.

Rating: 4 out of 5 — Excellent for its sweet spot, but know the limits before you commit.