Bubble as a Lovable alternative: everything included, nothing exported

Contents

1. What Bubble does
2. The trade: no code export
3. Workload units
4. Published evidence
5. Strengths and limits
6. Pricing
7. Questions to ask Bubble
8. Sources

Type	No-code app platform
Pricing	Published
Website	bubble.io

Bubble is the opposite bet to Lovable. Lovable hands over code and leaves the rest to the builder; Bubble keeps the code and takes on hosting, the database, security and scaling⁠1Build web and mobile apps with the no-code AI app builderBubble.

Best for: Non-developers who want a long-lived web and native mobile app on one platform that includes the database, hosting, security and scaling, and who accept staying on that platform.

Not the right fit for: Anyone who needs to take the code elsewhere, or who wants a predictable bill for an app with heavy or spiky usage.

What Bubble does

Bubble builds web apps and native iOS and Android apps that share the same data and workflows, with hosting, a built-in database, security and auto-scaling included⁠1Build web and mobile apps with the no-code AI app builderBubble. Its AI generator builds a web or mobile app from a description, and Bubble says generating an app with its AI agent does not use AI credits, and visual editing never does⁠21AI app generator: build real apps, not prototypesBubbleBuild web and mobile apps with the no-code AI app builderBubble.

Native apps are built on React Native, support iOS 15.1 and Android 12 or later, and receive unlimited over-the-air updates; publishing needs an Apple Developer membership at $99 a year and a one-time $25 Google Play fee⁠3Native mobile appBubble Manual. Bubble states SOC 2 Type II compliance⁠1Build web and mobile apps with the no-code AI app builderBubble.

The trade: no code export

Bubble's manual is explicit: it does not export apps as ready-to-run code, and the app's structure file cannot run outside Bubble. Data can be exported as CSV or JSON⁠4Exporting your Bubble appBubble Manual. For someone leaving Lovable over lock-in, that is a step in the other direction. For someone leaving because nobody wants to maintain code, it is the point.

Workload units

Running costs are metered in workload units. Without a workload tier, overage costs $0.30 per 1,000 units; if overages are switched off and the units run out, the app is taken offline until overages are enabled, a tier is bought or the next period begins⁠5FAQ: pricing and workloadBubble Manual. Bubble sends alerts at 75% and 100% of the allowance⁠6Bubble pricingBubble.

Published evidence

No case studies with named customers are published.

Strengths and limits

Strengths

• Generating an app with its AI agent does not use AI credits, and visual editing never does, so changes do not run a meter.
• Native mobile apps are built on React Native and published to the App Store and Google Play, with unlimited over-the-air updates.
• States SOC 2 Type II compliance, and puts hosting, the database and scaling in one place with no separate services to run.
• Data can be exported as CSV or JSON at any time.

Limits

• Bubble does not export apps as ready-to-run code; the app’s structure file cannot run outside Bubble.
• Usage beyond the plan’s workload units costs $0.30 per 1,000, and if overages are switched off the app is taken offline until the next period or an upgrade.
• Mobile and combined web-and-mobile plans cost more than web-only plans, and mobile builds are capped per month.
• SSO for editors is an Enterprise feature; end-user SSO relies on third-party services or plugins.

Choose another option if: Owning and moving the code matters to you, or the app is mainly records and workflows for staff. Replit, FlutterFlow or OpenLazarus fit those needs better.

Pricing

Published (annual / monthly billing): web Starter $32 / $39, Growth $119 / $134, Team $349 / $399 a month; web-and-mobile Starter $59 / $69. Enterprise on request.

Questions to ask Bubble

• How many workload units would our app use at today's traffic, and at three times that?
• Which plan do we need for web and mobile together?
• How would we leave if we had to, given that code is not exported?
• Which security features apply to our end users, not only to editors?

See how Bubble compares with the other builders in the main guide.

Sources

1. Build web and mobile apps with the no-code AI app builder. Bubble. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
2. AI app generator: build real apps, not prototypes. Bubble. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
3. Native mobile app. Bubble Manual. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
4. Exporting your Bubble app. Bubble Manual. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
5. FAQ: pricing and workload. Bubble Manual. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
6. Bubble pricing. Bubble. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
7. Pricing and plans. Bubble Manual. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.

Further reading

• Buyer's guide · Updated quarterlyThe best Lovable alternatives for 2027An analysis of eight builders for people whose Lovable prototype now has to hold real data, compared on seven published criteria, with the evidence behind each and the established path to production.
• Guide · Reasons to switchWhy people leave Lovable in 2027, and when they shouldn'tCost per change, a record of security incidents and a backend built for speed rather than portability. What each reason rests on, how much weight it deserves and what to check before leaving.
• Guide · ProductionMoving a Lovable app to production in 2027A working prototype is not yet a production app. The steps that separate them are mostly the same wherever the app ends up, and most of them can be started before choosing a platform.