STOP Wasting Money On AI Coding Tools Like Lovable.dev

Summary

In this video, Rob highlights the challenges and high costs associated with no-code AI tools like Lovable, Bold, Replit, and Versal. He shares his experience building two AI-based tools, demonstrating how traditional platforms can be expensive for complex projects. Rob recommends Cursor, a developer-oriented tool that offers more power and better pricing at $20/month for 500 premium requests and unlimited slow requests. With Cursor, users can build powerful apps and websites at a fraction of the cost of other platforms, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to develop AI-powered tools without breaking the bank.

Takeaways

• 😀 Lovable, Boldt, Repet, and V0 by Versal are popular no-code AI tools but have significant limitations.
• 😀 These tools are not as powerful as developer-used AI coding tools and can be very expensive.
• 😀 Rob, a developer with over 20 years of experience, built two tools completely with AI: Social Hacks and Macro Puls.
• 😀 Social Hacks DoApp allows users to convert social media videos into text, a useful feature for content creators.
• 😀 Macro Puls is a financial news website built to avoid clickbait and provide data-driven insights into finance and the economy.
• 😀 Lovable's pricing is based on messages, with the most affordable plan costing $20/month for 100 messages, which can become expensive with detailed prompts.
• 😀 Boldt offers 10 million tokens for the same $20/month, but its pricing is difficult for beginners to understand.
• 😀 Repet costs $25/month or $20 for annual plans, offering $25 worth of credits for approximately 100 agent checkpoints, which is confusing for non-coders.
• 😀 V0 by Versal provides a free plan but lacks clarity on how many messages are included, while its premium plan costs $20/month for 10-20x more messages.
• 😀 AI tools like Lovable charge per message (e.g., 20 cents per prompt), making it costly to build more complex apps with a large number of messages.
• 😀 Cursor, priced at $20/month, offers 500 premium requests per month and unlimited slow premium requests, making it a more cost-effective option for developers.
• 😀 WindSurf, a competitor of Cursor, has better features but uses a confusing pricing structure, making Cursor the preferred choice for developers looking to save money.

Q & A

What are the two main problems with popular no-code AI tools like Lovable, Bold, Repet, and V0?

The two main problems are: 1) These tools are not as powerful as those used by developers to code with AI. 2) They are often very expensive, making them difficult to use for larger or more complex projects.

Why did the speaker choose to build tools like Social Hacks and Macro Puls with AI?

The speaker wanted to build tools without relying on expensive no-code platforms, and AI allowed them to create these projects efficiently and at a lower cost.

What does Lovable's pricing structure involve, and why is it considered not ideal for beginners?

Lovable’s pricing structure involves paying $20 per month for 100 messages, making it cost 20 cents per message. This can be confusing and expensive for beginners who aren't sure how much they are spending or how to optimize their messages.

How does the cost of using tools like Bold and Repet compare to Lovable?

Bold offers 10 million tokens for $20, which is harder for beginners to understand. Repet charges $25 per month and gives users $25 worth of credits (about 100 agent checkpoints), making it more expensive than Lovable, with pricing that's also hard to grasp.

What are the main advantages of Cursor over other no-code tools like Lovable?

Cursor offers significantly lower costs (only $20 per month for 500 fast premium requests) and includes unlimited slow premium requests. It is also a developer-focused tool that provides more flexibility and scalability compared to other no-code platforms.

What is the limitation of the Winder tool compared to Cursor?

Winder has a more complex pricing model that includes both user prompts and flow action credits. This makes it more expensive and harder to predict costs compared to Cursor, which charges a flat rate per request.

What is the recommended strategy for using Cursor effectively for non-developers?

Non-developers should start by telling Cursor not to install additional packages or use TypeScript, and should only use static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This helps avoid unnecessary costs and simplifies the process of building websites.

How does Cursor handle slower requests, and what is the trade-off?

Cursor offers unlimited slow premium requests, where responses are delayed by 5-10 seconds. While this can be frustrating, it is included in the plan and helps avoid additional charges for premium requests.

What types of projects can be built using Cursor or other developer tools compared to no-code tools?

Developer tools like Cursor enable users to build more complex projects, such as apps that integrate AI or external data sources, whereas no-code tools are better suited for simpler, less integrated projects that don't require advanced functionality.

Why is Lovable’s model considered inefficient for building larger projects?

Lovable's model is inefficient for larger projects because each action or change (like modifying a button color) counts as a separate message, which can quickly add up in cost. For comprehensive, integrated applications, this pricing structure becomes very expensive.