Bolt.new or Replit in 2026? Tokens, Free Mode, Hosting Limits and Database Exits Compared
Four situations a new app runs into, with what each tool’s pricing page and docs said on October 18, 2026.
Bolt.new and Replit both turn a prompt into a running app. Where they differ is how they bill you while you build, how long a free app stays online, and what happens to your data if you leave.
Bolt meters tokens. Its free plan gives you 1M a month with a 300K daily limit and hosts your site at a bolt.host address. Replit’s free Starter plan gives you Lite build with daily Agent credits; its $20 Core plan adds up to 30 hours of Free Mode chat plus $20 toward stronger models.
A builder on r/replit asked which of the two would be cheaper on a $100 budget. We can’t answer that with a test, because we didn’t build the same app in both. What we can do is lay out what each company’s pricing page and docs say happens in the four situations most new apps hit.
Situation 1: you want a free link to show people
Bolt’s free plan includes website hosting for up to 333k web requests, with Bolt branding on the site. Bolt’s hosting docs say each plan includes an amount of hosting usage. If your site reaches that limit, “it stops displaying publicly until your usage resets at the start of your next billing cycle.”
Replit’s free tier is called Starter, and per Replit’s plan docs it includes one free published app. That link “will automatically go down after 30 days,” and it carries a “Made with Replit” badge.
Starter also limits how you build. You get Replit’s Lite build mode, with daily Agent credits up to a monthly cap. Full build, Plan Mode, Stripe and other third-party connectors, and extra published apps all need Core.
What to watch: on Bolt, a demo that gets real traffic can go dark until the next cycle. On Replit Starter, any demo goes dark after 30 days.
Situation 2: you’ll build most evenings for a month
Bolt and Replit measure building in different units. Bolt’s pricing FAQ says “most token usage is related to syncing your project’s file system to the AI: the larger the project, the more tokens used per message.” So the same prompt costs more tokens in month two than in week one.
On the free plan, per Bolt’s token docs, the 300K daily tokens don’t carry over and the monthly tokens reset on the 1st. If you hit the daily limit, you can still edit your existing code in Code view, which doesn’t use tokens. Bolt’s Plan Mode lets you talk through a change before any code is written, and Bolt’s docs say it saves tokens.
Bolt Pro is $25 a month. It removes the daily limit, starts at 10M tokens a month, and lets unused tokens roll over for one extra month while you keep a paid subscription. Teams is $30 per member per month.
Replit Core is $20 a month, or $18 billed annually. It includes up to 30 hours of chat on Free Mode, up to 60 projects on Free Mode, $20 toward more powerful models, and Plan mode. According to Replit’s Agent docs, “The Core and Pro allowances reset every five hours and have weekly limits.”
When a request needs more than Free Mode, Replit’s Power and Max modes are paid, and Agent asks you to confirm before a paid action starts. So on Core, the hours of chat and the $20 for stronger models are two separate allowances.
For that $100 budget, Replit Pro is exactly $100 a month ($90 billed annually). It adds more Free Mode usage, $100 toward the most powerful models and 10 parallel agents. On Bolt, $100 covers four months of Pro.
What to watch: on Bolt, your spend grows with project size. On Replit, it grows with how often you step out of Free Mode.
Situation 3: you need a real domain and real data
Bolt creates a database when your project needs one, and the free plan lists unlimited databases. Bolt Cloud also covers sign-up and log-in with email confirmation, password reset and Google sign-in, plus file storage, server functions and Stripe payments. Custom domains require a paid plan.
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Replit gives every published app a free subdomain ending in .replit.app. Its custom domains docs describe a Domains tool where you can buy a domain or connect one you already own. That page doesn’t name a plan requirement, so check yours before you buy.
Rolling back works differently on each when data is involved. Per Replit’s checkpoint docs, “By default, rollbacks do not change your database.” You can include your development database by selecting it in the rollback options, but your production database isn’t restored that way, and Replit Pro adds database rollback up to 28 days.
What to watch: if the AI might break your data as well as your code, read the rollback docs for your tool before you have users.
Situation 4: you might leave later
Bolt’s GitHub integration syncs your commits to a repository you own. Bolt’s docs point out that once the code is in GitHub, you can publish with Bolt hosting, Netlify or another service. Its backup docs also list downloading a local copy of the project.
The database is the harder part to move. On Pro or Teams, Bolt’s advanced database settings let you claim a Bolt Database into your own Supabase account. Connecting a different Supabase database to a project that already has a Bolt Database “will replace the connection, which may cause data loss,” so Bolt suggests claiming instead.
Replit has Git built in. Its version control docs say you can import, change and push code between Replit and GitHub.
If you’re also weighing Lovable for this stage, we compared it with Bolt in Lovable vs Bolt.new.
The four situations in one table
- Free demo link — Bolt.new: bolt.host address, up to 333k web requests, goes offline at the limit until the next cycle. Replit: One published app on Starter, goes down after 30 days.
- Daily building — Bolt.new: Tokens: 300K a day and 1M a month free; Pro $25 with 10M a month and no daily limit. Replit: Core $20: up to 30 hours of Free Mode chat (resets every five hours, weekly limits) plus $20 for stronger models.
- Domain and data — Bolt.new: Unlimited databases; custom domain needs a paid plan. Replit: Free .replit.app subdomain; database rollback up to 28 days on Pro.
- Leaving — Bolt.new: GitHub sync or download; claim the database into Supabase on Pro or Teams. Replit: Git built in, with GitHub push.
Quick answers
Is Bolt.new or Replit cheaper? Bolt Pro is $25 a month and starts at 10M tokens. Replit Core is $20 a month ($18 billed annually) with up to 30 hours of Free Mode chat and $20 toward stronger models. The units differ, so compare them against how much you’ll build.
Does Bolt.new have a free plan? Yes. It includes 1M tokens a month with a 300K daily limit, hosting at a bolt.host address, and unlimited databases.
Can I move a Bolt.new database to Supabase? On Pro or Teams, Bolt’s docs say you can claim a Bolt Database into your own Supabase account.
How long does a free Replit app stay online? Replit’s Starter plan includes one free published app, and its link goes down after 30 days.
Still choosing? Our app builders category lists every prompt-to-app tool in the directory.
From the Stackdrop team. Stackdrop is a directory of AI tools for builders: getstackdrop.com
