TL;DR. Lovable Cloud is Lovable's built-in backend (database, auth, storage, functions, with Supabase underneath, per Lovable's docs). As of August 2026, Lovable describes one credit balance that pays both for building the app and for running it: Cloud usage draws on a small monthly Cloud grant first, then on the same credits your plan gives you. So Lovable Cloud pricing is usage-based, and the subscription price is the floor, not the bill. Hatchable's model is the opposite: no credits, every project includes its own Postgres, and publishing is free for one app or a flat $12 a month for unlimited.
What Lovable Cloud is
Lovable is a prompt-to-app builder: you describe an app, its bundled AI writes it and hosts it. Lovable Cloud is the backend that comes with it. Lovable's documentation describes Cloud as "a database, storage, authentication, realtime, and functions" with no infrastructure to set up, built on "Supabase's open-source foundation". In practice each Cloud project is a Supabase instance that Lovable manages for you, which is why the Lovable Cloud vs Supabase question comes up so often (more below). It is genuinely convenient: a new project has a working database and sign-in before you have thought about either. The trade-off is that running it is metered, and the meter is the part people tend not to read about until the first surprising bill.
Lovable credits: two kinds of spend, one balance
Lovable's unit of account is the credit. Two kinds of activity consume them:
- Build usage. Messages you send to plan, generate or edit the app. Lovable's pricing page describes the cost per message as varying with complexity in the default mode and a flat one credit per message in plan mode.
- Run usage. What the deployed app consumes: Cloud (hosting and the built-in backend) and the AI gateway (model calls your live app makes).
Until mid-2026 these were two balances. In a post dated June 13, 2026, Lovable announced "a single balance of credits that can be used across building and running your apps", and its docs now state that "Lovable uses one credit balance for building your app, hosting it and running its built-in backend (Cloud), and AI features in deployed apps". That is the single most useful thing to understand about Lovable Cloud pricing: a busy app spends the same credits you would otherwise spend on prompting, and it keeps spending them after you stop building.
Lovable Cloud pricing, as of August 2026
Every number below is Lovable's own or attributed, is dated August 2026, and can change. Check lovable.dev/pricing and the credits and usage docs before deciding anything.
- Lovable free plan. Lovable's pricing page lists 5 build credits a day (up to 30 a month), a monthly grant of 20 Cloud credits, and 4 credits a month for AI features inside your apps. Lovable says that for "most users with smaller or new apps, hosting (running an app on Lovable) does not cost anything". Its docs add that the monthly Cloud and AI grants are "a temporary offering and subject to change".
- Paid plans. Third-party explainers updated in June and July 2026 (eesel AI, Jet Admin) describe Pro at about $25 a month for 100 credits and Business at about $50 a month, with cheaper annual billing and a selector for larger credit bundles. Per Lovable's page, paid plans also get the 5 daily build credits and the 20 monthly Cloud credits.
- Top-ups. Lovable's docs list top-up credits at $0.30 per credit on Pro and $0.60 on Business, valid for twelve months.
- Order of spend. Lovable says it "always uses usage-specific grants before general credits". Once the 20 Cloud credits are gone, Cloud usage comes out of plan credits, then top-ups.
What drives Lovable Cloud usage
Lovable's docs say Cloud usage "is measured based on the hosting and built-in backend resources your deployed app consumes", and list the factors: the database server (instance size, uptime and query traffic), database storage, network (API responses, uploads, downloads, media), file storage, compute for background functions, and realtime connections. The pattern that follows is simple. A prototype with a handful of test users costs roughly nothing beyond the grant. An app with real traffic, media, or chatty realtime features draws down credits every month whether or not anyone is prompting.
How to estimate your Lovable Cloud bill
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Separate building from running
Estimate your prompt volume for the month (credits per message varies, so look at your own history), then treat Cloud and AI gateway usage as a second line that continues after you stop prompting.
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Run a real week
Lovable's project usage page shows credits by project and by kind. Deploy, send real traffic, and read the run credits after seven days. Multiply by four and subtract the 20-credit grant.
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Convert to money at your plan's rate
Overage beyond plan credits becomes top-ups, so multiply the remaining credits by the top-up price Lovable lists for your plan.
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Know what happens at zero
Per Lovable's docs, when credits run out building stops, AI features in deployed apps stop, and the built-in backend pauses shortly after; your data stays intact until you add credits. A live app with an empty balance is not hypothetical, so set the auto top-up limit Lovable offers.
Lovable Cloud vs Supabase
Both are Supabase. The difference is who holds the keys. With Lovable Cloud, Lovable manages the instance, you see it through Lovable's interface, and you pay in credits. With your own Supabase project, you connect it to Lovable, administer it in the Supabase dashboard, and pay Supabase directly on its plans (Supabase's Pro plan has generally been described at around $25 a month as of 2026; check Supabase). Lovable's docs say new projects pick one or the other and that migrating from an external Supabase project to Cloud is not supported, so choose at the start. A reasonable rule: Cloud for prototypes and internal tools where simplicity wins, your own Supabase when you need the dashboard, direct SQL access and a bill you control.
How Hatchable compares
Hatchable is not a builder with a bundled model. You connect the AI you already pay for (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, Gemini and others) to Hatchable's MCP server and it builds and deploys the app. That changes the bill in three ways:
- There are no credits, no message meter and no per-prompt fees for the build. Your own AI subscription writes the code.
- Every project includes its own private Postgres database, plus sign-in for your users, file storage, email and scheduled jobs, from the moment it is created.
- Publishing is free for one app (unlimited private projects, no card), or a flat $12 a month on Builder for unlimited published apps. Plans have published capacity limits rather than a balance you top up; see pricing.
| Lovable (per Lovable's docs, August 2026) | Hatchable | |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the code | Lovable's bundled AI, billed in credits per message | The AI you already use, no credits |
| Backend | Lovable Cloud (Supabase-based) or your own Supabase | Private Postgres included in every project |
| Running the app | Cloud and AI gateway usage from the same credit balance, after a monthly grant | Within the plan's published limits; nothing to top up |
| Free plan | Daily build credits plus small monthly Cloud and AI grants | Unlimited private projects, one published app, no card |
| First paid plan | About $25 a month for 100 credits (third-party explainers, mid-2026) | $12 a month, unlimited published apps |
For the fuller comparison see Hatchable vs Lovable and the Lovable alternatives page.
General characterisations based on public information as of August 2026; check each vendor for current details.
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Get started free →Frequently asked questions
What is Lovable Cloud?
Lovable's built-in backend for apps built in Lovable. Per Lovable's docs it provides a database, storage, authentication, realtime and functions, and it is built on Supabase. You can use it or connect your own Supabase project; as of August 2026 Lovable says migrating from external Supabase to Cloud is not supported.
Is Lovable Cloud free?
Partly. As of August 2026, Lovable's pricing page lists a monthly grant of 20 Cloud credits on Free, Pro and Business, and says small or new apps usually cost nothing to host. Beyond the grant, Cloud usage comes out of your plan credits and then top-ups. Lovable also says the grants are temporary and subject to change.
How much does Lovable Cloud cost per month?
There is no fixed price. Usage is metered in credits against database size and traffic, storage, network, compute and realtime. A quiet prototype tends to stay inside the monthly grant; a busy app draws credits continuously. Run it for a week, read the project usage page, and multiply by your plan's credit price.
Lovable Cloud vs Supabase: which should I use?
Lovable Cloud when you want zero setup and are fine paying in Lovable credits; your own Supabase when you want the Supabase dashboard, direct SQL access and a separate, predictable bill. Decide at project creation, since Lovable's docs say you cannot migrate from Supabase into Cloud later.
Does Hatchable have credits like Lovable?
No. Hatchable does not provide the AI, so there is nothing to meter per message: you connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex or Gemini and it builds on Hatchable. Every project includes its own Postgres. The free plan publishes one app with no card, and Builder is $12 a month for unlimited published apps.