What does a vibe-coded app really cost to run?

Lovable now uses one balance, but the usage still has different causes

Lovable announced unified credits in June 2026: the same balance can be used to build, run Lovable Cloud and use in-app AI. The Free plan currently includes up to 30 build credits per month, 20 monthly Cloud credits and 4 AI credits. That means many small apps can run inside the included allowance.

A single balance is convenient, but it can hide which product behavior creates the spend. For planning, still separate editor usage, application compute, database, storage, bandwidth and AI. Included amounts and commercial terms can change, so stackferry links to the provider's live pricing rather than presenting an estimate as a quote.

What comparable independent infrastructure starts at

Static hosting can start at $0 on Cloudflare Workers, Netlify, DigitalOcean App Platform or GitHub Pages within each service's limits. A small dynamic service can start around $5 on Railway or DigitalOcean App Platform; small Fly.io Machines are commonly in the low single digits. Vercel's commercial Pro plan starts at $20 per month.

The database is a separate bill. Supabase has a $0 Free plan and Pro starts at $25 per month. DigitalOcean Managed PostgreSQL starts at $15.15 per month. Neon is usage-based with no monthly minimum. A production app may also need email, object storage, logs, domains and bandwidth, so a $0 hosting label is not a $0 application guarantee.

Lovable's own examples show why usage matters

Lovable's Cloud documentation gives rough monthly examples before included allowances: about $1 for a personal blog, $5 for a small business website, $15 for a team project-management app and $65 for an e-commerce app. These are examples, not fixed packages, and AI usage is measured separately.

For a small low-traffic app, staying on Lovable may therefore be the lowest-cost choice. Independent infrastructure becomes more compelling when you need predictable component-level budgets, a particular region or provider, direct access to logs and data, or the freedom to optimize one expensive layer without moving everything else.

Compare the next twelve months, not just month one

stackferry shows a planning range for the selected hosting and backend before the port begins. The range is based on current public starting prices and a modest early-production configuration. It excludes tax, overages and optional products, and links directly to the official provider page so the final configuration can be checked.

Calculate current and target totals with expected traffic, database size, storage, bandwidth, email, AI and team time. Then compare control: who owns the accounts, whether budgets and hard limits are available, how data can be exported and whether one provider can be replaced without rebuilding the entire app.

What stackferry charges

The repository assessment is free. A frontend handoff costs €49, a full stack handoff costs €199 and an explicitly authorized live data migration costs €299 excluding VAT. Each is a one-time automated execution fee for the reviewed contract. Destination providers bill their ongoing usage directly to the customer.

A supported scope is €0 when every required new provider account is created through an eligible tracked stackferry route marked (ad). The technical ranking does not change because of compensation, and an unsupported route stops before checkout instead of turning into manual consulting.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• A Lovable alternative for apps that are ready to grow up
• Connect Lovable to GitHub, then take control of the whole app
• Move a Lovable app to Vercel without losing the backend
• Choose hosting for an AI-built app without replacing one lock-in with another