We make Kliv, an AI app builder that competes with Base44. Every Base44 fact on this page comes from Base44's own pricing page, docs or changelog, checked on October 29, 2026 and linked under Sources. This is not a survey of Base44 users, and we haven't run a long project on it ourselves.
Base44 in short
Base44 is a good fit if you want a prototype, an internal tool or a customer portal quickly, and you can live with a monthly credit allowance. Each request you send the AI uses message credits (on paid plans, the AI's automatic fixes are free), the allowance resets each month with nothing carried over, and running features in your live app (email, AI calls, workflows) draws on a second credit pool.
It's a weaker fit if you need company sign-in (SSO) or control over where data is stored: for workspaces created since October 1, 2026, both need the Business or Enterprise plan, and Business has no price on the pricing page. Base44 is owned by Wix, which bought it in June 2025.
One prompt gets you an app with a backend, database, sign-in and hosting. Manual edits in the visual editor cost no credits. A path into the App Store and Google Play from the Builder plan.
Two credit pools to watch, no rollover, GitHub sync only from Builder ($50 a month), and SSO or data residency only on Business and up.
Base44 pricing
The prices below are Base44's US dollar prices; its billing docs say your currency depends on where you are. Paying yearly takes 20% off every paid plan, according to the pricing page.
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly, per month | Message credits a month | Integration credits a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 25 (at most 5 a day) | 100 |
| Starter | $20 | $16 | 100 | 2,000 |
| Builder | $50 | $40 | 250 | 10,000 |
| Pro | $100 | $80 | 500 | 20,000 |
| Elite | $200 | $160 | 1,200 (larger sizes available) | 50,000 |
| Business | not listed | not listed | 2,400 to 5,400 | 96,000 to 216,000 |
| Enterprise | custom | custom | custom | custom |
- Free: up to 5 apps, with sign-in, database and analytics.
- Starter: unlimited apps, code edits inside the app, your own domain, and removal of the Base44 badge.
- Builder: adds a choice of AI model, GitHub sync, backend functions and payments (Stripe or Base44 Payments powered by Wix).
- Pro adds early access to beta features; Elite adds premium support.
- Business (plan docs): SSO, data residency, 30-day backup and restore, IP allowlisting and per-member credit limits.
Two extras on the pricing cards apply only when you pay yearly: a free domain for the first year (on every yearly plan, Starter included, since October 4, 2026) and 25 credits to share with a friend. Switch the page to Monthly and both disappear.
Is Base44 free?
Yes, there's a Free plan, and it's enough to see whether Base44 understands your idea. It gives you 25 message credits a month, at most 5 a day, plus 100 integration credits. Only your personal workspace gets the free message credits. On Free, the AI's automatic fixes also use message credits; on paid plans they don't.
By Base44's own estimates, 5 credits is about ten simple changes or one app-wide change. Base44 says you can ship complete apps on Free. In practice the daily cap limits how fast you can iterate, so a bigger app takes several days of small steps.
How Base44 credits work
Base44 has two kinds of credits. Message credits pay for the AI chat while you build. Integration credits pay for built-in services your live app uses: sending email, generating images, calling an AI model, running workflows and backend functions.
There's no fixed price per message. Base44's credits docs give estimates: about 0.5 credits for a simple change, 1 for a small feature, 2 for a complex module and 3 to 4 for an app-wide change. Discuss mode costs about 0.3 a message, and dragging things around in the visual editor is free.
- Sending an email: about 1 integration credit, about 2 from a custom domain
- Generating an image: about 1
- An AI call from your app: about 1 on the automatic model, from about 3 on other models
- Workflows: about 1 per 10 steps
- Backend functions: about 1 per 100 calls
- Calling an outside service with your own API key: no integration credits
Unused credits expire when they reset, which on paid plans is your monthly billing date. The one exception is upgrading from one monthly plan to a bigger monthly plan, which carries credits over for one more cycle. When message credits run out, you can't send the AI new requests until the reset or an upgrade. When integration credits run out, those actions fail in your live app, and your users see a generic error.
Budget for the live app, not just for building. Starter's 2,000 integration credits cover roughly 2,000 emails a month at about 1 credit each, less if you send from your own domain, and the same pool pays for AI calls and workflows.
What a month of building costs on Starter
Starter's 100 message credits cover about 25 to 30 app-wide changes, or about 200 simple ones. In practice the mix matters: each extra request to fix a bug uses more credits, though on paid plans the AI's automatic fixes are free. If most of your messages are fixes and small features, budget about 1 credit each, so about 100 requests a month. Base44's own FAQ puts it this way: "Most app creators land on Starter. Teams shipping multiple apps tend to land on Builder or Pro."
Limits to know before you pay
- Database size per app, for apps created from October 18, 2026: 200 MB on Free, 2 GB on Starter, 5 GB on Builder, 10 GB on Pro, 25 GB on Elite (data docs).
- SSO and data residency need Business or Enterprise for workspaces created from October 1, 2026 (changelog).
- Refunds: Base44's billing docs say its services are non-refundable, with case-by-case exceptions if you picked the wrong plan by mistake.
- What it's built for: Base44 describes its users as founders, product managers and small teams building MVPs, internal tools, customer portals and lightweight SaaS (llms.txt). How well it handles a large, complex app isn't something the docs can tell you; test your own case on Free.
Do you own the code, and can you leave?
Base44's FAQ says you own everything you build: "your code, your data, your users." Apps are React apps built with Vite and Tailwind that talk to Base44's backend through its SDK.
You can get the code out two ways: as a ZIP through the export API, or with two-way GitHub sync, which needs Builder or higher. Keep in mind that the database, sign-in, storage and functions stay on Base44. Exported code still depends on that backend until you replace it.
Can Base44 put an app in the App Store?
Yes, as a wrapper: Base44 runs your published web app inside a native shell's web view. Checking store readiness is free, but downloading the submission files needs Builder or higher, and you need your own Apple and Google developer accounts (app store docs).
Stuck, or out of credits? Try Kliv
Kliv is our product, so weigh this accordingly. If Base44 can't build the app you have in mind, or you've run out of credits, try Kliv. It has a stronger foundation and covers more ground, so you can build more, and build stronger apps.
On Kliv, sign-in, the database, payments on your own Stripe account, email (100 a day) and hosting are in every plan, Free included, built to work together. There are no per-message credits: builder usage refreshes over rolling 5-hour and 7-day windows, and at a limit only building pauses while your live apps keep running. Kliv builds web apps for phone and desktop browsers, not App Store or Google Play apps. The table puts Base44's numbers from its own pages next to Kliv's published plans. For more options, see Base44 alternatives.
| Compared | Base44 | Kliv |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | $0, 25 message credits a month, up to 5 apps | $0, up to 25 apps, limited builder usage |
| First paid plan | Starter, $20 a month ($16 yearly) | Pro, $19 a month or $199 a year |
| How building is billed | Message credits per request, no rollover | A builder usage allowance per plan, no per-message credits |
| When you reach the limit | New AI requests wait for the credit reset or an upgrade (Free also has a daily cap); actions that need integration credits fail in your live app | Building pauses until the 5-hour or 7-day window refreshes; live apps keep running |
| Email from your app | About 1 integration credit per email | Included, 100 emails a day |
| Number of apps | Free up to 5; unlimited from Starter | Free 25, Pro 1,000, Max 5x 2,500, Max 20x 10,000 |
| Custom domains | From Starter | Pro 1, Max 5x 5, Max 20x 20 |
| Company sign-in (SSO) | Business or Enterprise | Max 20x ($99 a month) |
| Taking the code with you | ZIP export; GitHub sync from Builder | ZIP download and GitHub sync |
| App Store and Google Play | Web-view wrapper, files from Builder | No, web apps only |
you want your web app in the App Store and Google Play, you want to pick the AI model yourself, or you make a few planned changes a month and don't mind tracking two credit pools.
you're out of credits, or you want a stronger foundation that covers more ground: email and payments in every plan, no per-message credits, and SSO at a published price ($99 a month). Kliv builds web apps, not store apps.
How to test Base44 before you pay
- Day 1: describe the whole app in one message: pages, who uses it, what it stores. Expect an app-wide change, about 3 to 4 credits.
- Day 2: add test data and try signing in. Ask the AI to fix one thing that's wrong, and count how many tries it takes.
- Day 3: ask for one small feature, such as a filter or a form. Then change a color in the visual editor, which is free.
- Day 4: have the app send you an email and check how many integration credits it used.
- Day 5: multiply your five days of use by six and compare it with Starter's 100 credits and Builder's 250.
“Build a booking app for a physical therapy practice. Patients sign up, see open appointment times for the next two weeks and book one. The practice sees every booking in a day view and gets an email for each new booking.”
Questions people ask
- How much does Base44 cost?
- Base44 has a Free plan, then Starter at $20, Builder at $50, Pro at $100 and Elite at $200 a month. Paying yearly takes 20% off ($16, $40, $80 and $160 a month). Business and Enterprise prices aren't on the pricing page.
- Is Base44 free?
- Yes. The Free plan gives 25 message credits a month (at most 5 a day), 100 integration credits and up to 5 apps. Base44 says you can ship complete apps on it; the 5-a-day cap mostly limits how fast you can iterate.
- Do Base44 credits roll over?
- No. Unused credits expire when your allowance resets each month. The only carry-over is when you upgrade from one monthly plan to a bigger monthly plan, which keeps your credits for one more cycle.
- What happens when I run out of Base44 credits?
- Without message credits you can't send the AI new requests until the reset or an upgrade. Without integration credits, features like email and AI calls fail in your live app, and your users see a generic error.
- Who owns Base44?
- Wix. Wix announced the acquisition in June 2025, and Base44's site footer reads "© 2026 Wix.com Ltd." Base44 was founded by Maor Shlomo in January 2025.
- Can I export my Base44 app?
- You can export the source as a ZIP through Base44's API, or keep it in sync with GitHub on Builder and higher. The backend (database, sign-in, storage) stays on Base44, so exported code still depends on it.
Sources
Prices and plan details come from each company’s own pages, checked on October 29, 2026.
- Base44: Pricing
- Base44 docs: Billing and plans
- Base44 docs: Credits
- Base44 docs: Managing your app data
- Base44 docs: Product changelog
- Base44 docs: Project structure
- Base44 docs: GitHub integration
- Base44 docs: Export app source code
- Base44 docs: Uploading to app stores
- Base44: llms.txt
- Base44 docs: Setting up Stripe
- Base44 docs: Base44 Payments powered by Wix
- Wix: Acquisition of Base44 (press release)
- Kliv: Pricing
