Brilliant vs Lovable
Choose Lovable if you want a working web app, with a database, sign-in and hosting, from a description in a chat. Choose Brilliant if you want to design the product first, on a real vector canvas that you and your coding agent both edit, and keep that design as a file your agent builds from. Lovable builds the app. Brilliant is where you decide what the app should be.
Should I choose Brilliant or Lovable?
It comes down to whether you need a product running today, or a design you can direct in detail.
| Choose Brilliant if | Choose Lovable if |
|---|---|
| You want to compare directions and settle the design before anything is built | You want a live app, backend included, as fast as possible |
| You want to move, draw and restyle anything by hand | You are happy to select an element and describe the change |
| Your own agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) should design with you, free | You want the builder, the backend and the hosting from one vendor |
| You make logos, illustration and video as well as screens | You are building a web app or a site |
How do Brilliant and Lovable compare?
Lovable is an app builder. Brilliant is a design tool. Each row on the Lovable side links to the Lovable page it was read from.
| What | Brilliant | Lovable |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A professional vector design tool that agents work in, on the same canvas as you | "A full-stack AI development platform for building, iterating on, and deploying web applications using natural language" (Lovable docs) |
| What you get | A design file: vectors, frames, components and tokens | A working web app with "frontend, backend, database, authentication, and integrations, all backed by editable code" (Lovable docs) |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows and the web | The web, desktop apps for macOS and Windows, and apps for iOS and Android (desktop app, mobile app) |
| Editing by hand | Everything, directly: pen paths, booleans, auto layout, text, effects | Edit text inline. For anything else, select an element or sketch on the preview and describe the change (preview toolbar). Editing code by hand is on paid plans (code editor) |
| Design systems | Tokens, modes and brands in one system that every bound layer follows | A design system is a dedicated Lovable project of React components, on paid plans (design systems) |
| Your own agent | Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and more connect over MCP and design on the canvas. Unlimited canvas work on Free | A Lovable MCP server lets an agent "create projects, send messages to Lovable, inspect code, deploy apps", on all plans. Lovable says "Standard Lovable credits apply to create_project and send_message calls. Other tools are free" (Lovable MCP server) |
| AI you can use | Brilliant AI, or your own provider | Lovable chooses the model, "so you cannot pick a specific model for building" (Lovable FAQ) |
| From Figma | The Brilliant plugin imports a file as editable layers, and sends designs back | A Figma plugin, Figma MCP or a .fig upload bring designs and tokens in as context for the build (Lovable and Figma) |
| Getting it out | PNG, JPEG, WebP, SVG, PDF, HTML and React, plus MP4, MOV and Replay video on desktop (MOV on macOS only) | Publish to a hosted URL (publish), and sync the code to GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket on all plans (Git sync) |
| Files | Blueprint: plain text you can read, diff and keep in git, on your disk | Code in your Lovable project and your Git repository. "Your apps, code, and content you create with Lovable are yours, subject to third-party rights such as open-source licenses" (ownership) |
When is Brilliant the better pick?
Three situations, each one something you can check in the docs.
You want to decide the design, not accept the first one
An app builder gives you one answer and you steer it by prompt. On a canvas you put three versions of the screen side by side, drag the pieces you like together, and fix the spacing yourself in two seconds. Every layer is a real vector or frame you can grab. See Selection and editing and Explore variations.
Your coding agent should design with you
Connect Claude Code, Cursor or Codex with one toggle. It creates and edits real layers on the canvas you have open, and everything it makes lands with full undo. Canvas work for your own agents is unlimited on the Free plan, on the model you choose. See Connect your agent.
One design system, many outputs
Tokens, modes and brands live in one system, and every bound layer follows when you switch. The same design exports as React or HTML when it is time to build, and as PNG, SVG, PDF or video for everything else. See Design systems and Import and export.
What does Lovable do better today?
Lovable gets you to a running product, and Brilliant does not try to.
The whole stack. Frontend, database, authentication and integrations from a description (Lovable docs). Brilliant exports markup for your agent or your team to build on.
Hosting built in. Publishing deploys the app to a URL Lovable hosts, with "no servers to set up" (publish).
A backend without setup. A built-in backend with a database, storage, authentication and functions (Lovable Cloud).
Phones. Native apps for iOS and Android (mobile app). Brilliant runs on macOS, Windows and the web.
Unlimited members. Plans are "priced by credits, not seats" (workspaces). Brilliant’s team plan is priced per seat.
Comments. You can leave a comment on the preview for a teammate (preview toolbar).
What do they cost?
Both start free. Brilliant’s Free plan includes every design feature and unlimited canvas work for your own agents. Lovable meters building, hosting and in-app AI from one credit balance (credits and usage).
| What | Brilliant | Lovable |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Brilliant AI every month, every design feature, public projects and drops, 2 GB | 5 build credits a day, up to 30 a month (Lovable plans) |
| One person | Personal $20 a month, Pro $50, Max $100, Max 20x $200 | Pro from $25 a month for 100 credits, with larger credit tiers above it (Lovable plans) |
| Teams | Seats from $25 a month, 2 seats minimum, 1 TB pooled | Business from $50 a month for 100 credits. Enterprise by quote. Members are unlimited on every plan (Lovable plans) |
For every Brilliant plan, see the pricing page.
Can I use Brilliant and Lovable together?
Yes. Design the screens in Brilliant, then hand them to the builder. Export a frame as a PNG and attach it to your Lovable prompt as the mockup to match (Lovable chat), or export React or HTML and let a coding agent carry it into the codebase. See Ship to code. If your team works from Figma, Send to Figma turns a Brilliant design into native Figma layers, and Lovable has its own Figma routes (Lovable and Figma).
Common questions
Is Lovable free?
There is a Free plan with 5 build credits a day, capped at 30 a month. Editing code, downloading the whole codebase, custom domains and design systems start at Pro, according to Lovable’s plan table. Brilliant’s Free plan includes every design feature.
Do I own the code Lovable writes?
Lovable says yes: "Your apps, code, and content you create with Lovable are yours, subject to third-party rights such as open-source licenses", and you can host them wherever you choose (ownership).
Does Lovable import from Figma?
Yes, three ways: its own Figma plugin, Figma MCP in the desktop app, or a .fig upload. Lovable notes that the upload brings design system values and a summary, and "does not recreate your designs or components" (Lovable and Figma). Brilliant imports a Figma file as editable layers with its components and variables. See Import from Figma.
Can Lovable build a mobile app?
Lovable says it builds web applications and "does not generate React Native projects" (Lovable FAQ). In Brilliant you design the screens, and your agent builds from the design in whatever stack you use.
Is Lovable a design tool?
Lovable describes itself as a development platform for web applications (Lovable docs). If you want a canvas with a pen tool, components and tokens, that is a design tool’s job, and it is what Brilliant is.
Where next?
Try Brilliant in your browser, no account needed: open the playground.
Take a design to production: Ship to code.
Connect a coding agent: Connect your agent.
Compare Vercel’s builder: Brilliant vs v0.
Compare Figma’s builder: Brilliant vs Figma Make.
See every plan on the pricing page.
Lovable facts come from docs.lovable.dev, each linked where it is used, and were read on November 11, 2026. Tell us if something has moved.