Artificial intelligence has reshaped many industries, and software development is one of them. AI has managed to transform the process of developing apps and websites. How? By making coding more accessible and efficient. Is deep programming knowledge still a sine qua non for creating a functional product? Well, not anymore.

Today we can find AI coding tools tailored to diverse levels of technical expertise. We have no-code platforms which empower non-technical users to create mobile apps through intuitive interfaces and natural language inputs. They allow us to bring ideas to life using natural language descriptions, making coding accessible beyond traditional developers. At the same time, we have AI tools which address those with programming proficiency. These can provide intelligent code suggestions and real-time error detection, enhancing coding efficiency and accuracy.

In this article, we’ve divided the tools into three main categories: for developers who possess advanced skills, for those with some technical oversight, capable of managing code, and for non-programmers.

Technical Users

In this category, we’ve listed the tools adequate for truly technical users who enjoy coding.

Cursor

Cursor is an integrated development environment (IDE) available for Mac, Windows and Linux. The tool is built on the Visual Studio Code platform and, therefore, can be regarded as familiar territory for numerous programmers. Cursor’s goal is to help developers write, edit and manage code more efficiently. For that purpose it integrates multiple AI-powered capabilities to not only make code suggestions, but also provide automatic error detection and smart code completion. Depending on your task, you can choose between different AI models, including GPT-4o, GPT-4, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or its own Cursor model.

One of its standout features is AI Autocomplete, which intelligently predicts and suggests the next code edit, often offering multi-line suggestions. The Agent Mode represents an even higher level of automation, because it is capable of completing tasks from start to finish with minimum supervision. Another notable feature is the ability to generate code from natural language prompts, using shortcuts such as Ctrl+K (Cmd+K). This can have real benefits, as it speeds up the process of writing repetitive code. The integration of AI extends to the terminal, allowing you to translate plain English commands into executable terminal commands.

Pros

• It enhances productivity with AI-powered code suggestions.
• Ease of use (at least for those familiar with VS Code).
• The versatile AI capabilities.
• The ability to comprehend and navigate complex codebases.
• It simplifies code refactoring and debugging processes.

Cons

• Mastering advanced features may be cumbersome.
• The AI may sometimes provide irrelevant or incorrect code suggestions.

Price

Cursor comes with a free edition called Hobby, which includes a 2-week trial of the Pro edition, 2,000 completions and 50 slow premium requests. There are two paid plans:

• Pro: $20/month
• Business: $40/user/month

Windsurf

Windsurf is an agentic code editor created by Codeium and downloadable on all major platforms. In fact, it is regarded as the first agentic IDE. Just like in the case of Cursor, it’s built on the framework of the VS code editor, which enables many developers to immediately recognize both the interface and various functionalities.

At the core of Windsurf’s AI capabilities lies the concept of Flows, which basically represent the synergy between AI Agents and AI Copilots. AI Agents are designed to handle complex coding tasks independently, while AI Copilots collaborate with the developer to assist with various aspects of coding. The functionality of the tool revolves around its Cascade system, an advanced AI system capable of covering a wide spectrum of development tasks. There are diverse modes of operation:

• Write Mode – you can use prompts to generate entire files.
• Chat Mode – provides context-aware code suggestions and instructions.
• Legacy Mode – functions similarly to ChatGPT, useful for general assistance.

Another important feature, meant to further enhance your efficiency, is AI Supercomplete. This functionality goes beyond the classic Autocomplete feature and attempts to predict the developer’s intent rather than just suggesting the next word or line of code.

Pros

• Clean, intuitive UI.
• Powerful AI-powered automation and assistance.
• Deep contextual understanding of codebases.
• It offers a high degree of integration through VS Code plugins and MCP.

Cons

• It may not be ideal for learning to code due to high automation.
• Occasional bugs and stability issues.

Price

Windsurf comes with a free version, which includes a limited number of Cascade credits and a good amount of features. At the time of writing this post, when downloading the tool you get 50 premium model user prompt credits and 200 premium model flow action credits.

To get more credits and access additional features, you’ll have to upgrade to one of the multiple subscriptions available:

• Pro: $15/month
• Pro Ultimate: $60/month
• Teams: $35/user/month
• Teams Ultimate: $90/user/month
• Enterprise: custom

In this article we’ve divided the tools in three main categories: non-programmers, users with some technical oversight, capable of managing code, and developers who possess advanced skills.

GitHub Copilot Workspace

GitHub Copilot Workspace is an AI development environment and assistant, built with a task-based approach. The tool aims to help developers in their daily operations within the context of a GitHub repository using natural commands. The workflow starts with a task, which is basically a text description of what you want to accomplish. The plan agent then analyzes your requirements and generates a detailed plan, highlighting the specific actions that need to be taken.

Copilot Workspace supports many task types, from fixing existing issues to creating new repositories from predefined templates. Test failure? No problem. You can quickly resort to the repair agent, which will automatically analyze and suggest fixes for test failures, based on the error messages received. An AI-based brainstorm agent is also available to discuss ideas and to help you find alternative approaches to a specific task. The tool incorporates several features that resemble a traditional IDE. These include an integrated terminal backed by a GitHub Codespace and secure port forwarding.

Copilot Workspace is a collaboration-oriented solution. The platform allows you to share a workspace with other developers and to publish links to your workspace sessions directly within the comments of GitHub issues and pull requests. In addition, the tool will automatically keep track of the context and history of changes made within a session.

Pros

• It automates repetitive coding tasks, boosting productivity.
• It efficiently reduces the amount of boilerplate code you need to write manually.
• Enhanced team collaboration through its workspace sharing capabilities.
• The GitHub mobile app, which lets you continue or review your work from anywhere.

Cons

• The generated code is not always flawless.
• Cost considerations, since it’s not free.

Price

While GitHub offers a free plan for the original Copilot with limited access, full and unlimited access to Copilot and Copilot Workspace requires a paid subscription. There are three plans available:

• Pro: $10/month
• Business: $19/user/month
• Enterprise: $39/user/month

Middle Ground

In this category, we’ll mention tools that are partially suitable for non-developers. This is due to the fact that they require some technical understanding.

Replit

Replit gives both beginners and experienced programmers the opportunity to create apps and websites with the aid of artificial intelligence. No coding needed. The tool can be accessed directly in your browser, but it also provides a mobile app and a desktop software. How does everything happen? With the aid of Replit Agent and Assistant, of course. Here’s how the process works:

1. Enter your prompt – tell the AI what you want to build and let it make improvement suggestions.
2. The Agent generates the build plan – you can add more feature using textual instructions.
3. Refine the project through the chat interface.
4. Launch your app/website within minutes.

Replit is designed with a clean, user-friendly UI, which makes it truly accessible. The tool allows you to write, test and deploy code in multiple programming languages, including Python, Javascript, C++ or Node.js. It offers built-in hosting, which makes it possible to deploy your web applications directly from the platform.

Pros

• Beginner-friendly alternative.
• It supports a wide range of programming languages.
• AI assistance for code generation and learning.
• Real-time collaboration for team coding.
• Versatile tool, available on multiple platforms and devices.

Cons

• Potential performance issues when dealing with complex projects.
• It doesn’t provide advanced debugging features.

Price

Replit comes with a free version called Starter, which provides limited Replit Agent access, basic AI features and 3 public projects. There are two paid options:

• Core: $20/month – billed yearly
• Teams: $40/user/month

Tempo Labs

Tempo Labs is an AI-powered solution to easily prompt, develop and design code. The main objective of this platform is to help you develop React apps considerably faster thanks to the implementation of artificial intelligence and the seamless collaboration between designers and developers.

Tempo Labs integrates directly into existing React codebases and gives you the chance to generate and edit React code using natural textual instructions and a visual drag and drop editor to polish layouts and styles. You have the option of importing components from Storybook, but you’re also free to generate custom libraries. The tool supports local editing with code editors such as VSCode and can be synchronized with GitHub for control over the development process.

In general, Tempo Labs can be considered a useful tool for those involved in React app development. It offers AI-based code generation and visual editing capabilities, allowing you to rather focus on logic and less on intricate UI details.

Pros

• It can considerably reduce the effort of manual code review.
• Optimal for collaboration between designers and developers.
• The AI does a good job suggesting and generating React components.
• It’s compatible with tools like Storybook and VSCode to ensure flexible workflows.

Cons

• If you’re using a different framework such as Vue or Angular, it won’t be useful.
• The AI-generated code may require manual tweaking.

Price

Tempo Labs has a free version, which includes 50 prompts, with no more than 5 prompts per day. There are two paid subscriptions: one with additional features and prompts and another one where the platform’s agents build and design for you 1-3 features per week.

• Pro: $30/month
• Agent+: $4,000/month

Onlook

Onlook is a desktop-based, open-source coding tool particularly tailored for React websites and apps. The studio enables designers and developers to work together and create user interfaces directly within live React projects.

The tool comes with a Figma-like UI, with support for drag and drop editing. You can adjust layouts, change colors, edit text, play with the opacity or increase padding, and instantly see your changes reflected in the React codebase. One of the standout features is its live code-sharing functionality, which allows multiple users to edit and review code simultaneously, similar to Google Docs but tailored for coding

In addition to visual editing, Onlook offers a much-needed AI assistance. In that sense you can use text prompts to generate design variations, build new components and explore various design approaches. The AI can make suggestions to help you identify specific errors and optimize performance. The tool also integrates with existing React projects and works with popular styling solutions like Tailwind CSS, making it adaptable to various development setups.

Pros

• It makes design and development work together smoothly.
• The visual interface for editing React components.
• It allows direct manipulation of existing component code.
• It is open-source, enabling community contribution.

Cons

• It is primarily focused on React development, which could limit its usage for projects using other frameworks.

Price

Onlook offers its style editor free of charge. With a free account, you get 5 AI chat messages per day, with a maximum of 50 per month. If you need to write more messages and access additional features, you can upgrade to the Pro plan.

Non-technical Users

Lovable

Lovable is a solution designed to give non-technical users the opportunity to build and publish a functional product. This can be anything from a web or mobile app to a landing page or perhaps a portfolio website. Who it addresses? Founders and solopreneurs looking to quickly launch a product, product designers who wish to bypass tiresome prototyping work, product team members with no coding skills, as well as software engineers in search of a quicker method to prototype apps.

How is everything done? Through simple prompting. Just describe an idea in your own words into a chat interface. Here are the main steps to follow:

1. Tell the AI what you want to build in a natural language.
2. Let the software build a first version.
3. Use the editor to tweak the design and extend the project.
4. Share the result via link.

Lovable is equipped with a visual editor, pre-built templates and collaborative tools and offers integration with many data sources. It uses React and Vite for the front-end and Supabase for back-end, which includes database storage, authentication and cloud features. The platform doesn’t let you edit the generated code in its interface, but it enables you to link it to a GitHub repository. This means that any change made to the code on GitHub will automatically become visible in the app.

Pros

• Accessible to users with no or minimal coding knowledge.
• Strong integration capabilities.
• Fast prototyping.
• Integrated deployment.

Cons

• Limited customization for highly complex apps.
• Reliance on pre-built components may restrict certain functionalities, making it unsuitable for large-scale apps.

Price

Lovable comes with a free plan, which includes 5 messages per day, with a total limit of 30 messages per month. If you want to go beyond this capacity, there are multiple paid plans available:

• Starter: $20/month
• Launch: $50/month
• Scale 1: $100/month
• Teams: custom

Bolt

Bolt is an AI app builder that simplifies software creation for both technical and non-technical users. The platform combines Stack Blitz’s development capabilities with AI assistance for full-stack app deployment straight from your browser. You can rely on it for smart code completion, automated code generation, as well as real-time error detection.

How does it work? You simply describe, as specifically as possible, what you want to build in the prompt box. Bolt will then put Claude 3.5 Sonnet to use to generate code that closely matches your prompt. The platform has an easy-to-understand, chat-based interface, where you can give textual instructions, and the agent will make the codes changes as requested. Live updates will be available in the StackBlitz’s WebContainers environment for each change made.

Bolt is compatible with popular web languages and frameworks like React, Vue, and Astro and can be integrated with Netlify (for deployment and hosting), Supabase (for database, authentication and file storage) and Expo (for mobile app development).

Pros

• It significantly speeds up coding.
• It improves code quality through suggestions.
• It integrates seamlessly with existing development environments.

Cons

• The AI-generated code may require careful review, potential for generating incorrect or suboptimal code.
• Effectiveness depends on the complexity of the project.

Price

Bolt offers a free account, which provides a limited number of tokens. There are 4 paid plans to choose from:

• Pro: 10M tokens – $20/month
• Pro 50: 26M tokens – $50/month
• Pro 100: 55M tokens – $100/month
• Pro 200: 120M tokens – $200/month

v0

v0 by Vercel is a chat-based software builder. This is an AI tool capable of generating not only ready-to-use code, but also user interface for a wide range of projects, all based on your input. All you have to do is describe your idea in natural language. Among others you can use it for debugging, writing tests, generating high-quality React UI’s, implementing new features in web apps, creating animations, 3D assets and interactive mockups, as well as building landing pages.

As already mentioned, the platform uses a chat interface which allows you to easily communicate with the v0 assistant. The AI is capable of producing advanced code Blocks which you can preview in the chat, and then copy and paste into your project. v0 can render Svelte, Vue, HTML and Markdown inside of Blocks and can write and render frameworks like Bootstrap and Material UI. At the same time, it is able to generate code for various CSS frameworks or vanilla CSS.

In general, the platforms aims to bridge the gap between design and development by automating the process of translating design concepts into functional code. Therefore it can be tailored for front-end developers and designers who want to rapidly prototype and iterate on UI designs.

Pros

• Fast UI prototyping,
• It reduces manual coding of UI components.
• Rapid iteration.
• It simplifies the design-to-code workflow.

Cons

• If you’re looking for unique UI designs, you’ll need to step in and make adjustments, as the base design elements can be generic.
• The generated code may require manual adjustments for specific requirements.

Price

v0 comes with a free plan, which lets you generate content and includes up to 200 projects. If you need more messages, a higher attachment size limit or unlimited projects, you can upgrade to the paid editions:

• Premium: $20/month
• Ultra: $200/month
• Team: $30/user/month
• Enterprise: custom

Bubble

Bubble is a no-code platform that lets you build an app or website without traditional coding. It’s suitable for developing Saas applications, marketplaces or CRM’s. Think of it as a visual programming platform. You start with a text-based prompt and then use drag and drop visual development. No need to write a single line of code. The AI will generate the initial structure and design of your app and afterwards you’ll get to design interfaces, define workflows and manage databases through a drag and drop interface.

The tool is equipped a visual editor where you can arrange elements like buttons, text boxes, and images on a page, a powerful workflow engine where you define the app’s logic and a built-in database where you store and manage your data. If you want to speed up the development process, you can leverage templates. Bubble has lots of them. These templates provide pre-built app structures and designs that you can use as a starting point for your own projects.

When it comes to integration, Bubble makes it possible to connect your app to other apps and services on the web through the Bubble API and diverse plugins. You’ll find more than 300 AI plugins to quickly connect and switch between AI models.

Pros

• The drag and drop interface, which simplifies the development process.
• The workflow automation to create complex application logic.
• Extensive database capabilities.
• Its plugin ecosystem for integration with numerous third-party services.

Cons

• There’s a certain learning curve for beginners.
• Debugging can be difficult due to the visual nature of the platform.

Price

Bubble comes with a free version, which allows you to build an app within certain boundaries. There are four paid packages to choose from:

• Starter: $29/month
• Growth: $119/month
• Team: $349/month
• Enterprise: custom

Softr

Softr is a platform that enables you to build a custom app without writing code. Who can use it? Well, anyone, whether small businesses or individuals, who wants to quickly create an app without coding. What kind of software can you create? A ton, actually. You’re free to build client portals, project management or inventory management app, sales CRM’s, employee directories, multi-step forms, content calendars and much, much more.

Softr places at your disposal multiple ways to create your business app:

• through your own data
• through pre-designed templates
• through generative AI

If you want to use the first method, the platform will integrate with numerous spreadsheet and database software, such as Google Sheets, AirTable, MySQL, BigQuery, Hubspot, Supabase or Xano. Then it will convert that data into a fully-functional, visually-appealing app. Naturally, you’ll be able to customize the layout, adjust the views and functionalities and control user access.

If you prefer, you can start with one of 90+ built-in templates and customize it as you please. You can also generate your app with artificial intelligence. Write a clear prompt, specifying exactly what kind of app you need, and let the AI do its magic.

Pros

• User-friendly interface.
• Seamless integration with data sources.
• Fast AI-based app development.
• Comprehensive template library.
• Easy customization.

Cons

• AI is good for initial setups, but you’ll still likely need to do a fair bit of manual tweaking to get things exactly how you want them.
• The pre-built blocks don’t offer the highest level of flexibility.

Price

Softr comes with a free version, which includes a limited number of features and allows you to publish one app in your workspace. If you want more, you’ll have to upgrade to the paid editions:

• Basic: $49/month
• Professional: $139/month
• Business: $269/month
• Enterprise: custom