Bolt vs Magic Patterns (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Bolt grades higher than Magic Patterns: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Bolt grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bolt
Browser-based AI builder for websites, web apps and mobile apps
Magic Patterns
AI prototyping tool that builds product UIs from prompts
Which one is for you
Pick Bolt if
- Fits if you want to prototype a web app from a prompt with nothing to install
- Works for people who switch between prompting and editing the code themselves
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, at 300K tokens a day and 1M a month, with bigger projects spending more per message
- Watch out: free sites carry a Made in Bolt badge and go offline for the month past 10 GB or 333,333 requests
- Skip it if you want a desktop or phone app to build in, as Bolt lives in the browser
- Pricey if you're a team, since Teams is $30 a member and tokens aren't shared between you
- Not for you if you need custom domains or Supabase databases for free, as both need a paid plan
Pick Magic Patterns if
- Fits if you need clickable screens to show a team before building
- Makes sense if you work in Figma and GitHub already
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a deployed app: it makes prototypes
- Tight if you stay free: the allowance is small and the page doesn't say how small
- Pricey if the team grows: prices are per seat, and Business is $85
- Watch out: SSO and usage reporting need Business, and unused credits roll over only once
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABoltGood | 2.2GPAMagic PatternsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $25 a month, or $216 for the year, which works out at $18. That's mid-table for builders here, where the middle is $19 and the dearest quarter starts at $25. You get 10M tokens a month with no daily cap, rollover and custom domains. Teams is $30 a member, and those tokens aren't pooled. | C$17 a seat a month billed yearly sits just above the category's cheaper quarter. Business is $85 a seat and the price grows with the team. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree for good: 300K tokens a day, 1M a month, private projects, databases and hosting. The caps bite. Bigger projects spend more tokens per message, your site wears a Made in Bolt badge, and it goes dark for the rest of the month past 333,333 requests. | CA free plan exists but the page gives no credit number, so you can't tell how far it goes. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole job. Chat builds a full-stack project and Plan Mode talks the approach through first; Bolt Cloud brings hosting, databases, login and domains; Code view edits files without spending tokens; and you can start from a Figma frame or ship phone apps through Expo. Replit does the same, so no A. | CPrompt to prototype, GitHub sync, MCP and Figma export. It makes prototypes, not deployed apps, and design-system import is Enterprise. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to install and nothing to set up: open a browser tab, type a prompt and it builds. Code view is there if you want it. Supabase databases do need a paid plan. | CNo store rating on record. You write prompts and iterate, and credits scale with request size. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app to build in. It connects to Supabase, Stripe, GitHub, Figma, Netlify and Google Stitch, and to Expo for shipping iOS and Android apps. | BWeb app with GitHub, Figma and MCP connections. |
| Best for | building in a browser tab with the code in view | AI prototypes of product screens |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bolt and Magic Patterns. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bolt starts at $18 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Magic Patterns starts at $17 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Bolt scores higher, and starts $1 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI app builders on the chart, 1 scores higher than Bolt for less, and 7 score higher than Magic Patterns for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| Bolt | Magic Patterns | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $18 per month, billed yearly ($216); $25 billed monthly (Pro) | $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 300K tokens a day and 1M a month, public and private projects, unlimited databases, and hosting with up to 333K web requests a month. Published sites carry Bolt branding. | Free plan with a small monthly credit allowance; the page does not give the number. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | StackBlitz, Inc. | North Park Labs, Inc. |
| Price read from | bolt.new | magicpatterns.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bolt
- The free plan stops at 300K tokens a day and 1M a month, and larger projects use more tokens per message.
- Custom domains and Supabase databases need a paid plan, and free sites show a Made in Bolt badge.
- Free sites go offline for the rest of the month once they pass 10 GB of bandwidth or 333,333 requests.
- On Teams, tokens are allotted to each paid member and are not shared across the team.
Magic Patterns
- Free-plan credits are small; the page does not give the figure.
- Unused monthly credits roll over once and then expire after one month.
- SSO and usage reporting need Business at $85 per seat / month billed annually.
- Prices are per seat, so cost scales with team size.
Key features
Bolt
- Prompt-to-app building
- Describe an idea in chat and Bolt generates a full-stack project using JavaScript-based web frameworks. Plan Mode lets you discuss an approach before any code is written.
- Bolt Cloud
- Hosting, databases, user authentication and domains are built into each project. Paid plans raise the hosting allowance to 30 GB of bandwidth and 1 million requests a month.
- Code view and GitHub
- Project files can be read and edited directly in Code view, which uses no tokens, and a project can be connected to GitHub or started from an existing repository.
- Design imports
- Start a project from a Figma frame or a Google Stitch design, or add a design system so that generated screens follow existing components.
- Mobile apps through Expo
- Web apps are built natively in Bolt, while mobile apps for iOS and Android are built and shipped through its Expo integration.
- Teams workspace
- A shared workspace with centralized billing, member and integration controls, team prompts and private NPM registry support, priced per member.
Magic Patterns
- Prompt to prototype
- Describes screens in text and generates a multi-page interactive prototype; credits scale with the size of the request.
- Export options
- Starter and above list MCP, GitHub sync and Figma exporting.
- Team workspaces
- Starter includes team workspaces for 10 users; Business is listed for more than 10.
- On-demand usage
- When monthly credits run out, paid plans can keep prompting at a fixed per-credit rate billed on the next invoice.
- Design system import
- Enterprise lists a custom import of a company design system.
Plans
Bolt
Free$0
300K tokens a day and 1M a month, public and private projects, hosting with up to 333K web requests, a 10MB upload limit and Bolt branding on sites.
ProFrom $25
per month, billed monthly; $216 a year billed yearly
Starts at 10M tokens a month with no daily limit. Adds token rollover, custom domains, no Bolt branding, 100MB uploads and up to 1M web requests.
Teams$30
per member / month, billed monthly
Everything in Pro, plus centralized billing, team-level access management, admin controls and private NPM registries. Tokens are per member, not pooled.
EnterpriseCustom
SSO, audit logs and compliance support, a dedicated account manager, 24/7 priority support, custom SLAs and data retention policies.
Magic Patterns
Free$0
Free monthly credits for trying the tool; the allowance is not stated on the page.
Starter$17
per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
1,000 monthly credits, watermark removed on previews, GitHub sync, MCP and on-demand usage.
Business$85
per seat / month, billed annually ($100 billed monthly)
5,000 monthly credits, SSO, usage reporting and shared workspaces for more than 10 users.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom credit pools, SCIM, priority support and a dedicated account manager. Annual commitment.
Ways to pay less
Bolt
- Annual discount
Save up to 28% with yearly billing
The pricing page advertises up to 28% off with yearly billing. The help center gives $216 a year for the entry Pro tier against $25 a month, and says other annual plans save 10%.
Magic Patterns
- Annual discount
15% off with annual billing
The pricing toggle shows Annual at 15% off: Starter $17 versus $20 monthly, Business $85 versus $100.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bolt or Magic Patterns?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Bolt starts at $18 per month, billed yearly ($216); $25 billed monthly (Pro), and Magic Patterns starts at $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Bolt or Magic Patterns?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Bolt and Magic Patterns have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.