Forgd vs Lovable - An Honest Comparison

Lovable makes it easy to build apps with AI. But what happens after the build?

Credit where it's due - Lovable is well-made

Lovable has a genuinely lovely interface. It makes AI-powered app building feel accessible and approachable in a way that few other tools manage. The demos are impressive, and the first experience of describing what you want and watching it appear on screen is genuinely exciting.

For lowering the barrier to building software, Lovable deserves real credit. It's opened the door for people who would never have considered building an app before.

The question isn't whether Lovable is a good tool. It is. The question is whether it's the right tool for software your business depends on.

Where things get difficult with Lovable

Beautiful prototypes, not production software

Lovable excels at creating things that look great. The UI is polished, the components are modern, and the result feels like real software. But there's a significant gap between looking like production software and being production software.

Error handling, input validation, security hardening, performance under load - these are the invisible things that separate a prototype from something your customers can trust.

The same 80% wall

Like all AI builders, Lovable gets you impressively far, impressively fast. Then you hit the wall. Complex business logic, tricky integrations, edge cases that the AI didn't anticipate - this is where the magic fades and the frustration begins.

The last 20% isn't just harder. It's a fundamentally different kind of work - and it's the part that makes or breaks business software.

No ongoing management or support

Lovable helps you build. Once you've built it, you're on your own. There's no managed hosting, no security monitoring, no backup service, no one to call when something goes wrong.

For a personal project, that might be acceptable. For software that processes your customers' data or handles your business operations, it's a risk.

Database migrations and scaling

As your business grows, your data model will change. Adding new features means altering your database structure - and getting that wrong can mean lost data. Lovable won't help you with database migrations, performance tuning, or scaling decisions.

Friday night failures

Software breaks. Servers go down. Databases run out of space. SSL certificates expire. When your business software fails at the worst possible moment - and it will - who do you call? With Lovable, the answer is nobody.

How Forgd and Lovable compare

Feature	Forgd	Lovable
Pricing model	Fixed monthly fee	Credit-based, tiered plans
Ongoing support	Human, phone & email	Community & docs
Backups	Daily, managed	Your responsibility
Security updates	Included	Your responsibility
Debugging	I handle it	You figure it out
Code ownership	You own everything	Exportable, but platform-tied
Production hosting	Managed, monitored	Basic deployment
Ongoing management	Included	None
Database management	Managed migrations & backups	Your responsibility
Human contact	Direct line to your team	No dedicated support
Production readiness	Guaranteed	Prototype-level by default

Who should use Lovable

Lovable is a good fit for certain use cases. Be honest about whether yours is one of them.

Exploring and validating an app idea before committing to a full build
Building quick prototypes to show investors or stakeholders
Internal tools where uptime and security are not critical
Designers who want to turn mockups into interactive demos
Personal projects where you're happy to manage everything yourself

Who should use Forgd

Forgd is for people who need their software to work, reliably, every day - without thinking about it.

Business owners who need software their customers can rely on
Anyone who tried Lovable and hit the limitations
Small businesses that handle sensitive customer data
People who want ongoing support and someone to call when things go wrong
Owners who'd rather focus on their business than manage software

Frequently asked questions

Can Lovable build production-ready business software?

Lovable can produce impressive-looking applications very quickly. However, there's a meaningful gap between a polished prototype and production-ready software that handles real users, real data, and real edge cases. Forgd delivers software that's built for production from day one, with ongoing management to keep it running smoothly.

What if I've already started building on Lovable?

That's fine - and quite common. If you've built something on Lovable and hit limitations, I can review what you've got. In many cases I can take your concept and rebuild it properly, incorporating the good parts of what you've already designed. Nothing is wasted.

Is Lovable good for anything?

Genuinely, yes. Lovable is excellent for exploring ideas, building quick prototypes, and validating concepts before committing to a full build. If you're not sure what you need yet, spending a few hours on Lovable to sketch out your idea can be a useful first step - even before talking to me.

Why is Forgd more expensive than Lovable's monthly plan?

Lovable's monthly plan gives you access to a tool. Forgd's monthly fee includes the tool, the expertise, the hosting, the security, the backups, the monitoring, and the ongoing support. It's the difference between renting a kitchen and hiring a chef.

What happens when something breaks at 10pm on a Friday?

With Lovable, you're on your own - searching forums, asking AI for help, hoping for the best. With Forgd, I monitor your software and respond to issues. You'll have a real person to contact, not a chatbot.

Ready for software that's built to last?

Stop wrestling with prototypes. Let us build and manage real business software, so you can get back to running your business.

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