What is Base44, and how does it work?

Base44 is an AI app builder. You describe the app you want in plain language, and Base44 builds the whole thing: pages, a database, user login, permissions and hosting, plus integrations like email and payments. It’s owned by Wix, which acquired it in June 2025. Under the hood, a Base44 app is a standard React app with a Base44-hosted backend.

For whether it’s any good, see the Base44 review. This post covers what it is and how it works.

How Base44 works#

1. You describe the app. Start from a prompt, a template, a Figma import, an existing GitHub repository, or a migration from another platform such as Lovable, Bolt.new, WordPress or Shopify.
2. The AI builds it. Base44 creates the pages, the data tables (Base44 calls them entities), login and permissions, and wires in any integrations you asked for. You can use Plan mode to settle the design first.
3. You refine it. Keep prompting, edit visually on the canvas, or change the code directly. Each AI change uses message credits.
4. You publish. The app goes live at a base44.app address or your own domain, and Base44 hosts it, including a sitemap, social previews and pre-rendered pages for search crawlers on custom domains.

What Base44 can build#

• Web apps with accounts, data and workflows: CRMs, booking tools, dashboards, portals, marketplaces.
• Websites for businesses, with templates for trades like roofing, salons, restaurants and fitness.
• AI agents inside your app, and standalone assistants Base44 calls Superagents.
• Mobile apps, packaged for the App Store and Google Play as a native wrapper around your web app. See Base44 mobile apps.

What it’s built on#

Because the frontend is ordinary React code, developers can export it, sync it to GitHub and edit it in their own tools. The backend is the part that stays on Base44. See the migration guide.

Who owns Base44#

Wix announced its acquisition of Base44 in June 2025, in a press release describing it as a hyper-growth vibe-coding startup. Reporting at the time put the price at about $80 million plus earn-outs. Base44 was founded by Maor Shlomo, who built it without outside funding. Since the acquisition, Base44 has added Wix-powered features such as Base44 Payments powered by Wix and domain purchases through Wix, and it keeps its own brand and product.

What it costs#

There’s a free plan with 25 message credits a month. Paid plans start at $16 a month billed annually, and most serious apps need the Builder plan at $40. The pricing guide has the details.

How Base44 compares#

Base44’s closest rivals are Lovable, Bolt.new and Replit, with coding agents like Claude Code and Cursor on the developer end. The biggest difference is that Base44 hosts its own backend, where Lovable builds on Supabase and coding agents work on whatever stack you choose. See Base44 vs Lovable and the alternatives guide.

What to do next#

1. Try the free plan with a small, specific app idea.
2. Read the review for the strengths and weak spots.
3. If you’re building a public site, read the Base44 SEO guide early.