Base44 Pricing vs Begin.sh: Which Should You Pick in 2026?
Base44 pricing decoded: five tiers from 0 to 160 dollars a month, two separate credit pools, and the question of whether you need a platform or just the files.
Every base44 pricing tier in one pass
Five plans, and the annual prices are the ones quoted on the pricing page. Free costs nothing and gives 25 message credits and 100 integration credits a month, with core features, authentication, database and analytics, capped at five apps. Starter is 16 dollars a month billed annually, or 20 month to month, for 100 message credits and 2,000 integration credits. Builder, the tier marked popular, is 40 dollars annually or 50 monthly, for 250 message and 10,000 integration credits. Pro is 80 dollars annually or 100 monthly, for 500 and 20,000. Elite tops the self-serve ladder at 160 dollars annually or 200 monthly, for 1,200 message credits and 50,000 integration credits. Annual billing is advertised as a 20 percent saving against month to month.
Two credit pools, not one
This is where budgets go wrong. Message credits cover AI messages, the conversational turns where you describe a change and the platform implements it. Integration credits cover integration actions, the calls your app makes to connected services once it is live. They are metered separately and they scale differently across the ladder: message credits go from 25 to 1,200 across the five tiers, while integration credits go from 100 to 50,000. The company also states that exact usage varies based on the action and the AI model you select, which means the same feature request can cost different amounts depending on which model is doing the work. A plan chosen from a message-credit estimate alone will surprise you the first month an app gets real traffic.
What each step up actually unlocks
Credits are not the only difference. The free tier caps you at five apps; every paid tier lifts that to unlimited apps and adds in-app code edits and the ability to connect a domain. Builder is where model selection appears, along with a free domain for one year, GitHub integration and 25 credits to share with a friend through the referral scheme. Pro adds early access to beta features on top of everything below it. Elite adds premium support. Beyond that sits an enterprise track with custom credits, a dedicated architect, single sign-on, advanced security controls and an account team, priced by conversation rather than by page. Every plan, free included, carries the integrated backend and database, the visual editor, the analytics dashboard, collaboration, cloud storage, authentication and the debugging tools.
The part worth testing before you subscribe
25 message credits on the free tier is enough to see the workflow and not enough to finish an app in one sitting, which the company says plainly in its own pricing guide. Use them deliberately. Build the single hardest screen in your project rather than a to-do list, and count how many messages it takes to get right. Multiply by the number of comparable screens and you have a far better tier estimate than any table gives you, including this one. If that arithmetic puts you above Elite, the honest read is that your project needs either the enterprise track or a conventional development process, not a bigger credit bundle.
Subscription versus artefact
The comparison worth making is not which tool writes better code, it is what you own at the end. With Base44 you own an app that lives on the platform, keeps serving users and keeps drawing credits. With Begin.sh you own a zip file. You describe the site, or paste a URL you want cloned, and you get back a working static site or an Expo app to download, host wherever you like and never pay for again. There is no backend, no authentication and no hosting included, so anything requiring accounts, stored data or payments rules it out immediately. For a landing page, a brochure site, a portfolio or a demo app, that limitation costs you nothing and the subscription costs you every month.
The numbers that decide it
Free means 25 messages
The free tier gives 25 message credits, 100 integration credits and up to five apps, with authentication, database and analytics included. Enough to evaluate, not enough to finish.
16 to 160 dollars
Paid tiers run Starter at 16, Builder at 40, Pro at 80 and Elite at 160 dollars a month on annual billing, with month-to-month prices at 20, 50, 100 and 200.
Credits burn at different rates
Consumption depends on the action and the AI model selected, so two people on the same plan can exhaust a month's messages at very different speeds.
Model choice starts at Builder
Selecting which AI model handles your work appears at the Builder tier, along with GitHub integration, a free domain for a year and referral credits to share.
Platform subscription against a one-off build
| What you compare | Base44 | Begin.sh |
|---|---|---|
| Entry point | Free tier: 25 message credits, 100 integration credits, five apps | Free to start, no credit pools |
| Cheapest paid tier | Starter at 16 dollars a month billed annually, 20 month to month | No subscription for the build itself |
| Top self-serve tier | Elite at 160 dollars a month for 1,200 message credits | Not metered, you describe one project at a time |
| What runs afterwards | A live app on production infrastructure | Static files or an Expo app on hosting you choose |
| Backend, auth, payments | Included and built for you | Not included, by design |
| Clone an existing page | You would rebuild it by describing it | Paste the URL and it rebuilds it |
| What you own | An app inside the platform | A zip you download and keep |
Choosing a tier without guessing
- Spend the free credits on the hard part
Build your most complicated screen first, not the easy one. The number of messages that takes is the only reliable input to a tier decision. - Estimate both pools separately
Count the AI messages you will need to build, then estimate integration actions your live app will make. The second number is what jumps between tiers. - Decide on annual only after a month
Annual billing saves 20 percent and locks in a tier chosen before you knew your burn rate. Run month to month first, then commit once usage is stable. - Ask whether you need a platform at all
If nothing in your project stores data or logs anyone in, you are paying a subscription for hosting. Generate the files with Begin.sh and host them anywhere instead.
FAQ
How much does base44 pricing start at?
There is a free plan at zero cost with 25 message credits, 100 integration credits and a five-app cap. The cheapest paid tier is Starter at 16 dollars a month billed annually, or 20 dollars month to month, which lifts the app cap and adds in-app code edits and a custom domain.
What is the difference between message and integration credits?
Message credits cover AI messages, the turns where you describe what you want built. Integration credits cover integration actions your app performs against connected services. They are separate monthly allowances, and the integration pool grows far faster across the tiers than the message pool does.
Why does the same plan last longer for some people?
Because usage varies by action and by the AI model selected. A heavier model or a more complex action consumes more of the allowance, so two projects of similar size can burn through a month's credits at noticeably different rates.
Which tier is most popular?
The pricing page marks Builder, at 40 dollars a month annually or 50 month to month, as the popular choice. It carries 250 message credits, 10,000 integration credits, model selection, GitHub integration and a free domain for the first year.
Is there anything above Elite?
Yes, an enterprise track sits above the five public plans, offering custom credit allowances, a dedicated architect, single sign-on, advanced security controls and an assigned account team that knows your stack. It is not self-serve, so the price comes out of a sales conversation rather than off the public pricing page.
When is a subscription the wrong answer?
When nothing in your project needs to persist. If there are no user accounts, no stored data and no payments, you are paying monthly for hosting. Begin.sh generates a static site or an Expo app from a prompt or a URL and hands you the zip with no recurring cost.
Get the files and skip the subscription
If your project does not need accounts, a database or payments, Begin.sh builds it from a prompt or a URL you want cloned and gives you a zip you own outright.
Try Begin.sh →