Base44 Review 2026: Can You Really Build an App for Your Business?

Base44 is a no-code app builder that enables anyone, regardless of technical knowledge, to create professional apps for their business. It offers a free plan that is ideal for building a simple app or trying the service, but for serious projects, a paid plan is recommended.

We signed up for the third-tier Builder plan and built a medium complexity app with it. Based on our experience, we think it’s an excellent product.

In the following review, we’ll walk you through the process of building an app using Base44. Then we’ll take a closer look at its plans and pricing, and give some recommendations. After that, we’ll share Base44’s standout features, security details, and customer support options.

Overall, Base44 is ideal for those without a development background who want to build an app quickly, yet the platform is still flexible enough that developers will appreciate it too. Base44’s main downsides are that it doesn’t support end-to-end (E2E) testing, and migrating your app elsewhere can be challenging. Keep reading to learn more.

Base44 at a glance

Best for	Anyone who wants to build a non-Enterprise level app quickly and easily
Price	$16-$160/mo
Free plan or free trial	Yes — Free forever plan
Money-back guarantee	No
Supported platforms	Limited to Base44 *
User limit per plan	Unlimited (each user needs to register)
Apps limit	Unlimited
User limit on created apps	Unlimited **
Data storage limit	Unlimited ***
API access	Yes — with auto-generated API points
Visual editor	Yes — limited
Integrations	Yes — 24 (incl. Slack, Notion, Google Suite)
Custom code support	Yes — edit any code generated by Base44
Hosting included	Yes
Domain included	Free for first year on Builder plan or higher
Custom domains	Yes — on Builder plan or higher
Database included	Yes
Premium support	On Elite plan only
Learn more	Get Base44

We last tested Base44 on January 12, 2026.

Our experience

To test Base44’s capabilities, we decided to build a scheduling app with three user roles, each with its own permissions. The niche we focused on was group exercise, but the concept could easily be adapted to any other business that needs a scheduling system (e.g., daycare, hair salon, masseuse, etc).

Our goal for this experiment was to see how easy it would be to create an app that allows gym members to register for fitness classes and receive rewards under a progressive gamification system. In addition, we wanted instructors to be able to log in to manage their class details, while fitness managers would have the highest-level admin privileges to edit everything.

The Beginning

We started with deep brainstorming about the features we wanted the app to have, then produced an informal, mini Product Requirement Document — or PRD for short. In professional software development, PRDs can be quite lengthy. Ours was straight to the point, containing just 512 words and serving as our first prompt:

After submitting it, we watched Base44 get to work. The initial build took about 10 minutes. We then fixed two minor errors before giving it another prompt to add additional user role permissions for class instructors and admins. With that done, the app was roughly 80% on its way to being deployment-ready.

However, the remaining 20% of development would prove much more challenging (and time-consuming) than our strong start.

Debugging

Unsurprisingly, our app had a lot of kinks to work out beneath its attractive, modern user interface. Base44 and the underlying AI models it relies upon are powerful, but they can’t simulate the use of an app across all its functions.

Professional developers use tools like Playwright and Cypress to run these kinds of tests, but Base44 doesn’t have anything comparable. That means the only way to figure out what’s working and what isn’t with Base44 apps is by hands-on testing — which is exactly what we did.

Base44 already assigned us an admin user-level account by default, but we also created an instructor-level account and a member-level account. Then we tested the app as each of these three users and tried every single function available.

Needless to say, we ran into issues. Many of these dealt with broken sequences, where a feature worked on its own, but didn’t properly trigger related functions. For example, we created a points system to award members for attending classes:

However, we quickly realized that the member points tab didn’t register any of the cumulative totals:

Luckily, it was a quick fix that took only a single prompt to get right:

Not all the issues we ran across were resolved that easily, though. Some persisted even after multiple attempts to address them.

However, overall, after several hours of testing and more than 40 prompts in total, we were able to get the app to about 90-95% ready. The remaining bugs were minor and wouldn’t drastically affect the use of the app. (This is actually pretty good, considering we weren't able to get our Hostinger Horizons test app anywhere close to launch-ready.)

Altogether, we used only 48.4 out of our 250 monthly credits. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume we would’ve reached 98-100% completion (if we were building this for a real business) before hitting 50% of our monthly allotment. 

Base44 prices and plans

Base44 currently offers five plans, which can be loosely grouped into two categories: simple apps or testing the waters, and serious app development. The Free and Starter plans fall under the former, while the Builder, Pro, and Elite plans fall under the latter.

	Free	Starter	Builder	Pro	Elite
Base44 monthly cost	Free	$16/mo	$40/mo	$80/mo	$160/mo
Message credits	25	100	250	500	1,200
Integration credits	100	2,000	10,000	20,000	50,000
Unlimited apps
In-app code edits
Backend functions
Connect a domain
Free domain for 1 year
Github integration
Early access to beta features
Premium support
Learn more	View plans	View plans	View plans	View plans	View plans

Deciding on a plan is easier than you might think. Start with the Free plan to test Base44, and if you only need a simple app, the 25 monthly credits it comes with may even be enough.

For a moderately complex app like the group exercise scheduler we built, you'll need at least the Starter plan. It’ll give you sufficient credits for the job, though you won't be able to connect a custom domain or export to GitHub. Those features require the Builder plan, making it the de facto entry point for serious projects.

As for the Pro and Elite plans, their features are nearly identical to the Builder plan. The main reason you’d want to consider going higher is how many apps you want to build and the complexity of each one.

Which Base44 plan is right for your business?

• Internal use only: For apps used solely by you and/or your staff, the Starter plan is perfect. If the app is simple enough and will only have a few specific functions, then the Free plan could also work.
• One or two medium-complexity apps and branding: With 250 credits, the Builder plan can handle up to two medium-complex projects. Since the plan also lets you connect a custom domain, it means your apps can be customer-facing with your branding embedded.
• Highly complex apps or bulk app production: For very complicated apps with layered user roles, many functions, and possibly external integrations, the Pro or Elite plans work best. If you require premium support and plan to build apps at scale, then the Elite plan makes the most sense. Otherwise, the Pro plan offers enough to handle two (maybe three) complex apps.

Base44 features

Base44 is drowning in features — in a good way. Below are some of the standout elements that most users will find relevant and that we appreciate.

Templates

No-code app builders often include templates to help users get started quickly, and Base44 is no exception. If you want to get from point A to point B without reinventing the wheel, then you can search Base44’s template library. There are multiple categories, ranging from "marketing & sales" to "games & entertainment."

Integrations

Base44 offers native integrations and supports custom integrations via API as well. The in-house integrations include Google Suite (Calendar, Drive, Sheets, Docs, Slides), HubSpot, LinkedIn, TikTok, Notion, Slack, Salesforce, and Stripe.

Toggle between discussion and coding modes

One frustration that many users — this writer included — had with early-generation no-code app builders was that they didn’t offer a way to talk with the model. Every interaction was treated as a prompt to generate or fix code, even if all you wanted was to ask a question or plan next steps. Base44 solved that problem by allowing you to switch between the default Code Mode and Discuss Mode.

Choose AI model

If you subscribe to the Builder plan or higher, you can choose one of four AI models to handle your prompts. Alternatively, you can leave it on the default setting, where Base44 automatically picks for you.

As a pro tip, if you get stuck debugging the same issue with no resolution, try manually switching to Claude Opus 4.5. It’s generally regarded as the “smartest” model for coding.

Analytics

The Base44 analytics page gives you the following data: total unique visitors, top users, top pages, unique users over time, and total usage over time. To get information that’s more specific to features inside your app, you can prompt Base44 to develop a custom analytics section.

“You’re acting as” mode

This feature is very helpful when you’re testing your app, because it lets you navigate it as different users. If your app assigns the same user permissions to everyone, this is a moot point; but in any scenario where that’s not the case, the “you’re acting as” mode will save you time during testing.

GitHub integration

Base44’s March 2025 decision to allow users to push their app’s codebase to GitHub was a strong signal to developers that the platform was moving beyond just being a no-code app builder for beginners.[7] The feature is alive and well. With only a few clicks, you can connect your app codebase to a GitHub repository of your choice.

Manual code editor

No-code app builders often have limitations in customization compared to traditional coding, but Base44 does not fall into that stereotype. Only a few days after the GitHub integration feature was released, Base44 solidified its intent to attract developers by launching the ability to manually edit code.[8] If you have the technical chops and the desire, then you’ll love this feature.

Base44 security

Business owners with great app ideas but lots of blind spots will appreciate Base44's approach to security because it’s built into every layer of the platform. Here's what you get:

• Secure connections: All apps automatically get SSL certificates (the padlock icon in your browser), ensuring data is encrypted when users visit your app. That applies to both custom domains and Base44's default domains.
• Login and access control: Base44 supports Google sign-in or email/password login with bot protection. Enterprise customers can connect their company's login system (SSO) to control who accesses apps across their organization.
• Data privacy: Base44 encrypts your data and never uses your prompts or app content to train AI models. Your information stays within your environment.
• Code security checks: You can use the built-in code security scanner to check for common vulnerabilities. The scanner will display warnings and offer one-click fixes that you can implement before publishing. Just be careful with the recommendations because they are overly conservative and can also break necessary functions.
• Flexible permissions: You can control exactly who can view, edit, or delete data within your apps using role-based access rules.
• Secure payments: Payment processing runs through certified providers (PCI DSS compliant). Card details are encrypted and never stored on Base44's servers.

In addition to the above, Base44 holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications. These are independent audits that verify that its security controls meet strict industry standards. The platform is also GDPR-compliant for handling EU customer data, though all servers are currently located in the United States.

Speaking of data, you own the apps you build and the data within them. The data is stored using trusted providers (MongoDB, Supabase, etc), and you can delete your apps and data at any time through the Base44 dashboard.

However, there is one important caveat: Even though you “own the app,” the backend code is strongly dependent on Base44-sdk database calls. In layman’s terms, if you try to export the code to use somewhere else, it won’t automatically work. You’ll need to put in some development work (or hire someone) to make it functional outside the Base44 eco-system.

Base44 customer support and reputation

Support type	Base44
Email or live chat	No — There is an AI chatbot, though
Phone	No
Ticket system	Yes
Online guides or forums	Yes — Docs library and Discord community

Base44’s support is mainly powered by its docs and AI-powered chatbot. However, if you really get into a bind, you can open a support ticket for human help. In our experience, Base44’s documentation was solid, as was its AI chatbot. We never encountered a problem that required us to open a support ticket. The platform is well-designed, and the ability to toggle “discuss mode” in the interface is probably sufficient for most user inquiries.

With that said, our app building experience with Base44 seemed to be more positive than the broad sentiment online, which leans slightly more toward negative. When combing through Reddit and Trustpilot, the most common complaints had three recurring themes.

The first was that Base44 is great for prototyping and simple projects, but much less effective for building scalable apps. The second was centered around getting stuck in dead-end loops where Base44 eats up credits trying to debug the same error with no resolution. The third and final frustration was poor customer support.

Bottom line: Is Base44 a good no-code app builder?

The answer is yes. Base44 stands out by adapting to the user. For someone building their first app, it acts as a senior engineer, guiding the process with beginner-friendly features like automatic security checks. For professional developers, it steps aside when needed, allowing for manual code manipulation. Still, there's room for improvement. We'd love to see Base44 add in-house E2E (end-to-end) testing, which would likely reduce complaints from non-technical users struggling with debugging.

The tool is great, but it probably oversells the "anyone can do it" aspect. Realistically, the more complex your vision is, the more that knowledge of technical vocabulary will help you. For instance, you could prompt Base44 to add "a translucent, frosted glass effect" and hope it figures out you want glassmorphism — but if you use the term directly, then you’ll get the result immediately.

In short, you don't need to know how to write code, but using proper developer terms in your prompts will improve your outcomes. Otherwise, just start with the Free plan and see what you can build. You’ve got nothing to lose, but potentially an app to gain.

FAQs