BoltvsDyad
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Bolt
StackBlitz · Web app builder
#159MCP
Panel
4.92 spec wins
- Reliability
- 4.5
- Usefulness
- 5.3
- Cost
- 4.3
- Longevity
- 5.5
“Open source until December 2024, metered ever since, and the meter mostly counts uploading your own files to the model.”
Dyad
Dyad · Web app builder
#29OSSMCP
Panel
6.47 spec wins
- Reliability
- 5.8
- Usefulness
- 6.3
- Cost
- 7.5
- Longevity
- 6.0
“Bundles a Dyad Academy with the paid plan, so the tutorial is finally part of the product.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Bolt | Dyad |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Web app builder | Web app builder |
| Runs | sandbox, cloud | local |
| Platforms | web | macos, windows, linux |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | No | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | No |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | NoNo browser-driving or app-testing agent is documented; Standard and Max differ only in how much the agent reasons per step (https://support.bolt.new/building/using-bolt/agents.md). | Yes |
| Sandboxed execution | Yes"Bolt relies on WebContainers, a browser-based runtime from StackBlitz that enables a full-stack development environment in the browser" — an in-browser VM, not a container you manage. | No |
| Multi-agent orchestration | No | No |
| Headless / CI mode | No | No |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | Claude | GPT, Claude, Gemini, OpenRouter, Ollama |
| Bring your own model | No"Bolt handles model selection behind the scenes" — no model or provider picker, custom endpoint or key. | Yes |
| Local models | No | Yes |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | subscription | mixed |
| Starts at | $25/mo | $20/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Bring your own key | No | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | No | Yes |
| License | proprietary | Apache-2.0 (src/pro directory under a separate license) |
| GitHub stars | 16,569 | 21,631 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Bolt | Dyad | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 5.5 | 7.0 | Dyad — Pick Dyad if you want an app builder that runs on your laptop and keeps the code on your disk; pick Lovable if you want hosting and a share link the same afternoon. |
| El Crítico | 4.8 | 6.3 | Dyad — The agent has no terminal tool, so nothing it generates is ever built or tested by the agent itself, and the browser preview is the only check before you ship. |
| El Profesor | 4.8 | 6.5 | Dyad — No benchmark; the design is generation to a local Next.js tree with Supabase, Neon, GitHub and Vercel as attachment points rather than a managed backend. |
| La Inversora | 6.0 | 6.0 | no preference |
| La Jefa | 5.0 | 5.0 | no preference |
| El Hacker | 3.5 | 7.8 | Dyad — Apache-2.0 except src/pro, which sits under its own license; Ollama and LM Studio as providers, OpenRouter for the rest, and MCP servers installed from Dyad Hub with one click. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.