DyadvsLovable
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Dyad
Dyad · Web app builder
#29OSSMCP
Panel
6.45 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.”
Lovable
Lovable · Web app builder
#94MCP
Panel
5.82 spec wins
- Reliability
- 5.3
- Usefulness
- 6.3
- Cost
- 4.8
- Longevity
- 6.5
“Formerly GPT Engineer, now bills in credits with no upfront estimate, and checks in with you every twenty of them.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Dyad | Lovable |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Web app builder | Web app builder |
| Runs | local | cloud |
| Platforms | macos, windows, linux | web |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | No | Yes |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | No | No |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | Yes | YesBuild mode drives a real browser in a remote virtual environment, clicking buttons, filling forms, navigating pages, reading console logs and network requests and capturing screenshots. |
| Sandboxed execution | No | No |
| Multi-agent orchestration | No | Yes |
| Headless / CI mode | No | NoNo CLI or scripted run mode is documented; the Lovable API currently only builds from prefilled share links, so the hosted MCP server is the sole programmatic driver. |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | GPT, Claude, Gemini, OpenRouter, Ollama | Claude |
| Bring your own model | Yes | No |
| Local models | Yes | No |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | mixed | subscription |
| Starts at | $20/mo | $25/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Bring your own key | Yes | NoNo documented way to supply your own model key or account — project Secrets hold API keys for the app you build, not for the models Lovable runs on. |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 (src/pro directory under a separate license) | proprietary |
| GitHub stars | 21,631 | n/a |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Dyad | Lovable | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 7.0 | 6.3 | 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 | 6.3 | 5.5 | 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 | 6.5 | 5.8 | 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 | 7.5 | Lovable — A self-serve pricing ladder that runs to $4,300 a month is something you only build when customers climb it, and Lovable Cloud is the switching cost that keeps them on the ladder. |
| La Jefa | 5.0 | 5.8 | Lovable — Business at $50 buys SSO and role-based access, Enterprise adds SCIM and audit logs, and none of it changes the fact that engineers cannot open a terminal; approved with conditions for product teams. |
| El Hacker | 7.8 | 3.8 | 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.