Softwr

Web Development · head to head

Bolt.new vs Cortex

Bolt.new logo

Bolt.new

Web Development

Prompt, run, edit, and deploy full-stack web apps

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Cortex logo

Cortex

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bolt.new has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bolt.new the free plan is capped at 300K tokens a day and 1M tokens a month; Cortex pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.
  • They diverge on capability: Bolt.new covers Full-stack app generation, Cortex covers Service catalogue.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bolt.new and Cortex actually diverge.

Attributes where Bolt.new and Cortex differ
AttributeBolt.newCortex
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryWeb DevelopmentDeveloper Tools
Founded2017Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bolt.new

  • Full-stack app generation
  • Prompt-to-app creation
  • Real-time editing
  • Instant deployment
  • Screenshot to UI
  • Multi-framework support
  • Live preview
  • Code export

Only in Cortex

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards
  • Initiatives
  • Self-service templates
  • Query language
  • Eng intelligence
  • Integrations layer
  • On-call and ownership mapping

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bolt.new

  • Rapid prototypingnot Cortex
  • MVP developmentnot Cortex
  • UI mockup creationnot Cortex
  • Full-stack app generationnot Cortex
  • Proof of conceptnot Cortex

Cortex

  • A platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a Kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of servicesnot Bolt.new
  • An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Bolt.new
  • Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Bolt.new
  • Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Bolt.new

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bolt.new

  • The free plan is capped at 300K tokens a day and 1M tokens a month
  • Pro starts at 10M tokens a month for $25, so heavy sessions are metered rather than unlimited
  • Team seats are billed at $30 per member per month and tokens are not pooled across the team
  • Unused tokens roll over for one additional month only, so they expire after two

Cortex

  • Pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.
  • The catalogue is only as accurate as the metadata you supply, so an organisation with inconsistent repository conventions spends its first quarter cleaning data before any scorecard means anything.
  • Scorecards create political friction: publishing a per-team grade turns an engineering standard into a performance metric, and teams will game the rules rather than fix the underlying issue.
  • It is closed source and hosted, so organisations with strict data residency or air-gap requirements have limited options compared with running Backstage themselves.
  • Value scales with organisation size, so a company with fifty engineers and thirty services will find the catalogue tells them nothing they did not already know while still paying an enterprise contract.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bolt.new

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Limited generations
    • Basic templates
    • Public projects
  • Pro$20/month
    • Unlimited generations
    • Advanced AI models
    • Private projects

Cortex

On request
  • Cortex$undefined/year
    • Service catalogue and ownership mapping
    • Scorecards and initiatives
    • Self-service templates

Which should you pick?

Choose Bolt.new if

  • You need full-stack app generation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want prompt-to-app creation.
Bolt.new review

Choose Cortex if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want scorecards.
Cortex review

Questions people ask

Is Bolt.new or Cortex better?
Neither clearly leads. Bolt.new starts at Free and Cortex at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bolt.new or Cortex?
Bolt.new has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bolt.new and On request for Cortex.
Does Bolt.new or Cortex run on more platforms?
Bolt.new runs on Web. Cortex runs on Web, API.
Can I use Bolt.new for free?
Yes. Bolt.new has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cortex starts at On request.
What is Bolt.new best used for?
Bolt.new is most often used for rapid prototyping, mvp development, ui mockup creation, full-stack app generation. Of those, rapid prototyping and mvp development are not what Cortex is typically brought in for.
What can Bolt.new do that Cortex cannot?
Bolt.new covers Full-stack app generation, Prompt-to-app creation, Real-time editing, Instant deployment. Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bolt.new: Can I use Bolt for free indefinitely?

Bolt invites users to 'Try it out and start building for free', indicating a free option is available. However, the page mentions two tiers (Standard and MaxPro) and includes a '/pricing' link, suggesting paid plans exist. Specific details about free tier limits and paid pricing are not on the main page.

Source
Cortex: How is Cortex different from Backstage?

Backstage is an open source framework you build and staff. Cortex is a hosted product with scorecards and initiatives out of the box and no platform team required to keep it running.

Bolt.new: What are the differences between Standard and MaxPro tiers?

The page mentions both 'Standard' (described as 'Recommended for general development') and 'MaxPro' tiers in feature comparisons, but does not disclose specific differences, pricing, or what qualifies as 'general development' vs. other use cases.

Source
Cortex: Is pricing published?

No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.

Bolt.new: Are there usage limits on the free tier?

The page does not specify what limits apply to the free tier. To obtain detailed information about free tier limits and paid plan features, you would need to visit the dedicated pricing page.

Source
Cortex: Can it self-host?

It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.

Cortex: What is the main adoption risk?

Bad or missing service metadata. The catalogue and every scorecard on top of it inherit whatever quality your repositories already have.

Share

Related pages

More on Bolt.new

More on Cortex

Keep looking

Other head to heads