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Web Development · head to head

Bolt.new vs Earthly

Bolt.new logo

Bolt.new

Web Development

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bolt.new the free plan is capped at 300K tokens a day and 1M tokens a month; Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • They diverge on capability: Bolt.new covers Full-stack app generation, Earthly covers Policy as code.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Bolt.new and Earthly differ
AttributeBolt.newEarthly
Pricing modelfreemiumNo pricing published on website
PlatformsWebWeb, CLI
CategoryWeb DevelopmentDeveloper Tools
Founded20172020

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Incident response automation
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

What people use each for

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

Bolt.new

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

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot Bolt.new
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Bolt.new
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Bolt.new
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot 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

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Bolt.new

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

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

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 Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Questions people ask

Is Bolt.new or Earthly better?
Neither clearly leads. Bolt.new starts at Free and Earthly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bolt.new or Earthly?
Bolt.new starts at Free and Earthly at Free.
Does Bolt.new or Earthly run on more platforms?
Bolt.new runs on Web. Earthly runs on Web, CLI.
Can I use Bolt.new for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Earthly is typically brought in for.
What can Bolt.new do that Earthly cannot?
Bolt.new covers Full-stack app generation, Prompt-to-app creation, Real-time editing, Instant deployment. Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies.

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
Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

Source
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
Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

Source
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
Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

Source
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