As an IT manager in a corporate environment, my weekdays are filled with leading teams, managing IT operations, and delivering projects.
But in the evenings and on weekends, I’m a hobbyist software developer who loves to experiment, build, and learn.
I dedicate my spare time to side projects where I can explore new technologies — especially around AI-supported development.
Over the past year, I’ve worked on two concrete projects:
- emailmanager.ai – an AI system that automatically generates professional email replies for busy professionals.
- A social media automation platform that repurposes long-form content (like blog posts) into short, engaging social media posts and automatically schedules and publishes them at the best possible times.
While working on these projects, I tested two platforms that claim to make software development easier and faster using AI:
- Replit.com – the leading, mature, cloud-based coding platform with advanced AI integration.
- Loveable.dev – a newer, simplified platform that uses AI to automate software creation.
In this article, I want to share my real, unfiltered experience with both platforms — including a costly mistake I made — so you can make an informed decision.
1. Getting Started – First Impressions & Transparency
Replit.com: Transparent, Developer-Oriented
Replit provided me with:
- Full control over the tech stack (Node.js, Python, React, etc.)
- Transparent and easy-to-use GitHub integration
- A clear and accessible environment setup
- Simple access to environment variables, secrets, and dependencies
It felt like a real developer platform, giving me the flexibility and transparency I needed to shape the projects the way I wanted.
Loveable.dev: Simplified, but Opaque
Loveable.dev wants to make software development accessible by hiding complexity.
On the surface, this seems appealing — but in practice, it quickly turned into a problem:
- Important information about how the project is managed was hidden
- GitHub synchronization happened in the background without giving me control or visibility
- I couldn’t easily adjust, fix, or understand the versioning and structure of the project
For beginners, this simplicity might seem attractive. But for real-world projects — especially when working with remote developers — the lack of transparency becomes a serious issue.
2. Team Collaboration: Where Things Fell Apart
A key requirement for me was remote collaboration.
In one of my projects, I worked with a talented developer from Pakistan:
- I took care of the frontend development
- He was responsible for the backend
We used Loveable.dev to generate the initial structure of the project. But very soon, problems started to emerge.
- Loveable.dev’s GitHub handling was opaque and automatic
- One day, it overwrote backend code that my developer had already finished and committed to GitHub
- We lost nearly an entire day restoring and re-integrating code that was erased by the platform
The lack of control over versioning and sync behavior made Loveable.dev unsuitable for team collaboration. It was a painful reminder that automation without transparency is a risk in collaborative environments.
3. AI Assistance: Expectations, Reality, Cost, and a Critical Limitation
Replit.com: Strong Capabilities – With Important Nuances
Replit offers a powerful AI system that helps you build and manage your code. You’ll often hear terms like Assistant and Agent, and while Replit sometimes uses them interchangeably, there are some nuanced differences worth understanding.
What’s the difference between Replit Assistant and Agent?
In short:
- The Assistant is the conversational interface you interact with — it answers questions, explains code, and helps guide your development process.
- The Agent is the executor behind the scenes — it performs actions like writing, editing, refactoring code, installing packages, running commands, and manipulating files.
However, in practice, they’re the same AI system — just with different pricing and invocation logic.
The Replit Assistant can:
- Answer questions about your code or tools
- Edit code directly
- Create files and folders
- Install packages
- Run commands
- Debug issues
The Replit Agent performs similar actions, but is generally invoked when you explicitly request something larger in scope — like “add user login to this app” or “refactor this component using React hooks.”
So why the price difference?
- Assistant usage costs about $0.05 per chat — it’s lightweight and works more like a helpful coding companion.
- Agent tasks cost around $0.25 per task — they involve deeper code analysis, context building, and direct file or system manipulation.
The price difference reflects:
- The higher compute requirements for full code manipulation
- The integration with Replit’s infrastructure (e.g. bash tools, filesystem access)
- The value of having real code delivered vs. just receiving advice
Replit AI in Imported Projects
If you import a project from GitHub, you can still use the Assistant to get help, edit code, and build new features. What you lose is Replit’s native context about how the project was structured from the beginning.
So:
- Yes, Replit works with imported code
- Yes, the Assistant can still perform complex tasks
- No, you don’t lose full capability — but some context awareness and seamless automation may be reduced
Loveable.dev: One-Shot Code Generation
Loveable.dev, by contrast, offers an AI agent that builds your project based on a text prompt — but it’s a one-time action.
There’s no ongoing interaction or refinement. Once the code is generated, there’s no agent to help you troubleshoot, refactor, or extend it intelligently.
It works more like a code generation wizard than an AI development companion.
4. A Costly Mistake: Loveable → GitHub → Replit
Here’s where things went seriously wrong for me:
After realizing that Loveable.dev was too limited and error-prone, I decided to move the project:
- I synced the project from Loveable.dev to GitHub
- I then imported the GitHub repository into Replit
My assumption was: “Now I’ll finally get the transparency and AI support of Replit.”
But because the project didn’t originate in Replit, the agent lacked context. The result was:
- No feature-building without extra prompting
- No meaningful architecture understanding
- No end-to-end support
I had unknowingly created a situation where Replit’s most powerful features couldn’t be fully leveraged without a manual migration and restructuring effort.
This significantly reduced the value of the switch and became a major lesson learned.
5. Project Ownership & Portability
Replit.com gives you full control over your project:
- Your code stays yours
- You can download, export, or push to GitHub any time
- You’re always in charge of your workflow and runtime environment
Loveable.dev does the opposite:
- Code generation happens without much explanation
- GitHub sync is automatic but not transparent
- You don’t really “own” the creation process in the same way
For serious software development, that’s a deal-breaker.
Summary Table: Replit.com vs. Loveable.dev
| Feature/Aspect | Replit.com | Loveable.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Getting Started | Transparent setup, full control over stack, GitHub, environment, and structure | Simplified setup, many technical choices hidden from the user |
| GitHub Integration | Clear, manual, two-way integration | Opaque, automatic sync; can overwrite work without warning |
| AI Support – Assistant | Available in all projects; helpful for coding suggestions, explanations, and completions | Not available |
| AI Support – Agent | Interactive, promptable agents for building features, refactoring code, and debugging | Agent builds project at start, but not interactive afterward; no ongoing refinement |
| AI Pricing | Assistant ~ $0.05/chat Agent ~ $0.25/task | Included in workflow; cost model unclear |
| Project Portability | Full control; export, clone, push to GitHub | Limited portability; sync behavior is not fully transparent |
| Team Collaboration | Suitable when started in Replit with GitHub; smooth collaboration possible | Risky; opaque sync logic makes collaboration unstable |
| Best Use Case | Real-world projects, collaborative development, AI-assisted coding and refactoring | Fast MVP creation for solo developers or non-technical users |
| Downsides | Limited Agent support for imported projects; AI usage cost can add up | No real-time AI support post-generation; lack of control and collaboration support |
| Overall Experience | Developer-friendly, powerful when used correctly; great for structured projects | Useful for very early-stage prototyping, but not production-ready or team-safe |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Can I use Replit’s AI Agent with a GitHub project I import?
Yes, but with limitations. While the Agent can analyze and assist with imported code, it won’t have full context, and some capabilities may not be available. The best results come from starting your project directly in Replit.
2. What’s the difference between Replit’s AI Assistant and AI Agent?
The Assistant is the conversational interface — the chat you use to ask questions and get suggestions. The Agent is the executor that performs tasks on your codebase. Functionally, they’re part of the same system, but pricing and complexity differ:
- Assistant: ~$0.05 per chat
- Agent: ~$0.25 per task
The Agent is used for deeper code manipulations and file operations, while the Assistant handles lightweight tasks and guidance.
3. Does Loveable.dev have an AI agent?
Yes. Loveable.dev uses an AI agent to generate your project from a prompt. However, there’s no interactive or ongoing AI support after the code is generated.
4. Is Loveable.dev suitable for team collaboration?
Not really. The GitHub sync is opaque and can overwrite code without warning. It lacks the transparency and version control features needed for safe team workflows.
5. Can I switch from Loveable.dev to Replit mid-project?
You can, via GitHub, but expect limitations. Replit will treat it as an imported project and provide only Assistant support — not full Agent functionality.
6. Which platform is better for building MVPs fast?
Loveable.dev is faster for basic MVPs with minimal tech knowledge. Replit takes longer to set up but gives more control and flexibility for scaling or collaborative work.
7. Do I own the code generated on these platforms?
Yes, in both cases. But Replit makes it easier to export and manage your code explicitly. Loveable.dev’s automatic sync and lack of control can make ownership more confusing.
