Compare
PIES Studio Hobby compared with the tools you already know.
Each of these is good at its own job. This page says where they run, what they build and where your data goes, so you can pick the right one. Prices and feature lists change, so we leave those out; check each site.
| PIES Studio Hobby | Bolt | Lovable | Replit | Cursor | Bubble | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | On your desktop (macOS, Windows, Linux) | In your browser | In your browser | In your browser | On your desktop, as a code editor | In your browser |
| What it builds | The whole application: database, screens, events and functions, sign-in and roles, documents, mobile app, AI agents | Web apps and front ends from a prompt, with code you can see | Web apps from a prompt, with a database through a connected service | Any code project, with an AI agent that builds apps | Code in your own projects, with AI assistance. It does not build or run a whole application for you | Web apps with a visual editor, database and workflows |
| The AI | PIES Private AI Micro on your own computer, free. Optionally your own cloud key | Large cloud models, fast | Large cloud models, fast | Large cloud models | Cloud models | Cloud AI features and plugins |
| Where your data lives | Stays on your machine | In their cloud | In their cloud and connected services | In their cloud | Your code is sent to the models you use | In their cloud |
| Hosting | Runs locally. Export the source and host it anywhere; deployment from the Studio is Enterprise | Hosted for you, shareable link | Hosted for you, shareable link | Hosted for you | You bring the hosting | Hosted by Bubble |
| Cost | Free forever. Free account to download | Free tier with limits, paid plans | Free tier with limits, paid plans | Free tier with limits, paid plans | Free tier with limits, paid plans | Free tier with limits, paid plans |
| Best for | Complete apps, offline, with your data and ideas kept private | Fast web prototypes you can share in minutes | Polished web apps for non-developers, quickly | Coding in any language with hosting built in | Developers writing and changing code in any codebase | No-code web apps with a large plugin ecosystem |
Descriptions of other products are our understanding of their public descriptions as of October 2026. If one is wrong, tell us at support@pies.io and we'll fix it.
Where the others are better
- Cloud AI models are larger and faster than a local model. PIES Private AI Micro handles chat, questions over your data, small edits and building one screen, data model or event at a time. Whole-application builds in Hobby need your own cloud AI key, or PIES Enterprise or PIES Cloud.
- Bolt, Lovable, Replit and Bubble give you a hosted app and a shareable link in minutes. Hobby runs apps on your machine; you export the source to host it, or use Enterprise to deploy from the Studio.
- Cursor works on any existing codebase in any language. PIES builds PIES applications, though the exported code is standard and yours.
- Those tools have larger communities and more tutorials today. PIES Hobby launched in October 2026.
Where PIES Studio Hobby is better
- Free forever, with no usage meter. The same editor as Enterprise, not a trial.
- Works offline. Your brief, your data and the apps you build stay on your machine unless you connect a cloud model yourself.
- Builds a complete application with a real database, sign-in and roles, events and functions, documents, a mobile app and AI agents, not just a front end.
- Standard source code you can export and run without PIES.
- A path to a team and a server: Enterprise runs the same platform on your own infrastructure, with every AI call governed and recorded.
Which one should you use?
- You want a web prototype to share today, and you're fine with it living in the cloud: Bolt or Lovable.
- You're a developer with an existing codebase: Cursor, or Replit if you want hosting built in.
- You want a no-code web app with many plugins: Bubble.
- You want a complete application with a database and sign-in, built and run on your own computer, with AI that keeps your data private, for free: PIES Studio Hobby.
- You're an organisation that needs the same on your own servers, governed and audited: PIES Enterprise.
About PIES Studio Hobby
PIES Studio Hobby is a free desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux that builds full applications from plain English, with a private AI that runs on your own computer.
What it is and what it isn't → · Download it → · Questions people ask →
Try it on your own machine.
PIES Studio Hobby is free for macOS, Windows and Linux. A free account to download, then nothing to pay. Enterprise runs the same platform on your own servers, 60 days free, no card.