Quick verdict
Base44 and Emergent both promise the whole app from a chat: front end, backend, database, logins and a live URL. They differ in the stack they build and in how they bill for running it.
Base44 builds a React app on its own managed backend and hosts it as part of your plan. Its credits pay for AI messages while you build and for integration actions while the app runs; hosting is not a credit line.
Emergent's agents usually build a React front end on a FastAPI (Python) backend and a MongoDB database, or a native Expo app for mobile, and host it on Emergent's infrastructure. Every published app pays a monthly hosting fee in credits, drawn from the same balance you build with.
We build, fix and migrate Base44 apps for a living. We have not shipped client work on Emergent, so every Emergent fact below comes from emergent.sh, its help centre and its Trust Centre, read on 5 November 2026, and the Base44 facts from base44.com/pricing and Base44's docs the same day. Where Emergent's own pages disagree with each other, we say so rather than pick one.
Base44 vs Emergent at a glance
| Base44 | Emergent | |
|---|---|---|
| What it builds | A React app built with Vite, running on Base44 | Most often React + FastAPI (Python) + MongoDB; Next.js and Python-only templates; Expo/React Native for mobile |
| Database | Built in, every plan | MongoDB on a shared Emergent-managed cluster; a dedicated database is a paid upgrade |
| Logins | Built in | Built-in Emergent Auth (Google, email and password) on a hosted page with "Secured by Emergent" branding, or Auth0, Clerk, Firebase or Supabase |
| File storage | Built in | Emergent Object Store, 5 GB quota; uploads cannot be deleted |
| Hosting | Included in the plan | A monthly credit fee per published app: 50 to 1,100 credits by tier |
| Custom domain | Starter plan and above | Standard and Pro, web apps only |
| Code export | ZIP or two-way GitHub sync, Builder and above; still needs Base44 to run | Save to GitHub, Standard and above; no download button; secrets and data not included |
| Native mobile | App Store and Google Play through a web-view wrapper | Native iOS and Android with Expo and React Native |
| Security claims | SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 | "SOC 2 Type I and ISO 27001 certified" (Enterprise page); no HIPAA BAA |
Base44 vs Emergent pricing in 2026
| Base44 | Emergent | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0: 25 message credits, 100 integration credits a month, up to 5 apps | $0: 10 credits (the pricing page says monthly, the help centre says on your first day); cannot publish to production (a free front-end-only app may qualify) or use a custom domain |
| Entry paid plan | Starter $20/month ($16 billed annually): 100 message credits, 2,000 integration credits | Standard $20/month ($17 on annual billing): 100 credits a month, GitHub integration |
| Higher plans | Builder $50 ($40), Pro $100 ($80), Elite $200 ($160) | Pro $200/month ($167 annually): 750 credits a month, 1M context window, priority support |
| Business and Enterprise | Enterprise custom: custom credits, a dedicated architect, SSO | Business and Enterprise custom: SSO, role-based access, audit logs, VPC deployment |
| What credits pay for | Message credits for building; integration credits for what the app does at runtime | One balance for code generation, testing, the monthly hosting fee, integrations, scheduled tasks and runtime AI calls |
| Buying more | Upgrade or adjust your plan, or wait for the reset | Top-up packs from 250 credits for $50 to 10,000+ for $2,000; top-ups never expire and are non-refundable |
| Unused credits | Reset each cycle | Subscription credits expire at the end of each billing cycle |
| Out of credits | Credit-using actions pause until the reset | Generation, builds and publishes pause; no overage billing |
Emergent's help centre puts a single prompt at anywhere from "a handful of credits" for a small visual change to "hundreds" for a full feature with tests, and says large or complex builds can reach "hundreds or even thousands". It publishes no per-build cost, so a monthly budget on Emergent has two moving parts: building, and hosting.
The hosting line
Emergent bills each published app a fixed monthly fee in credits:
| Emergent hosting tier | Credits per month | Resources |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 50 | 0.05 vCPU, 200 MB |
| Launch | 125 | 0.5 vCPU, 2 GB |
| Grow | 225 | 1 vCPU, 4 GB |
| Scale | 450 | 2 vCPU, 8 GB |
| Elite | 1,100 | 4 vCPU, 16 GB |
Emergent's docs say Starter "is not suitable for production apps under meaningful load," and that the EU hosting region costs more than the US region. Shutting a published app down stops the billing; without enough credits for the tier fee, published versions go offline.
Illustrative arithmetic, not a quote: at Emergent's top-up price of 250 credits for $50 ($0.20 a credit), the Launch tier's 125 credits a month equal $25 of credits, more than the Standard plan's entire 100-credit allowance before any building.
Base44 lists its credits as "your monthly usage allowance for AI messages and integration actions," with hosting, the database, logins and file storage included in every plan. Our Base44 cost calculator turns that into a monthly figure for a real app.
The stack each one builds
Base44 apps are "standard React apps built with Vite," in Base44's own words, on top of Base44's database, logins, storage and backend functions. Backend functions for outside APIs need the Builder plan or higher; the Base44 integrations guide maps which route each integration takes.
Emergent describes its most common stack as React, FastAPI (Python) and MongoDB. A Next.js template uses its own API routes instead of FastAPI, a Python-only template has no front end, and mobile projects use Expo and React Native. Its Enterprise page describes the backend as "Node.js/FastAPI", a minor mismatch with the help centre. For a team that wants a Python backend, Emergent's default is the closer fit.
Code and data ownership
Emergent. Its help centre says that under its Terms you keep ownership of your code and content. On Standard and above, code leaves through Save to GitHub; the FAQ says there is "no download/archive button" (its cancellation page mentions downloading assets, so the two pages differ). A code export does not include environment variables and secrets, database contents or node_modules, and importing a repository is only possible when starting a new job. The Enterprise page says code "syncs directly" to GitHub, while the help centre describes a manual push with no in-platform sync. Emergent says the exported code can be published on any host. It publishes no migration guide, and a published app embeds an EMERGENT_LLM_KEY secret for its built-in AI access.
For data, Emergent's docs describe mongodump, MongoDB Compass or per-collection CSV exports, but its managed production cluster rejects external connections, so a production export goes through the Database Manager or support; the FAQ says production data export is "not currently self-serve".
Base44. On the Builder plan or higher you can download a ZIP or turn on two-way GitHub sync. Base44's docs say "your exported code still uses Base44 for your data, logins, and integrations," and that "Base44 doesn't support self-hosting," so leaving means replacing the backend. The Base44 export code guide covers what the export contains.
Neither platform hands you a self-contained app you can lift onto a server unchanged. Emergent's export is closer to standalone code; Base44's export is a front end that keeps calling Base44.
Logins, database and storage
- Logins. Base44's login system is built in and runs inside your app. Emergent Auth supports Google sign-in and email and password (its FAQ also lists phone OTP) at no extra cost, but sign-in happens on a hosted
auth.emergentagent.compage whose "Secured by Emergent" branding "cannot be removed on any tier." Emergent supports Auth0, Clerk, Firebase Auth or Supabase Auth instead. - Database. Emergent apps use MongoDB on a shared managed cluster, with a dedicated database as a paid upgrade; preview and production use separate databases after the first publish, and Emergent notes MongoDB has no Postgres-style row-level security. Base44's database is built in, with data permissions set as you build.
- Storage. Emergent's Object Store has a 5 GB quota and does not support deleting uploads. Base44 includes cloud storage on every plan.
Mobile apps
This is Emergent's clearest edge. Its Mobile Agent builds native iOS and Android apps with Expo and React Native and publishes them through Expo Application Services, without a Mac; native builds need a paid plan. Converting a web project to mobile is a one-way fork and still rolling out, and mobile-to-web is not supported.
Base44 takes a different route: it prepares your published web app for the stores and runs it inside a lightweight native web-view wrapper, so most content and design changes reach the store app without a new release. Downloading the submission files needs the Builder plan or higher. Either way you need your own Apple and Google developer accounts.
Teams, security and data
- Collaboration. Emergent members share the owner's credit pool and need no subscription of their own; project ownership cannot be transferred, and real-time co-editing is listed on Business. Base44 lists multi-user editing and collaboration on every plan.
- Attestations. Base44's security page lists SOC 2 Type II, confirmed by independent audit, and ISO 27001. Emergent's Enterprise page says "SOC 2 Type I and ISO 27001 certified"; its Trust Centre lists them as compliant. We found no Type II claim from Emergent.
- Regulated data. Emergent's help centre says it does not offer a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement. Base44's documentation does not mention HIPAA or a BAA; get written confirmation from Base44 before storing health data.
- AI training. Emergent says it does not train models on customer personal data, and that prompts, generated code and database schema are sent to third-party model providers under its data processing agreement.
Which one fits your project
Choose Base44 when:
- You want one plan that covers building, hosting, the database and logins, with no monthly hosting line to budget.
- Your login page has to look like your product, not your builder.
- A web app in the stores through a wrapper is enough for your mobile needs.
- You want a vendor with a SOC 2 Type II report.
Choose Emergent when:
- You need a genuinely native iOS or Android app built with React Native.
- Your team works in Python and wants FastAPI on the backend.
- You want the code to leave through GitHub as a project you can host elsewhere, accepting that secrets and production data come out separately.
- You can budget build credits and hosting credits from the same balance.
For other builders side by side, see Base44 vs v0, Base44 vs Lovable and the best Base44 alternatives.
Moving between Base44 and Emergent
Base44 to Emergent. A Base44 export still calls Base44 for data, logins and integrations, and Emergent imports a repository only when a new job starts, so this is a rebuild: Base44 entities become MongoDB collections, and logins and integrations are re-created. When to leave Base44 helps decide whether the move pays, and the migration hub prices moves off Base44 at fixed fees.
Emergent to Base44. Base44's import documentation lists projects from Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, WordPress, Lovable and Bolt.new. Emergent is not on that list, so expect to rebuild in Base44 with the Emergent app as a reference.
Get an answer for your app
If you are on Base44 and weighing a move, the $497 Base44 audit checks 12 components against 110 pass/fail checks and ends in a fix, rebuild or migrate verdict, delivered one business day after access. The fee is credited in full against any fix, build or migration booked within 30 days.