Infrastructure Costs
AI platforms like Bolt, Lovable, Replit, and Base44 make it easy to generate an app. But the app needs somewhere to live — and that costs money.
The code is free. The infrastructure is not.
This page breaks down what you'll actually spend to run your app in production, from free tier to serious scale. No technical jargon — just the numbers you need to budget.
What Is Infrastructure?
Think of infrastructure as the rent and utilities for your app:
| What It Is | Analogy |
|---|---|
| Hosting | The apartment where your app lives |
| Database | The filing cabinet where your app stores user data |
| File storage | The closet where your app keeps uploaded files |
| Email service | The mailroom that sends password resets and notifications |
| Domain name | Your app's street address on the internet |
Every app needs these things. AI platforms can set them up for you, but someone has to pay the bills.
What Your AI Platform Includes
Most AI platforms bundle some infrastructure in their subscription:
| Platform | What's Included | What's Extra |
|---|---|---|
| Bolt | Basic hosting, some database | Advanced features, scaling |
| Lovable | Hosting, basic database | Custom domain, larger storage |
| Replit | Hosting, database (limited) | More resources, custom domain |
| Base44 | Hosting, database, auth | Higher tiers for more users |
Important: The free or basic tier is enough for a prototype. But once you have real users, you'll likely need to pay for additional services.
Cost Breakdown by Service
Hosting
This is where your app "lives" on the internet.
| Service | Free Tier | Paid Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel (common with Bolt/Lovable) | $0 — 100 GB bandwidth | $20/month for more |
| Netlify (common with Replit) | $0 — 100 GB bandwidth | $19/month for more |
| Railway (common with Bolt) | $0 — limited | $5–$20/month |
| Self-hosted (VPS) | Not available | $5–$50/month |
Hidden costs to watch for:
- Bandwidth overages — If your app serves lots of images or files, you can exceed free limits quickly
- Build minutes — Each time you update your app, it "builds" — free tiers have limits
- Serverless function limits — Each user action can count as a "function call"
Realistic monthly cost for a small app: $0 – $50
Database
This is where your app stores user accounts, orders, content, and other data.
| Service | Free Tier | Paid Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase (very common) | $0 — 500 MB storage | $25/month (8 GB) → $599/month (16 GB) |
| Firebase (common with Replit) | $0 — 1 GB storage | Pay-as-you-go, can grow fast |
| MongoDB Atlas | $0 — 512 MB storage | $57/month (2 GB) |
The Supabase Trap: Supabase is the most common database for AI-generated apps. The jump from their $25/month plan to their $599/month plan is 24x. If your app grows, this bill can spike overnight.
Realistic monthly cost for a small app: $0 – $25 Realistic monthly cost for a growing app: $25 – $200
Authentication
This is the "login with email/password" or "login with Google" system.
| Service | Free Tier | Paid Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase Auth | 50,000 users | Included in database plan |
| Clerk | 10,000 users | $25/month for 25,000 users |
| Firebase Auth | 10,000 users/month | Pay-as-you-go |
Realistic monthly cost: $0 – $50
File Storage
If your app lets users upload images, documents, or files.
| Service | Free Tier | Paid Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase Storage | 1 GB | $0.06/GB/month |
| AWS S3 | 5 GB (first year) | $0.023/GB/month |
| Cloudinary (images) | 25 GB | $89/month for more |
Realistic monthly cost: $0 – $30
Email
For password resets, welcome emails, notifications.
| Service | Free Tier | Paid Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Resend | 100 emails/day | $0.0001/email after |
| SendGrid | 100 emails/day | $20/month for 50,000 emails |
| AWS SES | 62,000 emails/month | $0.0001/email after |
Realistic monthly cost: $0 – $20
Payments (if you're selling something)
| Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Stripe | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction |
| PayPal | 2.9% + $0.49 per transaction |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5% + $0.50 per transaction |
Realistic monthly cost: 2.9% + $0.30 per sale (scales with your revenue)
Real-World Cost Scenarios
Scenario 1: Prototype Stage (0–10 users)
| Service | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| AI platform (Bolt/Lovable/Replit) | $20 |
| Hosting (included or free tier) | $0 |
| Database (free tier) | $0 |
| Domain name | $1 |
| Total | ~$21/month |
Scenario 2: Small App, 500 Users
| Service | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| AI platform | $50 |
| Hosting (paid tier) | $20 |
| Database (paid tier) | $25 |
| Email service | $10 |
| File storage | $5 |
| Total | ~$110/month |
Scenario 3: Growing App, 5,000 Users
| Service | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| AI platform | $100 |
| Hosting (higher tier) | $50 |
| Database (higher tier) | $100 |
| Email service | $50 |
| File storage | $20 |
| Monitoring | $25 |
| Total | ~$345/month |
Scenario 4: Scaling App, 50,000+ Users
| Service | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| AI platform | $200 |
| Hosting (enterprise) | $500+ |
| Database (enterprise) | $600+ |
| Email service | $200+ |
| File storage + CDN | $200+ |
| Monitoring + security | $200+ |
| Total | ~$2,000 – $8,000+/month |
The "Free Tier" Trap
Free tiers are great for getting started. But they have limits that can surprise you:
| Service | Free Limit | What Happens When You Exceed It |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel | 100 GB bandwidth | Your app slows down or shows errors |
| Supabase | 500 MB database | New data stops saving |
| Resend | 100 emails/day | Password resets stop working |
| Clerk | 10,000 users | New users can't sign up |
The fix: Know the limits before you hit them. Set a calendar reminder to review your usage monthly.
Infrastructure Cost Checklist
Before launching your app, run through this checklist:
- I know what's included in my AI platform subscription
- I know what services I'll need to pay for separately
- I know the free tier limits of every service I'm using
- I know what triggers paid tier upgrades
- I've estimated costs at 100, 1,000, and 10,000 users
- I have a budget for infrastructure costs
- I've set up billing alerts on all paid services
- I know how to export my data if I need to switch providers
The Bottom Line
The app is free to generate. Running it is not.
AI platforms make it easy to build an app. But every app needs hosting, a database, and other services — and those costs add up as you grow.
The smart approach:
- Use free tiers for prototyping
- Know what triggers paid upgrades
- Budget $20–$50/month for a small app
- Budget $100–$500/month for a growing app
- Plan for infrastructure costs like any other business expense
Infrastructure costs are a business expense, not a technical detail. Plan for them like you plan for rent, marketing, or any other operational cost.