Vibe Coding Starter Kit
Go Pro · $5/mo
Layer 01 of 08

How you want to build

This is the fork in the road. Everything after it follows from this one answer, so take a minute over it.

The real question is how much of the code you want to see. A builder hides it completely and hands you a finished app. An editor puts the files in front of you and edits them while you watch. A terminal agent gives you the most power and the least hand-holding. None is more legitimate than another — but people who never see their code have a much harder time fixing it when the AI gets stuck, and that moment always comes.

I never want to see code

From $0
No experience neededFastest to something real

You describe what you want in a chat box. The tool builds the screens, the database and the login, then hosts it. You get a URL.

Full details & pricing
What this actually feels like

You type "a booking site for my dog-grooming business with a calendar and email confirmations" and watch an app appear over about ninety seconds. Then you spend two hours refining it by asking for changes.

Where it breaks down
  • When the tool makes the same mistake three times in a row and you have no way to reach in and fix it
  • When the app gets big enough that each change costs more credits than the last
  • When you need something specific that is not in the tool's vocabulary
The escape hatch

Every serious builder syncs to GitHub. Turn that on from day one — it costs nothing and it is what lets you graduate later.

I want to see the code

From $0
Some comfort with files neededBest long-term ceiling

A real code editor with an AI agent inside it. You open a project folder, describe a change, and watch it edit the files. You can always take over.

Full details & pricing
What this actually feels like

It looks like a normal code editor. You highlight something, hit a shortcut, describe a change and approve a diff. Over a few weeks you absorb a surprising amount without formally learning to code.

What you need first
  • Node.js installed and a vague sense of what a terminal is
  • Willingness to be confused for the first week
  • A GitHub account
Why most people end up here

The common path in 2026 is: prototype in a builder, export to GitHub, finish in an editor. If you already know you want to build more than one thing, starting here saves you the migration.

Give me the powerful one

From $17/mo
Command line requiredHighest ceiling

An agent that lives in your terminal with no interface at all. It reads and rewrites your whole codebase, runs commands and tests its own work.

Full details & pricing
What this actually feels like

A black window. You type a paragraph describing what you want. It thinks, reads twenty files, writes to eight of them, runs the tests, fixes what broke, and tells you it is done. It is startling the first time.

Who this is genuinely for
  • People who already work in a terminal
  • Large or inherited codebases where an editor's context runs out
  • Anyone who wants to automate work rather than sit and watch it
The honest warning

If you have never used a terminal, this is not where to start. Come back in a month.

Start easy, graduate later

From $0
RecommendedBest value

Prototype in a builder because it is fast, sync to GitHub, then finish in an editor when the builder starts fighting you. The pattern most experienced builders converge on.

Full details & pricing
Why this is the pattern that stuck

Builders are dramatically faster for the first 70–80% of a project — layout, screens, the basic shape of the thing. They get expensive and frustrating for the last 20%, which is where the fiddly logic lives. Editors are the opposite.

How the handoff works
  • Turn on GitHub sync in the builder before your first prompt
  • Build until the tool starts going in circles or credits start hurting
  • Clone the repo, open it in your editor, keep going
  • Small edits are free forever after that
What it costs

Two subscriptions if you run both at once — around $45/mo. Or use the builder's free tier for the prototype and only pay for the editor.