A comprehensive evaluation of AI-assisted development platforms for building enterprise-grade business solutions — with a focus on security, payments, and financial services.
Lovable + Claude Code + GitHub works for prototyping and early-stage products, but has documented security gaps for financial services without hardening.
PCI DSS Level 1 compliance costs $200K-$1M+/year. Use payment orchestration platforms (Primer.io, Spreedly) instead.
Your competitive advantage is domain expertise + rapid delivery. Invest in security literacy and a specialist network, not platform shopping.
Wix paid $80M for 6-month-old Base44. OpenAI acquired Windsurf. But the "SaaSpocalypse" shows nothing is guaranteed.
Can you take your app and leave? This varies dramatically by platform.
| Platform | Code Export | Backend Export | DB Portable | Self-Host | Migration Effort | Lock-In |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor / Claude Code | N/A (local) | N/A (local) | Your choice | Already local | None | ZERO |
| Bolt.new | Full (ZIP/GitHub) | Yes | Your choice | Yes (bolt.diy) | Minimal | Very Low |
| v0.dev | Full (components) | N/A | N/A | N/A | None | Very Low |
| Tempo | Full (React/Next.js) | Standard | Your choice | Yes | Minimal | Very Low |
| Lovable | Full (GitHub) | Partial (Supabase) | Via Supabase | Yes | Low-Medium | Low-Medium |
| FlutterFlow | Full (Flutter/Dart) | Partial (Firebase) | Via Firebase | Yes | Medium | Medium |
| Replit | Full (any lang) | Replit-specific | Needs migration | Possible | Medium | Medium |
| Base44 | Frontend only | No | No | No | High (rebuild) | HIGH |
| Bubble | No | No | No | No | Total rebuild | MAXIMUM |
| Platform | Price | Stack | Code Export | Security Cert | Known Vulnerabilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lovable.dev | $25-100+/mo | React/TS + Supabase | Yes (full) | Via Supabase SOC2 | CVE-2025-48757: 170+ apps exposed |
| Bolt.new | Free-$20+/mo | Any (WebContainers) | Yes (full) | Via StackBlitz Enterprise | Open source, community-dependent |
| Base44 | $16-160/mo | Proprietary | Limited | None (Wix backing) | Auth bypass + XSS (2025) |
| Replit | $0-39/mo | Any language | Yes | SOC 2 Type II | Most enterprise-ready |
| Platform | Price | What It Does | Security Cert | Enterprise Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | $20-40/mo | AI-powered VS Code fork | SOC 2 Type II | SSO, privacy mode, team mgmt |
| Windsurf | $15-60/mo | AI IDE (acquired by OpenAI) | SOC 2 (pre-acq) | Uncertain post-acquisition |
| Claude Code | API pricing | Terminal-based AI agent | Code stays local | Your code, your infrastructure |
| Platform | Price | Code Export | Security | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubble | $29-349/mo | No (lock-in) | SOC 2 Type II | Complex web apps (locked in) |
| FlutterFlow | $30-70/mo | Yes (Flutter/Dart) | Via Firebase | Native mobile apps |
| Retool | $50+/mo | Limited | SOC 2, HIPAA, self-host | Enterprise internal tools |
Which platform produces the best-looking apps out of the box?
| Platform | Design Rating | Design System | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| v0.dev | Best in Class | shadcn/ui + Tailwind | Cleanest code, most polished components, modern aesthetic | Components only, not full apps |
| Lovable | Very Good | React + Tailwind + shadcn | Production-ready polish, editable code, good responsive design | Requires style direction in prompts; can be generic without it |
| Tempo Labs | Very Good | React + design tokens | Design-first approach, Figma bridge, visual editing | Early stage, smaller community |
| Bolt.new | Good | Any (user-directed) | Flexibility, fast iteration, open-source customizable | UI quality depends heavily on prompting skill; less polished defaults |
| Base44 | Decent | Proprietary (style presets) | Style selection at start (Neo-Brutalism, etc.), responsive | Generic designs, CTAs lack polish, limited customization after generation |
| Replit | Varies | Any (user-directed) | Full flexibility with any framework | No built-in design system; quality depends entirely on your prompts |
| Bubble | Dated | Proprietary visual builder | Functional, feature-rich builder | Distinctly "Bubble look" — often feels dated vs modern frameworks |
| FlutterFlow | Good (Mobile) | Material Design / Flutter | Native mobile feel, Material Design compliance | Web output feels mobile-first; limited web design flexibility |
Always start Lovable projects with explicit design direction: colors, typography, spacing scale. Reference specific sites or design systems (e.g., "Use shadcn/ui components with a sage green and charcoal palette").
Generate polished components in v0.dev, export them, then integrate into your Lovable project. This gives you best-in-class design with full-app functionality.
Without explicit design direction, all platforms default to a generic look. The differentiator is your prompt quality, not the platform. Invest time in design briefs.
Row Level Security misconfigurations left databases wide open. 303 endpoints across 170+ apps exposed. Unauthenticated attackers could read/write to databases. Personal debt amounts, home addresses, and API keys were accessible.
Authentication bypass: anyone could register and access private apps using just an app_id. Stored XSS vulnerability allowed session token theft and account takeover. Fixed within 24 hours.
The first security governance framework designed specifically for vibe coding.
Don't give AI agents production access
Never merge AI code without review
Sanitize prompts, run SAST before merge
Use security scanning tools on all output
Give AI only minimum permissions needed
Layer multiple security controls
| Your Role | PCI Level | Annual Cost | Feasible with Vibecoding? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant using Stripe Elements | SAQ A | $5K-15K | Yes, with hardening |
| Merchant with card data handling | SAQ D | $30K-100K | With difficulty |
| Payment Facilitator (your gateway) | Level 1 (full ROC) | $200K-$1M+ | No |
Use Primer.io — drag-and-drop workflow builder for non-technical teams. Connects to 45+ payment services across 20+ countries. Route transactions to your custom gateway + Stripe as backup/failover.
Acts as a layer between you and payment providers. Handles tokenization and PCI compliance. Route transactions to different providers including your own gateway.
Months 1-6: Stripe only. Months 6-18: Add orchestration platform. Months 18-36: Custom routing only if volume justifies it.
Current: Lovable + Claude Code + GitHub
| Gap | Severity | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| No automated security scanning | Critical | Add Snyk, Semgrep, or SonarQube to GitHub Actions |
| Supabase RLS often misconfigured | Critical | Manual review of every RLS policy before deployment |
| No test coverage generated | High | Claude Code can generate tests; make it mandatory |
| No SOC 2 of your own | High | Leverage Supabase/Vercel SOC 2; pursue your own later |
| No CI/CD pipeline | High | Set up GitHub Actions: lint → test → scan → deploy |
| No multi-tenant isolation | High | Architectural planning per project |
| No audit logging | High | Add application-level audit logging |
| No disaster recovery plan | High | Document and test backup/recovery procedures |
| Sync conflicts Lovable ↔ Claude Code | Medium | Lovable for initial build, Claude Code for iteration |
Priority-ordered skill development — 24 weeks to enterprise readiness.
| Component | Cost | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Your build time (AI-assisted) | $5K-25K | Per project |
| Security review by professional | $2K-5K | Per project |
| Infrastructure/DevOps setup | $3K-8K | Per project |
| Ongoing monitoring | $200-500/mo | Recurring |
| Professional liability insurance | $100-400/mo | Recurring |
| Minimum project price | $15K-40K | Simple apps |
| Enterprise project price | $50K-150K | Complex apps |
$1K-5K/year • $1M-5M coverage • Covers mistakes in professional services
$1.5K-7K/year • Covers data breach costs including notification, forensics, legal defense
$2K-8K/year • Specific to technology service providers
| Target | Cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type I | $15K-30K | 3-6 months |
| SOC 2 Type II | $30K-80K | 6-12 months |
| PCI DSS SAQ A | $5K-15K | 1-3 months |
| ISO 27001 | $40K-100K | 6-12 months |
| Annual pen test | $5K-30K | Annually |
Complete security training. Build with Lovable + Claude Code. Use Stripe hosted payment pages only. Get professional security review before client deployments. Get E&O and cyber liability insurance.
Engage security contractor for quarterly reviews. Add CI/CD with automated scanning. Explore Primer.io for payment orchestration. Start documenting security practices.
Hire or contract a fractional CTO. Pursue SOC 2 Type I. Build out custom payment gateway integration via orchestration platform. Formalize code review and testing.
Full engineering team for mission-critical projects. SOC 2 Type II. You transition from builder to product architect and client advisor.