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Ways to put an AI-built app online, and which one fits.

Start with where the app's code lives and where you want to keep editing it. That helps you choose who should host it and look after its database.

Updated

The short answer

Choose the AI builder's publishing option if you want to keep making the app there. Choose Vercel and Supabase if you want to manage the hosting and database in your own provider accounts. Choose Tofu if you have app files or work with any coding agent and want the hosting and database set up through one account.

An app that already works in Lovable, Bolt, Replit, v0 or Base44 can stay there. Moving to Tofu makes sense when you want to keep working on its code with your coding agent and have Tofu run its hosting and database.

The ways to publish

Build and publish in the same product

Set up the services yourself

Vercel can host the app, while Supabase keeps its data. Supabase also includes Auth for signing people in. You create the provider accounts and connect them to the app, with your coding agent's help if you want it. The Vercel and Supabase comparison walks through that setup.

Bring the code to Tofu

Your coding agent can send the app's folder, or you can import its GitHub repository. Tofu puts it at its own web address and can create a database for it. It supplies the Google setup for Google sign-in. Start with the agent setup page.

Tofu also has a browser builder for starting a new app from an idea.

Setup and paid-plan examples

The prices below are examples from each provider's own pricing page, read on 2026-10-24, in US dollars. Where a provider shows its price billed yearly, the figure is the monthly equivalent and says so.

WayWhat the owner sets upPaid-plan examples
Publish from an AI builderMake changes in the editor and use its publishing controls. Set up the database and sign-in with the options that product offers; with v0, the database is an outside provider's account added through the Vercel Marketplace.
Manage Vercel and SupabaseCreate each provider's project and connect the app to it. Configure Google sign-in in your own accounts.Vercel Pro starts at $20/month; Supabase Pro starts at $25/month. That paid pair starts at $45/month.
Bring the code to TofuConnect your coding agent or import from GitHub. Approve creating the app's database and turning on Google sign-in.Pro is $20/mo. Hosting and the plan's included databases are covered. See every plan on the pricing page.

How to choose

  1. Where will the app be edited?

    If you want to keep using the builder that made it, start with that product's publish button. If your coding agent works on a folder or GitHub repository, look at Tofu or a host you manage yourself.

  2. Where does the app keep its data?

    Ask your coding agent to identify the database and sign-in service the app uses. For an existing app, follow the move guide before changing hosts.

  3. Who should manage the services?

    Choose your own provider accounts if you want their settings and tools. Choose Tofu if you want to ask your coding agent to set up the hosting and managed database through Tofu.

  4. What must work before it is shared?

    Publish the app, then try its main action at the live address. If it has sign-in, use a second account to check that private records stay private. Save a record and come back to check that it is still there.

When another way fits better

  • The current builder already does the job. Keep the app there if its editor and publishing meet your needs. Check what keeping it online uses up: Lovable uses Run credits as people use a published app. On Bolt, a site that reaches its plan's hosting limit stops showing publicly; on Bolt Free, that lasts for the rest of the month. A Replit Starter published link goes down after 30 days. Replit Core can charge for use beyond its included credits. On Base44, actions that use credits pause when those credits run out.

  • Several people review each change before it goes online. v0's GitHub connection supports branches and pull requests, with a preview for each one. Tofu's automatic updates follow one branch per app, and a pull request gets no preview of its own. A paid v0 plan and a Vercel plan have separate terms; buying v0 Plus does not include Vercel Pro.

  • The owner wants the providers' own controls. Use Vercel and Supabase directly for their own dashboards and tools, such as Supabase's SQL editor, where you type commands straight to the database, or to keep a setup your team already knows. That also fits an app that needs sign-in options beyond the Google and email setup Tofu supplies. Tofu shows what the database holds but has no place to type commands to it. The detailed comparison covers these differences.

  • A working app depends on the builder's services. Importing code into Tofu does not move saved records or user accounts. An app tied to the old service may need code changes. Tofu sets up sign-in for its own managed databases; the app needs code that uses it. If that work outweighs what a new host gives you, keep the current setup. The move guide separates the code from the services that need their own move.

  • The app needs work that runs continuously. Tofu hosts apps that people open in a browser. A program that must keep running, or run on a timer, needs a host built for that. The hosting limits explain what Tofu does not run.

Check what the plan covers

The prices above are plan examples, not measured bills for running the same app. Each builder counts use in its own units, credits or tokens, so these figures do not tell you how many apps or edits a plan buys. Vercel and Supabase can charge for use beyond their included allowances. The paid pair is not a required minimum: free tiers are also available. Vercel Hobby is for personal, non-commercial use; Supabase Free pauses projects after a week of inactivity.

Tofu's pricing page lists its current allowances, including which plans come with a custom domain. You buy the name separately. The Free plan's app can have a managed database and Google sign-in.

Questions

Does an app made with AI need a special host?

No. What an app needs depends on how it was built, not on the tool that wrote it. Your coding agent can prepare the files, and Tofu reads them to see what kind of app it is before it builds it. See the supported app types.

Does an app have to be made in Tofu to be hosted there?

No. Any coding agent can send an app's folder to Tofu. You can also import its code from GitHub. Both paths lead to the same Tofu dashboard, where you manage the app and publish updates.

Can I move one of these apps to Tofu later?

Yes. Your coding agent can send the app's folder, or you can import its GitHub repository. The code moves; saved records and user accounts stay with the service that holds them, so the app may need code changes. The move guide covers what moves and what does not.

Can the GitHub repository stay private?

Yes. Connect GitHub in the Tofu dashboard and grant access to that repository. The move guide covers choosing its branch and the folder that contains the app.

How does an app on Tofu get its own domain?

On a plan that includes a custom domain, open the app's Domains page once it is live and enter a name you own. Tofu gives you the records that send visitors to the app and sets up HTTPS. The domain guide explains where to put those records.

How are changes published after the first version?

Ask your coding agent to send the app's updated folder to the same Tofu app. For code imported from GitHub, turn on automatic updates, and changes you save to its branch on GitHub go online by themselves. The app keeps its address and settings.

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