Bolt (bolt.new) is a general-purpose AI app builder: you prompt it, it generates a web app, and you host it on Bolt. Alori is the all-in-one app for service businesses, starting with HVAC, for owners and the agencies that serve them. It assembles apps from modules for customers, quotes, scheduling, jobs and invoices. The right one is the one whose starting point matches the thing you are building.
This is the same kind of choice as Alori vs Lovable. Lovable and Bolt are peers. Alori is the specialist.
The short version
- Pick Bolt if you are building something that is not a service-business app: a product idea, a consumer app, an internal tool with an unusual shape, or a prototype you want to design from a blank page.
- Pick Alori if you run, or build for, a service company and you want the app that runs customers, quotes, scheduling, jobs and invoices.
Different starting points
A general-purpose builder starts from the prompt. That is the point of Bolt. Its pricing page describes an AI website and app builder with hosting included, public and private projects, and usage measured in tokens. You decide what a "customer" is, how a job moves, and what an invoice should contain, by describing those things until the app matches.
Alori starts from the service business. Those records already exist as modules. You describe the shop in plain words, or paste the website, and you get an app that uses your words. A salon sees clients and appointments. A plumber sees customers and jobs. You are not designing a database from scratch unless your workflow truly needs a field the modules do not have, and then you ask for that field.
| Bolt | Alori | |
|---|---|---|
| What you can build | A wide range of websites and web apps | Apps that run service companies |
| Starting point | Your prompt, from scratch | Modules for customers, quotes, scheduling, jobs, invoices |
| How usage is metered | Tokens. Larger projects cost more per message | Credits. A typical change is about one credit. Questions and failed builds are free |
| Who it is aimed at | Builders and founders broadly | Service company owners, plus agencies and freelancers who build for them |
| Best when | The idea is new or unusual | The business works like a service company |
How you set Alori up
- Describe the business in a sentence, or paste its website. Alori picks up the business name, colors and what it does.
- Answer a couple of simple multiple-choice questions where your description is unclear. Alori asks instead of guessing.
- Get an app with the modules you need, working at the office and on a phone.
- Change anything by asking in a sentence.
Changes are tried on a copy first. Your team keeps using the live app until you publish, and you can go back to an earlier version. Apps go live at name.alori.dev, or on your own domain (a custom domain is listed on Solo). Hosting, database, sign-in and SSL are handled, with no config screens. Apps are available in English and French.
More on the process in how Alori builds your app.
What it costs
As of October 2026, Bolt's pricing page lists:
- Free: 1 million tokens a month, with a 300,000 token daily limit, Bolt branding on sites, and website hosting.
- Pro: $25 per month billed monthly, starting at 10 million tokens a month, no Bolt branding, custom domain support, and unused tokens that roll over.
- Teams: $30 per member per month, with shared workspace controls.
- Enterprise: custom pricing.
Bolt's own FAQ says most token use comes from syncing the project to the model, so a larger app costs more per message. Plans and allowances move. Read that page before you budget a build.
Alori is free to start, with no credit card and 10 credits, on the pricing page. Every plan includes unlimited users. Solo starts at $99 a month for 375 credits. Business starts at $249 a month for 1,000 credits. Emailing a quote or invoice costs 0.01 credits per recipient. The meters are not comparable one-to-one: Bolt sells generation capacity, Alori sells changes to a service-business app.
For agencies building for clients
If the agency builds many kinds of apps (marketing sites, dashboards, product prototypes), Bolt covers more of that range, and the Teams plan is built for a shared workspace.
If the clients are local service companies, Alori fits that work more directly. One account holds many projects. Each project is a separate app with its own data and its own team, so you invite that client's staff and leave the next client in another project. See how to sell custom software to local businesses.
When Bolt is the better pick
- The app is not a service business. A social product, a marketplace, a content site, or a SaaS idea sits outside Alori's modules.
- You want every screen designed from a prompt, with no starting structure for quotes and jobs.
- You are prototyping and you need hosting, a custom domain, and a general builder in the same place.
- Your workflow does not look like customers, quotes, jobs and invoices. The modules will not help.
When Alori is the better pick
- You run a service company and you want one app for the daily records.
- You would rather describe the business than design the data.
- A team uses the app every day, so trying a change on a copy before you publish matters.
- You want English or French as built-in languages.
- You are an agency serving local service businesses, one project per client.
Questions to ask before you choose
| Question | If the answer is yes |
|---|---|
| Is this app for running a service business? | Alori is built for this. |
| Is the app a new product for a broad market? | A general-purpose builder fits better. |
| Do you want ready-made modules for quotes, jobs and invoices? | Alori starts there. |
| Do you need to design an unusual workflow from scratch? | Bolt gives you the blank page. |
| Will a team rely on the app every day? | Look for a safe preview and version history. Alori tries changes on a copy first. |
Try both on the real job. An hour of building tells you more than the pricing table. If you also looked at Lovable, the Alori vs Lovable post is the same decision with the other general-purpose builder.
Product details change. Check each vendor's site for current features and pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Is Alori a Bolt alternative?
For service businesses, yes. Bolt is general purpose and meters usage in tokens. Alori starts from service-business modules and meters changes in credits. If you are not building a service-business app, Alori is the wrong tool.
Can I build a plumbing CRM in Bolt?
You can describe one. A general-purpose builder will generate whatever you specify, and you own the design of every screen. Alori already has customer, quote, scheduling, job and invoice modules, then you adjust them in chat. The tradeoff is range: Bolt will also build the unrelated app. Alori will not.
Does Bolt include hosting?
Yes. As of October 2026, Bolt's pricing page includes website hosting on the free plan and on Pro, plus custom domain support on Pro. Alori also handles hosting, the database, sign-in and SSL. The difference is what is hosted: a generated web app, or a service-business app.
Do I need to know how to code?
No, for either product, if you are comfortable describing what you want. Alori is aimed at an owner who talks about the business, not about components. Bolt is aimed at people who want to prompt a whole app into existence, and a large project can burn tokens quickly. Budget for that if you go deep.
Try Alori on your business
Describe your service business in a sentence or paste your website, and see the all-in-one app. It is free to start, with no credit card and no account needed. Try it free.
