After testing multiple Replit alternatives back to back, five of them held up when real users and real deadlines entered the picture.

The pattern was consistent. A platform looks great in a demo, the first build goes smoothly, and then iteration starts. Credits drain faster than expected, the AI regenerates the same broken output in loops, and there's no real production layer underneath when you need one.

The five tools on this list are different because each one was built for a specific use case. That's why the right pick depends on what you're building.

I described an employee onboarding workflow in about 30 seconds and Zite scaffolded the forms, pages, and database automatically, with no setup required on my end.

• AI app generation: You describe what you need and Zite builds it. I had a working tracker ready before I would have finished explaining the requirements to a developer.

• Built-in database: It generates your schema based on the app it builds. You can keep your data there or connect Airtable and Google Sheets if it already lives somewhere else.

• Production-ready by default: Authentication, role-based permissions, secure hosting, and SOC 2 Type II compliance come included. Nothing to bolt on later.

• No per-user pricing: Flat fee, unlimited users, unlimited apps. If you've been burned by Airtable's per-seat costs as your team grows, this is a real difference.

Best for: Ops teams and SMB owners who need internal tools working fast, without a developer.

Pricing: Free plan includes 50 AI credits. Pro is $19/month and adds 100 credits, custom domain, and branding removal.

The catch: No code export. Your app lives on Zite's infrastructure, which works fine for internal tools but rules it out for anything consumer-facing.

I imported a Replit project into Cursor to see how the two compared. The difference showed up immediately: Cursor already knew how the project was structured without me explaining anything.

• Full project awareness: It reads your entire project, suggests changes across multiple files, and keeps your code style consistent throughout.

• Inline AI that stays out of the way: Completions show up as you type, like a pair programmer who knows when to speak and when to stay quiet.

• No migration required: Your Git workflow, branches, and deployment process stay exactly as they are.

Best for: Developers who want to move faster without giving up ownership of their stack.

Pricing: Free tier available. Paid plans start at $20/month.

Why it beats Replit here: Replit pulls you into its environment. Cursor works inside yours.

I built a recipe manager with a single prompt to see how far it would go. In under 10 minutes, Lovable generated a multi-page app with login, a Supabase-backed table, forms to add and edit entries, and a searchable list view. No configuration, no back-and-forth.

• Prompt or Figma to full-stack app: You describe what you need or drop in a design, and Lovable builds the frontend and backend together. It handles the parts that usually take the most setup time.

• Portable data from day one: Lovable connects to Supabase to store your data. If you leave the platform, your database comes with you, which is something Replit can't say.

• Full code export through GitHub: You can hand the code to a developer, move to Vercel, or extend it yourself whenever you're ready. No rebuilding from scratch.

Best for: Solo founders and small teams building SaaS MVPs who plan to eventually own the code.

Pricing: Free plan includes 30 credits/month. Paid plans start at $25/month.

Why it beats Replit here: You're never locked in. Your data and your code stay yours.

I rebuilt an automation bot I had previously made with Replit to see how n8n handled it. The whole thing happened on a visual canvas, and every step showed exactly what data went in and what came out. No guessing, no digging through generated code.

• Visual workflow builder: You drag nodes onto a canvas and connect them. Each step shows its input and output in real time, which makes debugging a broken flow far faster than chasing AI-generated code.

• Built for multi-step automation: Branches, loops, error handling, AI model calls, all just nodes you connect together. Replit can technically do this, but it's not what it was designed for.

• Hundreds of native integrations: Most tools your team already uses have a native node. For anything else, you can call any external tool with an API connection.

Best for: Teams building automation workflows or AI agents between existing tools.

Pricing: Self-hosted community edition is free. Cloud plans start at $24/month.

Why it beats Replit here: If your goal is connecting tools and automating work between them, n8n was built for exactly that. Replit wasn't.

When I code from scratch, GitHub Copilot fills in functions, suggests loops, and guesses what I'm trying to do next. It runs inside the code editor I already use, so there's no new environment to learn and no project migration to deal with.

• Works where you already work: VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim are some of the most popular code editors out there. Copilot runs inside whichever one you use, so nothing changes about how you build.

• Handles the repetitive parts: Filling in functions, completing loops, refactoring blocks. The tasks that eat time without requiring much thought, Copilot handles automatically.

• No platform commitment: It works alongside your existing tools instead of replacing them. You keep your stack, your workflow, and your deployment process exactly as they are.

Best for: Developers who want AI coding help without abandoning their current workflow.

Pricing: $10/month for individuals. $19/user/month for business plans.

Why it beats Replit here: Replit is a separate environment you move into. Copilot works inside the one you're already in.

It depends on what you're building. For internal tools a real team uses daily, Zite is the only one here built specifically for that, and non-technical users can maintain it without a developer on call. If you already write code, Cursor gives you the most AI leverage without touching your stack, and GitHub Copilot is the lighter version of that if you'd rather not switch editors.

Building an MVP you plan to hand off? Lovable makes sense because you own the code from day one. For automating workflows between existing tools, n8n is the clear answer.

Replit still works for quick experiments, but if you've outgrown it, one of these five probably already has what you need.