SubscriberSubscriber
Browse products

Journal

Claude vs Cursor vs Lovable vs v0 vs Bolt: where to paste a website prompt

By MOTION/LAB · Published 26 October 2026 · 6 min read

Use Lovable, v0 or Bolt if you want to paste a prompt, see a preview and publish from the browser. Use Cursor or Claude Code if you want the real files on your computer. Framer and Webflow are site builders: you paste code into them rather than a whole-site prompt. Every step below comes from each tool's official documentation, read on 25 October 2026.

Which one fits you

Seven tools, from their official documentation (checked 25 October 2026)
ToolWhere you workGood whenHow it publishes
Claudeclaude.ai chat, or Claude Code on your computerYou want to talk the design through and see a page beside the chatAn artifact is private until shared; Claude Code can publish an artifact on Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise
CursorA code editor on your computerYou want the real files and full controlYou build and deploy the files yourself
LovableBrowser: chat left, preview rightYou want a live preview and a quick publishPublish to a lovable.app address, free on every plan
v0Browser, by VercelYou want a preview, Code and Design viewsPublish to a Vercel project and a vercel.app address
BoltBrowserYou want paste, build and publish in one placePublish button; the link appears in the chat
FramerA site builderYour site already lives in FramerPublish to a framer.app address
WebflowA site builderYour site already lives in WebflowPublish the site after saving code

Tools change their screens and plans often. If a label has moved, the official page linked in our AI tool guides is the source of truth, and each guide shows the date it was checked.

Before you paste: make your prompt first

A prompt that says nothing about your business gives you the demo's fictional brand. Open the template, choose "Make it mine" in the viewer, fill in your details, and copy the finished prompt (copying is a subscriber feature). If your tool limits how much you can paste, use "Build steps": the prompt is split into small steps and you paste one at a time.

Claude

  1. Open a conversation on claude.ai and paste your prompt into the message box.
  2. Ask for a single-page website. The page opens in its own window beside the chat.
  3. Check the preview. To change something, type the change in the chat. If an error shows, click "Try fixing with Claude".
  4. Find it again later in the Artifacts tab in the Claude sidebar.
  • Artifacts are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, and need "Create and edit files" turned on under Settings, then Capabilities.
  • How to get a website's files out of a new chat artifact is not described on the page we read. For a project with real files, use Claude Code: install it from its quickstart page, open a terminal in an empty folder, run claude, log in, then paste the prompt.

Cursor

  1. Download Cursor from cursor.com/download, install it, open it and sign in with a Cursor account.
  2. Choose File, then Open Folder, and pick an empty folder for your site.
  3. Open the Agent panel: Cmd+I on a Mac, Ctrl+I on Windows and Linux.
  4. Paste your prompt into the Agent input and send it. Use @ to point it at a file or folder in later messages.
  5. Review the edits in the diff view and reject anything you do not want.
  6. Ask Cursor to run or build the result. Restore Checkpoint in the chat timeline takes you back to an earlier state.
  • A Cursor account is required. The pages we read do not say what the free plan includes.

Lovable

  1. Go to lovable.dev and sign up with email, Google, GitHub or Apple. You can type the prompt on the homepage first; Lovable keeps it.
  2. With Build selected in the mode picker, paste your prompt and submit.
  3. Wait a few minutes. You land in the editor with chat on the left and the preview on the right.
  4. Use the device toggle above the preview to check Mobile.
  5. Ask for one change at a time and check the preview after each.
  6. To publish, click Publish at the top right, edit the suggested lovable.app address if you like, and click Publish again.
  • The free plan includes five credits per day, up to 30 per month. Publishing to a lovable.app address is free on every plan.
  • Code can be synced to GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket. A plain file download is not described on the pages we read.

v0

  1. Go to v0.app and sign in, then start a new chat or project.
  2. Paste your prompt into the prompt bar and send it.
  3. Review the app in the preview. The toolbar has Code (read the code) and Design (visual edits).
  4. Ask for changes in the chat. You can queue up to 10 prompts while v0 is still generating.
  5. To publish, select Publish in the chat header, confirm the Vercel project name if asked, choose visibility and a domain, then select Publish.
  • The Free plan lists a daily limit of 7 messages, plus a one-time $5 credit for new sign-ups.
  • To get the code out, the project menu has Settings, then GitHub, then Create a GitHub repository. A plain file download is not described on the pages we read.

Bolt

  1. Open bolt.new and paste your prompt into the chatbox.
  2. Click Build now, then sign in or sign up with Google, GitHub or email.
  3. Complete the short survey and wait for the first build. Apps without a database usually build faster.
  4. Try the app in the Preview window.
  5. Type follow-up prompts in the chatbox. To target one element, click the Select icon, click the element, then type the change.
  6. To undo, click the project title, then Version history, and restore an earlier version.
  7. To publish, click Publish at the top right, click the second Publish button, wait about a minute, then click the link in the chat.
  • Free accounts offer 1 million tokens a month with a 300K daily limit; no credit card is needed to sign up.
  • Bolt's documentation site did not load for us, so our guide uses its help center. Exporting project files is not described on the pages we read.

Framer and Webflow

These are site builders, not whole-site generators. You paste code into a site you have already built, so our prompt tab for them is written for custom code and code components.

  • Framer: Project Settings, then Custom Code, then Add Script. For a reusable block, create a Code File that exports one React component written for React 18. Publish gives you a framer.app address. Staging needs the Pro plan or higher. The pages we read do not state a script size limit or which plan custom code needs.
  • Webflow: open the page settings in the Designer and use the Custom Code section, in the head or just before the closing body tag. Changes go live only after you publish. We could not confirm which plan custom code needs, and Webflow's developer documentation states a 10,000-character limit per inline script registered through its API; that limit is not stated for the Designer.

A simple way to choose

  1. No code experience and you want a preview in the browser: start with Lovable, v0 or Bolt.
  2. You want the files on your computer: Cursor or Claude Code. With real files you can also start from the template's source package and ask the AI only to edit it.
  3. Your site already lives in Framer or Webflow: paste code there.
  4. Whatever you choose, publish it free when it is ready, and keep the fix prompts handy.

Questions, answered

Which AI tool is best for building a website from a prompt?

There is no single best one. Lovable, v0 and Bolt give a browser preview and publish buttons; Cursor and Claude Code give you the real files on your computer. Pick by how you like to work.

Do I need a paid plan?

Each tool has a free plan with limits, stated in its own documentation and summarised above for Lovable, v0 and Bolt. Limits change, so check the tool's pricing page.

Can I get the files out of these tools?

Cursor and Claude Code work on real files. Lovable and v0 can sync to GitHub. For Bolt and for new Claude artifacts, a plain file download is not described on the pages we read.

Why does the result not match the demo?

A prompt describes the design and the AI interprets it, so it is close but not identical. See "Prompt vs source files" for why, and what to do about it.

Where this comes from

  • Claude: support.claude.com (artifacts), code.claude.com (quickstart, artifacts)
  • Cursor: cursor.com/help and cursor.com/docs/agent/overview
  • Lovable: docs.lovable.dev
  • v0: v0.app/docs (quickstart, deployments, pricing)
  • Bolt: support.bolt.new quickstart
  • Framer: framer.com/help (custom code, publishing) and framer.com/developers
  • Webflow: developers.webflow.com custom code and university.webflow.com
  • All read on 2026-10-25; screens and plans change

Subscribers

Unlock prompts and code

Enter the access key from your subscription. This browser stays signed in for 30 days.

See plans