Last reviewed September 2026, based on Base44’s public documentation and pricing. Competitor products change often — if something here is out of date, tell us at support@archie.com.
At a glance
How each one works
Base44 generates a working web app from a prompt, with the database, backend logic, authentication, and hosting handled on its managed platform. Built-in integrations cover services like Stripe, Slack, SendGrid, and Twilio. Base44 also offers its backend as a service for developers building their own apps. Archie starts with a plan — overview, modules, user types, system services, and integrations — that you edit until it’s right. Generate Frontend lays out every screen in a UI architecture and builds a click-through prototype, Generate Backend builds the schema and APIs on Archie Core, and Generate Full-Stack turns the prototype into a deployed app. Like Base44, Archie Core is also available on its own as a backend for developers. See How Archie works.Key differences
Planning the whole app first
Base44’s plan mode helps you map out a build before it starts. Archie’s plan goes further: it’s the lasting definition of the whole app, and every build reads from it — the sitemap of every screen, each screen’s spec and access level, and the backend’s data model and permissions. Change the plan, and the next build follows. See The plan and how Archie works.A standard relational database
Archie Core runs on PostgreSQL or MySQL. You design the schema visually in the data model, see it as a live ERD, query it with plain SQL in the SQL Playground, shape it with views and indexes, and export any table to CSV. Every table gets auto-generated GraphQL and REST APIs.Portability
With Archie, your code syncs two ways with GitHub on paid plans, and your data lives in a standard relational database. If you ever want to leave, you can export the code and the data and run them elsewhere. See Does Archie lock me into its platform?Environments
Archie Core backends support Git-like environments: branch a development or staging copy, compare schemas with diff, merge changes forward, and restore from automatic backups. Multiple environments are available on Professional and Enterprise backends.Pricing model
Base44 uses two credit pools: message credits for building with the AI, and integration credits that your live app uses when it sends email, calls an API, or runs an AI feature. Paid plans run Starter, Builder, Pro, and Elite. Archie uses one pool of AI credits for AI-assisted building; manual edits, deploying, and exporting code are free, and heavier tasks show their cost before they run.When to choose Base44
- You want the quickest path to a working internal tool or MVP with zero infrastructure setup.
- You’re comfortable with your app’s backend living on a managed platform.
- You already work in the Wix ecosystem.
When to choose Archie
- You want the whole app defined — users, roles, modules, data — before code is written.
- You want your data in a standard PostgreSQL or MySQL database you can query with SQL and export.
- You need row-level permissions, webhooks, queues, and environments you can branch and merge.
- You want your code synced to your own GitHub repository.