The Bolt alternative for designing as a team.
Bolt.new builds and hosts web and mobile apps from a chat, with a full development environment in the browser. Prototyper is a shared canvas for the design stage, where your own coding agent builds running screens next to the team’s sketches.
Last reviewed
What Bolt does well
A dev environment in a tab
Bolt runs on StackBlitz WebContainers, so Node.js runs in the browser with nothing to install. It builds web apps across JavaScript frameworks and mobile apps through Expo.
Hosting and data included
Bolt Cloud publishes to a bolt.host address, connects custom domains on paid plans, and provides a database you can later claim into Supabase.
Connectors and GitHub
Built-in MCP connectors bring in tools like Notion, Linear and GitHub, and projects keep version history and can sync to a GitHub repository.
Where Prototyper is different
Built around a canvas
An infinite multiplayer canvas holds sketches, stickies and several running screens together, so the team compares options in one view.
Your agent, not ours
Connect Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or another MCP client and it builds on the canvas directly, on the plan you already pay for. A built-in agent is there too.
Live with the team
Teammates and agents share the canvas with live cursors, and a read-only share link lets stakeholders open the work.
Sketch to screen
Select a rough drawing and hand it to the agent. The running screen appears beside it, so the ask and the answer stay together.
Side by side
| Prototyper | Bolt | |
|---|---|---|
| Generates and runs app code in the browser | Yes | Yes |
| Where you work | Multiplayer canvas | Chat with live preview |
| MCP direction | Your agent works in Prototyper | Connectors bring tools into Bolt |
| Hosting with a public URL | No | Yes |
| Built-in database | No | Yes |
| Mobile apps (Expo) | No | Yes |
| GitHub connection | Yes | Yes |
Checked against Bolt's official pages on 6 October 2026; tell us if something is out of date.
Which one to pick
Pick Bolt when
- You want a hosted, data-backed app without any setup
- You are building a mobile app with Expo
- You want a full Node.js environment in the browser
- One builder is taking a project from idea to launch
Pick Prototyper when
- A team is exploring and reviewing ideas together, live
- You want sketches and running screens on one canvas
- You want Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to do the building
- The work should end as a pull request in your repository
A builder and a design surface
Bolt is a full-stack builder that happens to live in the browser. It runs a real Node.js environment through WebContainers, builds web and mobile apps, hosts them, and gives them a database. For getting a working app online without touching a terminal, it is a complete package.
Prototyper aims earlier. It is a canvas for working out what the product should be: the rough sketches, the review notes, and the running screens an agent built from them, all on one surface that the team edits together. Its output is code too, React and TypeScript with Tailwind, but the point is the decision the team reaches in front of it.
Who does the building
Bolt’s agent does the work and usage is measured in tokens. Bolt’s MCP connectors run the other way from Prototyper’s: they bring outside data and tools into Bolt.
Prototyper exposes its workspace to outside agents. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or another MCP client connects, reads and writes the files, runs commands and places objects on the canvas, with your own subscription paying for the model.
What Prototyper leaves out
Prototyper does not host apps, provide databases or build mobile apps. If you need a live, data-backed app at a public address, Bolt covers that and Prototyper does not.
Prototyper’s handoff is GitHub. Connect a repository to the workspace, and the agent’s work can be committed and opened as a pull request, ready for whatever stack and hosting your team uses.
Using both
Use the Prototyper canvas to decide and Bolt to launch. Explore several directions with the agent, review the running screens with the team, then take the chosen one forward.
There is no direct import between the tools. Commit the chosen screens to GitHub from the workspace and use that repository as the reference for the build, or paste screenshots into a Bolt prompt.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Prototyper a Bolt replacement?
- Not for hosting, databases or mobile apps, which Bolt provides and Prototyper does not. For designing and reviewing product screens as a team with your own agent, Prototyper is built for that job.
- Do both run code in the browser?
- Yes. Bolt runs Node.js in the browser through WebContainers. Prototyper compiles and runs its React screens in the browser, on the canvas.
- Can I use Claude Code with Prototyper?
- Yes. Connect Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or another MCP client to the workspace and it builds directly on the canvas.
- How does billing differ?
- Bolt measures usage in tokens. Prototyper has a free plan, and work done by your own connected agent runs on that agent’s subscription. Check each pricing page for current terms.
Sources
- Bolt: bolt.new, accessed
- Bolt Support: Introduction to Bolt, accessed
- Bolt Support: Publish your project, accessed
- Bolt Support: Bolt Database, accessed
- Bolt Support: Version history and GitHub, accessed
- Bolt Support: Connect MCP servers, accessed
- Bolt Support: Tokens, accessed
See it against your current tool.
The fastest way to compare is to put an agent on the canvas and watch it build. Free to start, no credit card.