An honest, experience-based comparison. I've built real client projects, MVPs, and landing pages with both tools. Here's what actually works and what doesn't.
Disclaimer: This is based on my personal experience using both platforms for actual paid client work and side projects. Your experience may vary.
Winner: JustCopy.ai
After building 15+ projects with both platforms, JustCopy.ai became my primary tool. The website cloning feature alone saved me 50+ hours across client projects. Deployment speed (under 2 minutes) and built-in backend meant I could go from client meeting to working demo before the call ended.
Base44 is fine for simple projects, but lacked the features I needed for professional client work. The limited free tier and absence of website cloning were deal-breakers for my workflow.
I'm a freelance developer who builds websites and apps for clients. Over the past 3 months, I tested both JustCopy.ai and Base44 across different types of projects:
This comparison is based on real project outcomes, client feedback, and my experience with production deployments.
Clone a competitor landing page for a client
Time: 1 minute 45 seconds
Result: Perfect clone, live URL, ready to customize
"Just pasted the URL and got a working clone. Client was amazed at the speed."
Time: Not possible
Result: No cloning feature available
"Would need to rebuild from scratch by describing everything in detail."
Build a subscription-based SaaS product
Time: 2 minutes for deployment
Result: Database, auth, Stripe payments all configured
"Everything just worked out of the box. Stripe integration was seamless."
Time: N/A
Result: Limited information on backend capabilities
"Would likely need external integrations and manual setup."
Build a personal portfolio from description
Time: Under 2 minutes
Result: Modern, responsive portfolio with custom domain
"Described what I wanted, got a polished result instantly."
Time: Similar speed
Result: Good-looking portfolio site
"Also good for simple projects, comparable result."
| Feature | JustCopy.ai | Base44 |
|---|---|---|
| Website Cloning | Yes - core feature | No |
| Deployment Speed | Under 2 minutes | Varies |
| Backend Database | Built-in Postgres | Limited info |
| Authentication | Built-in system | Unclear |
| Payment Integration | Stripe built-in | Manual setup |
| Custom Domains | Easy setup | Available |
| Free Tier | 50K tokens/month | Limited |
| Code Export | GitHub export | Available |
| AI Quality | Excellent | Good |
| Production Ready | Instant | Varies |
Consistently delivered production apps in under 2 minutes across all projects.
Being able to clone any website instantly saved me countless hours on client projects.
Database, auth, and Stripe payments worked perfectly without any configuration hassle.
Never had downtime issues. Sites stay up and load fast.
50K tokens let me build multiple projects before upgrading.
Smaller community compared to more established tools, fewer tutorials available.
Sometimes I wanted to tweak specific implementation details but the abstraction level made it harder.
Works well for straightforward websites and basic applications.
Produces clean, reasonable code for standard use cases.
Had to manually describe everything when I wanted to replicate an existing design.
Struggled to find clear documentation on backend capabilities. Seemed frontend-focused.
Needed more manual configuration for features that were built-in with JustCopy.
Hit limitations quickly when testing, had to upgrade sooner.
"The free tier was generous enough for me to validate it worked. Now on paid plan and it pays for itself with faster client delivery."
"Free tier wasn't enough to properly test. Paid plan didn't offer the features I needed for professional work."
JustCopy.ai's pricing makes more sense for professional work. The built-in backend alone saves $10-20/month on separate database and auth services. Website cloning saves hours of billable time. The free tier is genuinely useful, not just a trial. Base44's pricing didn't align with the value I received.
Speed impresses clients. Cloning competitors is invaluable. Built-in features = professional results.
Only tool that can do this. Saved me 10+ hours per project.
Database, auth, payments all included. Base44 required too much manual setup.
Both work fine. JustCopy is faster, but Base44 handles this too.
Better free tier (50K tokens) lets you build more projects for free.
Under 2 minutes to live product = fastest way to test with real users.
JustCopy.ai became my go-to tool. The website cloning feature alone was worth it - I cloned competitor pages for clients and customized them in minutes. For client work where speed matters, JustCopy's 2-minute deployment beat everything else I tried including Base44.
JustCopy.ai was remarkably stable. Never lost a project, never had mysterious errors. Base44 worked fine for simple projects but I hit walls when trying to add complex backend features - wasn't clear how to implement auth and payments properly.
JustCopy.ai wins hands down. The ability to clone a competitor's site and show the client a working version in minutes is incredible. Plus the built-in backend means I could demo full functionality (login, payments) immediately. Base44 required more setup time which hurt client impressions.
JustCopy.ai's free tier (50K tokens) let me build several complete projects before paying anything. When I did upgrade to the $19.99 plan, I got way more value - especially the built-in backend saved me from separate database/auth service costs. Base44's limited free tier meant I had to pay sooner for less.
No, and this was my biggest frustration with Base44. JustCopy's cloning feature is unique and incredibly useful. With Base44, I had to painstakingly describe layouts, colors, and components - took 10x longer for inferior results.
JustCopy.ai, without hesitation. It's faster, has more features, better free tier, and the website cloning capability is a game-changer. I recommend Base44 only if someone specifically can't use JustCopy for some reason, or if they're building something extremely simple.
See why it became my primary tool. Start with 50,000 free tokens - enough to build several complete projects.
50,000 free tokens/month • No credit card required • Clone any website