Step-by-step tutorials for building websites, games, dashboards, and apps with AI — written by a professor who shipped 49 live sites without a coding background. Plus a tracker that watches what every AI coding tool costs, so you don't have to.
The complete beginner path: use an AI chat to generate a real one-page website, then get it live on your own domain in under an hour. No installs, no frameworks.
The pattern behind every big directory and converter site: a JSON data file, a Python build script, and AI writing both. Generate hundreds of static pages in seconds.
The debugging playbook for non-developers: seven techniques that resolve almost every broken AI build, from console errors to the nuclear option.
Pricing in this market changes constantly — credit systems, surprise tiers, quiet increases. We snapshot every tool's pricing daily and log every change.
| Tool | Type | From | Free tier | Best for | Verified | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google AI Studio | App builder | Free | Yes | Experimenting at zero cost; Gemini API prototyping | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Aider | Coding agent | Free | Yes | Tinkerers who want full control and minimal cost | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Cline | Coding agent | Free | Yes | VS Code users who want an agent without another subscription | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Hostinger Horizons | App builder | $6.29/mo | No | Beginners who want the website live with hosting handled, at the lowest price in the category | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| GitHub Copilot ⚠ | Assistant | $10/mo+ | Yes | Developers already living in VS Code and GitHub; teams | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Claude Code | Coding agent | $20/mo+ | No | Real projects on your own machine; multi-file work; people who want code they own locally | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Cursor ⚠ | AI editor | $20/mo+ | Yes | Developers and serious hobbyists who want an AI-native editor | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Replit ⚠ | App builder | $20/mo+ | Yes | Going from idea to deployed full-stack app with zero local setup | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Windsurf | AI editor | $20/mo+ | Yes | Developers who want a strong free tier, and agent-mode users; no longer the budget pick after the 2026 price rise | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| v0 | App builder | $20/mo | Yes | Frontend components and UI generation; Next.js projects | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| ChatGPT / Codex | Coding agent | $20/mo+ | Yes | People already paying for ChatGPT who want delegated coding tasks | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Base44 | App builder | $20/mo | Yes | Internal tools and CRUD apps without touching infrastructure | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Lovable ⚠ | App builder | $25/mo+ | Yes | Non-technical founders shipping a web app or MVP fast | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
| Bolt.new ⚠ | App builder | $25/mo | Yes | Polished web prototypes, landing pages, and marketing-site demos in minutes | 2026-06-04 | Site ↗ |
The foundations: what this is, how to begin, and the skills every build uses.
Portfolios, blogs, event sites, and the site types that earn.
Personal apps, dashboards, databases, accounts, and mobile.
CRMs, bookings, portals, payments — software that runs an operation.
Playable things, solo and multiplayer.
Apps where the AI is the feature, not just the builder.
Scripts, scrapers, bots, and sites that update themselves.