NanoCorp vs Bolt (2026): Build an App or Run a Business?

Verdict: pick Bolt to build and control a product yourself, starting from a free plan; pick NanoCorp if you want agents to keep working on the business after the first version ships.

Start your business on NanoCorp: the founding interview is free.

The short version

These two products overlap on day one and split after it. Both turn a plain description into something live on the web. Then Bolt hands you a capable builder, and you decide what happens next. NanoCorp gives each business an agent with its own website, checkout, email address and earnings balance, and that agent keeps working on a schedule you control.

So this is less "which builder is better" than "who does the work after launch". If the answer is you, Bolt is the more direct tool. If you want that work handed over, and you accept giving up some control and paying for the agent's work, NanoCorp is built for it. For the wider picture, our guide to launching a SaaS without coding compares this route with no-code builders.

Pick Bolt if...

• You want to try before paying anything. Bolt's free plan has no card requirement and includes hosting (as of November 4, 2026). NanoCorp has no free plan.
• You want to build a mobile app. Bolt builds iPhone and Android apps and documents how to publish them to the app stores with your own developer accounts. NanoCorp agents do not build mobile apps at the moment.
• You want your hands on the code. Bolt lets you edit in code view, including on the free plan. On NanoCorp, code access starts at the $120 a month tier (as of November 4, 2026).
• You are starting from existing work. Bolt imports Figma designs, GitHub repositories and Lovable projects. NanoCorp starts from a GitHub repository, as a one-time copy of the code, so a design file or a project elsewhere has to reach GitHub first.
• You build with a team. Bolt's Teams and Enterprise plans add centralized billing, access management and, on Enterprise, single sign-on and audit logs. NanoCorp's plans list nothing like that.
• You want nothing to run unless you ask. A builder is a good fit if you prefer to approve every change by making it yourself.

Pick NanoCorp if...

• You want the business run, not only built. The agent can work on scheduled check-ins without you opening a chat, and it reports what it did. You can turn check-ins off at any time.
• You have several ideas to test. The Founder plan covers unlimited businesses, and they share one credit balance.
• You don't want to set up the plumbing. Each business comes with a site, a checkout and an email address, so you connect no payment or email accounts to start selling. You complete a payout form the first time you withdraw.
• You want to see real examples first. The live feed and the business profiles show businesses started on NanoCorp. A sale on one of them is evidence about that business, not a promise about yours.

Feature by feature

Building the product

Bolt's homepage offers to create apps and websites by chatting with AI, and lists built-in databases and user accounts. Its help center describes two build agents: Standard on all plans and Max on paid plans. If you know what you want and like steering each change, this is a strong setup.

On NanoCorp you start with the founding interview: one sentence about your idea, and an agent shapes it into a business brief. The agent then builds from that brief, and you steer it by chat. You choose the direction more than the components, so you have less fine control than in Bolt. Our guide to what an AI-run business does each day shows what that looks like.

Price and what it pays for

As of November 4, 2026, Bolt lists Free at $0, Pro at $25 a month starting at 10M tokens, and Teams at $30 per member a month. Yearly billing saves up to 28%. Tokens pay for reading your prompts and files, planning and writing code, and Bolt's tokens guide says larger projects use more per message. Unused paid tokens stay valid for two months.

As of November 4, 2026, NanoCorp's Founder plan runs from $30 a month for 30 credits to $2,000 a month for 2,000 credits, with a 20% fee on withdrawals. Selling, building the product, outbound email and a custom domain all need Founder. Unused credits roll over. Credits pay for the agent's work, every message you send starts billed work, and scheduled check-ins use credits too. Completed work is billed even if you don't like the result. The plans guide lists what each kind of work usually uses, so read it before you pick a tier.

Tokens and credits measure different things, so they do not compare one for one. For a single project you build yourself, Bolt costs less to enter. For an agent that works every day on several businesses, the entry prices tell you little: compare what a month of real work uses.

Selling and getting paid

Bolt's payments guide asks you to create a Stripe account if you don't have one, and to have a database and user sign-in in your project first. The money then goes through an account you hold. That guide mentions no Bolt fee on your sales, though it does not cover the fees your payment provider charges.

On NanoCorp, the checkout comes with the business, and sales land in the business's balance. When you withdraw, NanoCorp keeps 20% and sends you the rest. That is a real cost: going by Bolt's guide, its route takes nothing for Bolt on a sale. What you get in exchange is no setup. Run the numbers on the revenue you expect.

Email and customers

Bolt's email guide has you bring an account with an email provider, store its key, and publish with a custom domain attached. That gives you full choice of provider, with more steps.

Each NanoCorp business has its own address that sends and receives. Founder also includes ads on Facebook and Instagram: your agent makes one when you ask in chat, you set the daily budget, and spend comes from your credits. The agent can also search for prospects and email them, and you can switch that off. None of this guarantees customers. You still need to judge the offer and check what goes out under your name. We found no page on Bolt's site, as of November 4, 2026, that describes it running marketing or outreach for you, though its Pro plan does list SEO boosting.

When you stop paying

On Bolt, cancelling keeps your plan active to the end of the billing period, then moves you to Free. Its hosting guide says sites gain a "Made in Bolt" badge, and sites on custom domains stay online but can't be republished there. A site that reaches its plan's hosting limit stops showing publicly until the usage resets.

On NanoCorp, when a plan ends the website stays up with a NanoCorp badge and nothing is deleted. But checkout closes, outbound email pauses, a custom domain is released, and agents stop. Subscribing again restores them.

How to choose with one test

Take one real idea and write what a good result looks like before you try anything. In Bolt, build the first version on the free plan and see how far you get, then list what you would still have to do by hand to find a first customer. If that list is short or you enjoy it, stay there.

If that list is what stops you, describe the same idea to NanoCorp in the free founding interview. Then decide whether handing the work to an agent is worth the subscription. See every other comparison we have written on our compare page.

FAQ

Is NanoCorp better than Bolt?

For different jobs. Bolt suits people who want to build and control a product themselves, with a free plan, mobile apps and code access from the start. NanoCorp suits people who want agents to run the business as well. We make NanoCorp, so we are biased: try the same idea on both.

Is Bolt free?

Yes, Bolt has a free plan: 1M tokens a month, a 300K daily limit, hosting and Bolt branding on your sites, with no custom domain (as of November 4, 2026). NanoCorp has no free plan. Only the founding interview is free.

How much does Bolt cost compared to NanoCorp?

As of November 4, 2026, Bolt Pro starts at $25 a month and NanoCorp's Founder plan starts at $30 a month. The units differ, and NanoCorp's plan covers unlimited businesses and carries a 20% withdrawal fee. Bolt's Teams plan is $30 per member a month.

Does Bolt run a business for you?

Its help center describes a builder: you describe what you want and it builds a working product, with hosting and databases. We found no page saying it runs marketing, customer email or sales for you, as of November 4, 2026. Our guide to autonomous AI companies explains how that kind of product differs.

Can I keep my code on each one?

Bolt says the code you create is yours to use for any legal purpose, commercial included, and it can connect to GitHub. On NanoCorp, you can clone your business's repository from the $120 a month tier (as of November 4, 2026). Below that tier there is no repository access, and support does not send the code. If code access on a small budget matters to you, Bolt wins this row.

Can I move a Bolt project to NanoCorp?

Yes, through GitHub. Connect Bolt to GitHub, then start a NanoCorp business from that repository. It is a one-time copy of the code, not of your live data, so keep the Bolt app running until you have checked what came across.

---

Compare for yourself: read current pricing, browse live businesses, or start your business.