# Is Bubble Free? What the $0 Plan Covers and What Needs Starter

> Bubble's Free plan is $0 per app with 500 AI credits and 50K WU a month, but it cannot go live. What needs Starter, the 14-day trial and canceling.

_Source: https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/is-bubble-free — The Professional's Toolkit · updated November 2026_

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Bubble (bubble.io) is free to build on, not free to launch. Its Free plan costs $0 per app, and Bubble says it has no time limit for building and testing; each month it includes 500 AI credits and 50K workload units (WU). What it never gives you is a live app. There is no live web version, no custom domain, no App Store or Google Play release, and Bubble branding stays on. Going live starts with Bubble's Starter plan, which on the Web tab is $32 per month billed annually or $39 per month billed monthly, per app [1]. Native mobile publishing needs the Mobile or Web & Mobile tab instead.


**$0** — Bubble's Free plan, per app: build and test without a time limit, but no live app.



- **50K WU** — Free workload units a month, no overages
- **500** — Free AI credits a month, refreshed on the 1st
- **14 days** — Starter-only trial for new apps, $1 card hold


## Free builds the app; Starter puts it online

On Free you get the real editor, not a demo. The visual designer, the built-in database with privacy rules, frontend and backend workflows, the API Connector, the component library and the AI Agent are all there, and Bubble says you can build and test both web and native mobile apps before paying anything. The catch sits in how every Bubble app is split: a Development version and a Live version, each with its own database. **Free gives you only the Development version.** You can preview and share a test build, yet nothing you build reaches real users as a finished product.

Billing works per project, never per user. One plan covers the web app, the mobile app or both inside a single project, and each additional project needs its own plan. The first paid step depends on the tab. Bubble's Starter plan (Mobile) is $42 per month billed annually or $49 per month billed monthly, per app. Bubble's Starter plan (Web & Mobile) is $59 per month billed annually or $69 per month billed monthly, per app. By our arithmetic, a year of Starter on the Web tab is $384 billed annually against $468 billed monthly, a saving of $84 (about 18%), even though the toggle carries Bubble's own *Save up to 20%* label. Every tab and plan is laid out in our [Bubble pricing guide](/articles/bubble-pricing).

## Line by line: the $0 plan against the first paid step



> **About these prices:** Prices shown are what Bubble lists for visitors in the United States, in US dollars. Your price can differ by country, currency and local taxes such as VAT. Check your current price — Bubble: https://api.colosus.site/go/bubble?to=pricing


| Feature | Free | Starter (Web tab) |
|---|---|---|
| Price per app | $0 | $32 per month billed annually or $39 per month billed monthly |
| AI credits a month | 500 | 1,000 |
| Workload units a month | 50K | 175K |
| Live version, custom domain | No | Yes |
| Branding | Bubble branding | White label |
| Database things | 200 | Unlimited (matrix wording) |
| File storage | 0.5GB | 50GB |
| Backups and server log retention | 6 hours | 2 days |
| App editors | 1 | 1 |
| Bubble app API, plugin subscriptions | No | Yes |
| CSV import/export, SEO features | No | Yes |
| Overages, workload tiers, AI credit packs | No | Yes |

The tightest Free limit is usually the database. Two hundred things means two hundred stored records across every data type, so a test app with realistic sample users, orders and messages can reach it well before the logic is finished. Storage of 0.5GB has no paid add-on on Free. Recurring and scheduled workflows are marked *Limited*, and Bubble says backend calls to outside services (API calls, emails, push notifications, file operations) carry limits meant only to cover testing. Free also lacks version control and the security dashboard; both begin at Starter. One editor means no collaborators. Inviting a second person needs Bubble's Growth plan.


> 💡 **Watch the 200-thing ceiling:** Free stores at most 200 database things and 0.5GB of files. Keep sample data lean so the limit does not stop testing early.


## When the AI credits or the workload units run dry

Bubble meters two separate things, and neither converts into the other. **AI credits** pay for building with the Agent, for image generation, page generation and test data. Generating a whole app from a prompt uses no credits at present, according to Bubble's pricing FAQ, and editing visually never does. Free's 500 included credits refresh on the 1st of each month and do not roll over. You need at least one credit to message the Agent. If it runs out halfway through a task, Bubble says it reports what it finished, charges nothing automatically, and the visual editor keeps working.

Free apps cannot buy credit packs. Once the 500 are gone, you have three routes: wait for the 1st, upgrade to Starter, or start a Starter trial, which gives Starter's included credits and lets you buy more; if you do not continue on Starter, the app returns to the Free allowance [2]. Packs on paid plans are one-time purchases that expire six months after you buy them.

**Workload units** pay for running the app: searches, data writes, server-side workflow actions, API calls, file uploads and emails. Your own testing in Development counts too. Free apps cannot enable overages or subscribe to workload tiers, because Bubble describes Free as a plan designed for development. Bubble does not publish what happens when a Free app reaches its 50K WU. Paid plans behave differently. Bubble's Starter, Growth and Team plans charge overages at $0.30 per 1K WU by default, billed monthly on a separate invoice, and turning overages off takes the app offline at its limit until you re-enable overages, buy a workload tier or the next billing period starts.

## Native mobile apps on a zero budget

Bubble builds native iOS and Android apps on React Native, and it labels the mobile builder beta as of November 2026. Free lets you design and test them in the same project as your web app. Since September 2026 the main testing route has been the Simulated device, an in-browser preview that streams a real cloud build. Camera, push notifications and device sensors, however, need a dev build on a physical phone. That requires a paid plan and a connected store account. The manual calls the older BubbleGo app deprecated, though the pricing matrix still lists it.

The numbers on Free are blunt: zero mobile builds a month and zero concurrent live versions. A live mobile version, which includes Apple TestFlight and Google Play testing, needs a paid Mobile or Web & Mobile plan. Bubble's Starter plan (Mobile) adds 5 builds a month and 3 concurrent live versions. Store publishing also requires your own Apple Developer Program account at $99 a year and a Google Play Console account at $25 one-time, paid to Apple and Google rather than Bubble. Our [Bubble mobile app guide](/articles/bubble-mobile-app-builder) walks through those accounts and the build steps.


> 💡 **Start the trial within ten days:** The 14-day Starter trial is open only to new apps and must begin within 10 days of creating the app. It converts to paid Starter unless you cancel first.


## The 14-day Starter trial and the discounts nobody prices

The only trial Bubble offers is 14 days of Bubble's Starter plan. It applies to new apps only and must start within 10 days of creating the app. A card is required: Bubble places a $1 pre-authorization, a temporary hold released within 5 to 10 business days [3]. **The trial converts to paid Starter automatically** unless you cancel before it ends, and a converted trial is not refunded, whether or not you used the editor. Changing plan during the trial ends it at once and starts billing. Adding a plugin subscription mid-trial charges immediately for the plugin plus a month of the plan. Users in India cannot activate trials because of RBI rules.

There is no trial of Growth or Team, and Bubble's acceptable use policy forbids duplicating apps to stretch free trials. Discounts exist, but none carries a published figure. Bubble lists a student discount on all plans, group discounts for educational institutions and a nonprofit discount on all plans, each through a contact request. In its October 2026 founder AMA, Bubble said student discounts are available worldwide to anyone who gets in touch. Ask before you pay. Startups have another route: partner programs hand out one-time Bubble credits that apply to monthly plans only, covered in our [Bubble for startups](/articles/bubble-for-startups) guide.

## Canceling sends the app back to Free rules

Monthly plans can be canceled at any time from the app sidebar, from the App Plan tab by selecting Free, or through the Support bot. Canceling does not cut service at once. The plan stays active until the end of the billing period, the live app keeps running and consuming WU, and overages keep accruing unless you disable them in Settings. After that date the app loses paid features, including the link to any custom domain. Free includes no live version, so whatever was public stops being a live app.

Annual plans are stricter. They renew for another year unless canceled at least 30 days before the anniversary, and canceling early does not release you from paying the full year. **Bubble grants no refunds**: its Terms say a paid month cannot be refunded or credited [4]. Credit packs you bought stay with the app until they expire, even on Free, but a suspension for non-payment forfeits them.

Mobile has its own clock. Removing a mobile plan pauses the live mobile versions, and after 14 days a new build is needed to bring them back. A canceled subscription cannot be paid retroactively either; you start a new one. Deleting a project is final. Bubble cannot recover it. Reviewers on Trustpilot most often complain about billing and charges, support, canceling and trials, which matches these rules: no refunds, auto-renewal and a trial that converts unless you stop it.


> ⚠ **Canceling does not stop workload charges:** After you cancel a paid Bubble plan it runs to the end of the billing period, the live app keeps consuming workload units, and overages accrue unless you disable them in Settings.



## FAQ

**Do I need a credit card to start on Bubble's Free plan?**

No. Bubble says the Free plan needs no credit card. A card is required only for the 14-day Starter trial, which places a $1 temporary hold.

**Can I keep several apps on the Free plan?**

Yes. Plans are bought per project and you can create as many projects as you want, each on its own plan. Bubble's acceptable use policy forbids duplicating apps or opening extra accounts to avoid paying or to extend trials.

**Does the Free plan include Bubble's security dashboard?**

No. The security dashboard starts at Bubble's Starter plan, with basic tests there and advanced checks from Growth. Privacy rules themselves are available on Free.

**Can a second person edit my app on Free?**

No. Free and Starter allow one app editor, the owner. Collaborators need Bubble's Growth plan, which allows two app editors.


## The bottom line

Bubble's Free plan is a genuine workshop. You can design, wire up data, use the AI Agent and preview web and native mobile apps for as long as you like, within 200 database things, 0.5GB of storage and 50K WU a month. It is not a launch pad. The day real users need a live address, a custom domain or a store listing, you move to Bubble's Starter plan on the tab your project needs. Use the 14-day trial deliberately, cancel before it converts if you are not ready, and remember that no payment comes back once made.



## Sources

[1] Bubble Pricing — Start Free, Scale as You Grow — https://bubble.io/pricing (2026-11)
[2] Bubble Manual: AI credits — https://manual.bubble.io/help-guides/ai/ai-credits (2026-11)
[3] Bubble Manual: Pricing and plans — https://manual.bubble.io/account-and-marketplace/account-and-billing/pricing-plans (2026-11)
[4] Terms - Bubble — https://bubble.io/terms (2026-11)
[5] Bubble Privacy Policy — https://bubble.io/privacy