# Lovable Cloud Explained: Backend, Credits, Pausing and Exports

> Lovable Cloud, a Supabase-based backend billed in credits: Free, Pro and Business get 20 Cloud credits a month, then app traffic spends your balance.

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

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Lovable Cloud is the backend Lovable switches on inside a project: a managed PostgreSQL database, user sign-in, file storage, server functions, secrets, realtime and scheduled jobs, built on Supabase and run by Lovable. It carries no separate price. **Every Free, Pro and Business workspace gets 20 Cloud credits a month**, and once those are spent the backend draws on the same credit balance you build with. For a small or new app, Lovable says hosting usually costs nothing beyond that grant. Busy apps cost more. Visitors' activity, such as database reads and file uploads, runs on the workspace owner's credits. If the balance reaches zero, the site stays up but the backend pauses, and nothing restarts it until someone clicks Wake up.


**20 credits** — Monthly Cloud grant on Free, Pro and Business, spent before general credits



- **3 regions** — Americas, Europe or Asia Pacific, locked once the backend is enabled
- **~14 days** — Daily database backups kept, with no point-in-time restore
- **Wake up** — Manual click needed to restart a paused backend, even after a top-up


## What one switch turns on

Enabling the database in a project also provisions user accounts and file storage, because the three run together on one backend. Around them sit compute for server-side code, a secrets store, realtime updates, a Jobs tab for scheduled work and daily backups. Lovable says the backend builds on Supabase's open-source foundation, and each project gets its own. Two projects cannot share one built-in database. Apps that need shared data must point at the same external Supabase project instead, with the side effect that they overwrite each other's secrets.

Region is the irreversible choice. You pick Americas, Europe or Asia Pacific when the backend is enabled, and the region is then locked; existing projects cannot move.[1] On Business and Enterprise, admins can force a default region for every new project, which Lovable says requires at least a micro database instance and may use more credits. Country regions such as Germany or Japan are an Enterprise request, subject to capacity. The region covers where data is stored, not where AI requests are processed.

A few working rules shape daily use. Database changes are recorded as Drizzle migration files in the project code, and Lovable refuses backward-incompatible changes, such as dropping a table or renaming a column, unless you loosen that agent permission. The database accepts a fixed list of PostgreSQL extensions, including pg_cron, vector and postgis; anything else is refused and Lovable builds the feature in plain SQL. Pasting an API key into chat saves it as a project secret, keeping the value out of the chat history.

## How the backend is billed

Cloud usage is measured in **Run credits**, a reporting view on the one workspace balance rather than a second wallet. The meter counts database instance size and active time, database storage, network, file storage, compute and realtime.[2] The monthly Cloud grant is spent first. On Free it refreshes on the 1st at 00:00 UTC; on Pro and Business it follows the billing cycle, and it never rolls over. Lovable calls these grants a temporary offering subject to change. After the grant, the general credits closest to expiry pay.

One trap matters here. Daily build credits cannot pay for Cloud, so a Free workspace with build credits left can still watch its backend stop. The same balance also funds AI features inside your app through the Lovable AI gateway, after a separate grant of 4 AI credits a month on Free, Pro and Business; once both are gone, those calls fail with a 402 error. Visitors are the cost driver you do not control. Hosting, the backend and AI calls of a live app spend the owner's credits as people use it, and external collaborators building in your projects spend them too.

Per-member credit limits count build credits only, so they cannot cap a project's Run usage. Usage limits set on a project or the whole workspace can, by warning or blocking at a threshold you choose; they start on Pro. A Business credit costs twice a Pro credit at most menu options, so the same credit count costs twice as much on Business; for Cloud and AI, Lovable says the dollar cost is the same on both plans, which is why a Business workspace shows fewer credits used for them. Managed connectors show the pattern: Perplexity search costs 20 credits per 1,000 searches on Pro and 10 on Business. The full credit menu, both billing terms and rollover windows are in our [Lovable pricing guide](/articles/lovable-pricing).


> 💡 **Read the size estimate first:** The Manage instance dialog shows an estimated monthly Cloud cost in credits for each database size, based on the last 30 days. Check it before resizing, and fix slow queries before paying for a bigger instance.


## Sizing the database without guessing

Free workspaces run the database on the Tiny instance and cannot change it. Paid plans choose Tiny, Mini, Small, Medium, Large or X-Large; a resize takes a few minutes with a brief interruption, and on Pro and higher you can request it in chat and approve a card showing the credit impact. A larger instance costs more credits for every hour the app runs, which is why Lovable advises fixing slow queries first. The Manage instance dialog shows an estimated monthly Cloud cost in credits for each size, based on the last 30 days, excluding building and AI usage. Lovable publishes no dollar price per size.

Storage follows its own rules. Database storage starts at 8 GB and can only grow, by at most five times the current size per change and four changes per 24 hours; more storage uses more credits. File uploads are capped at 2 GB by default, adjustable up to 5 GB. Buckets are private by default, and public buckets stay blocked on every plan until an owner or admin lifts the block. On Business and Enterprise, the Action center flags a project whose Run credits over 7 days reach three times its prior daily average and total at least 50.

## Pauses, empty balances and the Wake up button

A paused backend is the failure to plan around, because the page still loads while everything behind it stops. Data cannot be read or written, users cannot sign in, stored files are not served, and features that run through edge functions, such as AI, payments and emails, go quiet. Traffic does not wake a paused project. New apps created from May 2026 (June 2026 on Enterprise) run on TanStack Start without edge functions, so older React + Vite apps feel a pause most.

| Trigger | What the backend does |
|---|---|
| Cloud grant and general credits both run out | Pauses; data is kept |
| Credits are added by a top-up | Stays paused until the owner clicks Wake up |
| About 7 days with no activity and no scheduled jobs | Pauses automatically |
| A blocking usage limit is reached | Pauses; adding credits does not lift the block |
| Excessive backend usage | May be paused pending a support review |
| You pause it manually | Compute stops; storage keeps billing |

The Wake up control sits on the paused card under More, then Database.[3] Two habits protect a launch. First, on Pro or Business, turn on auto top-up, which by default buys 100 credits when the balance falls below 25, within a 400-credit monthly spending limit; Free has no top-ups. On Pro a top-up costs $15 per 50 credits ($0.30 per credit). On Business a top-up costs $30 per 50 credits ($0.60 per credit). Top-up credits are valid for 12 months from purchase. Second, read the email admins get when recent Run usage suggests credits will run out before the monthly refill; it is not sent while auto top-up is active.


> ⚠ **Paused is not free:** A paused Lovable Cloud backend stops compute credits but keeps billing for storage; only removing the database stops that, and removal permanently deletes data, backups and app user accounts.


## Backups, exports and the road to your own Supabase

Lovable takes one database backup a day and keeps roughly 14 days. There is no point-in-time restore. Anyone with edit access can restore, and a restore loses everything written after that backup. Backups cover the database only; files in storage are separate and must be downloaded from More, then Storage. Removal is a different act from pausing. Removing the database permanently deletes its backups, the app's user accounts and stored files, including saved exports. It cannot be undone.

A full database export is available on every plan, and it includes user accounts with password hashes. The limits: databases up to 15 GB, an export file of at most 5 GB, one export every 24 hours, and only while the backend is running.[4] It leaves out storage files, edge function code, secrets, sign-in provider settings and API keys. That list is the real exit cost.

Moving to your own Supabase has no one-step path. You restore the export into a Supabase project, download and re-upload storage files, move the code with Git sync, then rebuild auth, secrets and external services; users keep their passwords but must sign in again. The reverse move, from Supabase into Cloud, is not supported. Afterwards Supabase bills the backend and Lovable credits pay only for building. You also lose the in-editor Database, Users and Storage views, daily backups with restore, instance resizing, managed Google sign-in, SAML SSO for app users and auth emails from your own domain.


> 💡 **Keep your own export routine:** Daily backups last about 14 days and cover only the database. Download a full database export and your storage files on your own schedule, since an export cannot run while the backend is paused.


## Cloud or your own Supabase: deciding on day one

Cloud suits a builder who wants a working backend with no second account and no second invoice, and who accepts that the bill moves with traffic. Your own Supabase suits a team that needs dashboard access, an existing Supabase project, a database shared across several apps, or extensions outside the fixed list. Decide early. Migration in either direction is manual, and the effort grows with every table and every signed-up user.

Security work stays partly yours. Lovable sets up row level security policies automatically when it builds features that store user data, and runs a quick scan when you publish, but its docs tell you to review the policies before going live. Free is enough for a prototype: the Tiny instance, the monthly grants and, for apps created from May 2026, a hosting cap of 1,000 server requests per project per 10 seconds. A Free app with no visits and no owner login for 12 months, and no custom domain, may be unpublished and its backend paused. What Free covers beyond the backend is in [is Lovable free](/articles/is-lovable-free).


## FAQ

**Which sign-in methods does Lovable Cloud support for my app's users?**

Built-in authentication on Lovable Cloud supports Google, Apple and Microsoft sign-in with Lovable-managed OAuth credentials by default, plus Sign in with Lovable. You can also add your own OIDC provider such as Auth0, Okta, Entra ID or Keycloak; the setup build uses credits, the sign-ins themselves do not.

**Can I load a CSV file into a Lovable Cloud database?**

The Database view has no import option, so you attach the CSV in the project chat and Lovable loads it. Tables can be exported to CSV, and a SQL editor runs queries against the live database with a confirmation for destructive statements.

**Is Lovable Cloud suitable for health data?**

No. Lovable does not cover HIPAA workloads, signs no Business Associate Agreements, and its Terms bar health data unless a written agreement permits it.

**Was Lovable Cloud affected by the April 2026 incident?**

Lovable says private projects and Lovable Cloud were never impacted by the April 2026 incident, which concerned the chat history and source code of public projects.




> ⚠ **Daily build credits skip Cloud:** The 5 daily build credits cannot pay for Cloud usage, so a workspace with build credits left can still have its backend paused once the Cloud grant and general credits are gone.

## The bottom line

Lovable Cloud removes the backend setup from building an app: database, sign-in, storage, jobs and backups arrive with one switch, and Lovable says a small or new app usually runs inside the 20-credit monthly grant. The trade is that cost and uptime now ride on one credit balance that visitors spend, a paused backend waits for a manual Wake up, and leaving means rebuilding auth and secrets by hand. Pick the region carefully, set a usage limit and auto top-up before launch on Pro or Business, and export the database on a schedule you keep yourself.



## Sources

[1] Lovable docs: Built-in backend — https://docs.lovable.dev/features/cloud (2026-11)
[2] Lovable docs: Plans and credits — https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/plans-and-credits (2026-11)
[3] Lovable docs: Pause, resume, or remove your project's database — https://docs.lovable.dev/features/database-pause-remove (2026-11)
[4] Lovable docs: Back up, restore, and export your project's database — https://docs.lovable.dev/features/database-backups (2026-11)
[5] Lovable pricing page — https://lovable.dev/pricing
[6] Lovable Terms — https://lovable.dev/terms
[7] Lovable Privacy Policy — https://lovable.dev/privacy