Top App: Emergent vs Lovable in the Same No-Code Kitchen

At our recent Gentoro offsite, there was a lot of discussion about no-code app development and its status as the latest hot trend in the world of AI. A few drinks later, during our team dinner at the R & G Lounge (highly recommend!), conversation shifted towards everyone’s favorite restaurants in the Bay. Well… I was scrolling through TikTok while waiting for my ride, and a no-doubt brilliant app idea came to me. But first, story time. 

Nine and a half years ago, I was in the passenger seat of my mom’s Fiat 500. We’d just spent 45 minutes listening to my high school English teacher explain to my college-application-obsessed mother why I was failing her class. The culprit? My final essay didn’t hit the minimum word count.

Here’s what Mrs. Jackson told me that day: “Jonah, an idea is only as good as the words you use to describe it.” Nearly a decade later, I’m still trying to prove her wrong .  Or at the very least hit the 800-word minimum.

Sorry for the long intro, but my blogging mentor says personal stories improve engagement. Plus, if Mrs. Jackson happens to read this, I want her to see I finally finished an assignment. And what better way to do that than by describing ,  in probably too many words,  how I, a certified non-coder, tried building the same app on two VC-backed AI “vibe coding” platforms: Emergent and Lovable.

Emergent AI Review: Yes, Chef! 

Emergent felt less like a coding platform and more like texting a very capable friend who owes you a favor.

I opened it up and typed:

“I want to build a restaurant booking app like OpenTable, but it pulls in trending restaurants from TikTok videos.”

Emergent immediately slipped into project-manager mode:

 “Do you want users to log in? Should restaurant owners manage their own listings? Time-slot booking or open calendar?”

I answered in plain English, half expecting it to ask me about my weekend plans next. Then its coding “agents” went to work. I never saw the code , just a live preview window slowly filling in:

• A homepage with TikTok video embeds
• A booking page with a working date picker
• A profile page I didn’t ask for, but appreciated

It asked for my TikTok API key and authentication, I pasted them in, and just like that, my placeholder feed turned into actual trending restaurant videos.

From “let’s do this” to a hosted, live app: 25 minutes. SSL, domain, database ,  all done without me lifting a finger.

The upside? It felt like magic. The downside? If I wanted to nudge a button up by 20 pixels, I had to describe it like I was giving directions to a blindfolded dentist removing a cavity. It usually worked, but sometimes I just wanted to grab the thing and move it.

Lovable AI Review: My Own AI Meal Kit 

Lovable greeted me with the same big prompt box. I typed in the same idea and hit enter, expecting a similar back-and-forth. Instead, it skipped the small talk and jumped straight into building . Lines of code and file names started flashing by like I’d accidentally hacked into a developer’s laptop.

A few minutes later, I had a working preview: a homepage with a TikTok feed placeholder, a booking form, and a layout that actually looked like it belonged in 2025. That’s when I found the visual editor.

This was the moment where Lovable and Emergent diverged. Instead of describing changes and hoping for the best, I could drag the “Book Now” button to the top, tweak the font size, and change the entire color scheme in seconds. No guessing. No AI mind-reading. Just click, drag, done.

The TikTok integration was slightly more hands-on. Lovable walked me through adding the API endpoints and keys, but I had to paste a few things in Gentoro myself to generate the integration code. In return, I could actually see the JavaScript making those API calls ,  code I could hand to a developer later if I wanted to extend it.

From first prompt to live app on a custom domain: 40 minutes. A little slower than Emergent, but I ended up with something that felt more mine.

Chopped? Which App Builder Wins the Vibe Coding Showdown?

Emergent was like ordering from a great restaurant: you say what you want, the chef disappears, and 20 minutes later a perfect dish lands on your table. But if you ask for ketchup with your fries, you might get a side-eye from Karen.

Lovable was like cooking with a HelloFresh kit: the main ingredients are prepped, the recipe is clear, but you get to season, plate, and tweak it to your taste. More work, but more ownership.

Full Circle: Why Words Still Matter in the Age of AI App Builders

Up until that day, my coding skills were limited to secret code words I have with my friends. Building on Emergent and Lovable taught me two things. First: yes, building a working app with AI is not only possible, it’s fun. Second: Mrs. Jackson was right — an idea is only as good as the words you use to describe it.

With Emergent, my words had to paint the whole picture so its agents could build it. With Lovable, my words got me most of the way there, and my clicks filled in the rest. Either way, the outcome depended entirely on how clearly I could explain what I wanted.

So here we are, nearly a decade after that Fiat 500 conversation, with a live, TikTok-powered restaurant booking app and more than enough words to clear the minimum.

If Mrs. Jackson is reading this: I finally finished my homework. (Word Count: 971)

Extra Credit? See what you can cook up with Gentoro or give me a holler and I’ll serve you up a Michelin-starred (not really) customized demo.

‍