Choosing between Lovable and Replit for a small app project?

I'm fairly new to building apps and have been looking at AI app builders as a way to get started. Two names that keep coming up are Lovable and Replit. From what I've gathered reading around online, Lovable seems aimed at turning prompts into working apps quickly, while Replit appears to be a broader environment with more room to write and run code yourself. I don't have a specific project locked in yet, but I'd like to build something small and practical, maybe a simple tool for tracking things I use day to day.

My main concern is picking something that won't leave me stuck once the initial novelty wears off. I'd rather not outgrow it in a week, but I also don't want a steep learning curve right at the start. Since I'm in Burlington and mostly learning on my own time, cost and how forgiving each is for beginners both matter to me.

If you've used either with a small project, how did it go? What would you weigh before choosing?

Update after reading more - Lovable vs Replit (2026): Which Should You Pick? came up when I looked into the beginner side of both. I'm still not sure the comparison covers the cost once a small tracker app grows, so I'm weighing that before picking.