Is the Base44 free plan enough, or do I need to pay?

Base44's free plan is not a locked demo. You can describe an app, have it generate the frontend, database, auth, and hosting, and actually use the result. For validating an idea, building a simple internal tool, or testing the platform before you commit, $0 gets you real work done.

The limits are what tell you when to upgrade. Message credits are capped at 5 per day and 25 per month, and since a simple change is about 0.5 credit and a bigger change is 2 to 4, an active building day can use up a chunk of that. If you are iterating heavily or building something substantial, you will feel the daily cap and that is the signal to move to a paid tier.

Paid plans start at $16/mo (Starter, on annual billing, confirm on the pricing page) and unlock a lot more capacity plus unlimited apps, GitHub integration, and a custom domain. If your app is going in front of real users or customers, those features and the higher credit ceilings quickly become worth it.

The free plan is the right fit if you are exploring, learning, or building something small and low-frequency. It is not enough if you are building daily, shipping to customers, or need a custom domain and GitHub sync. Most serious projects graduate to Starter or Builder, but you lose nothing by starting free first.

Because the free plan is the risk-free on-ramp, the best move is simply to start there. Build until you bump into the credit cap, and by then you will know exactly which paid tier your project needs.