Where did vibe coding come from?
Andrej Karpathy, a co-founder of OpenAI and former head of AI at Tesla, coined the term in a post on X on 2 February 2025. He described a new kind of coding where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists
. He accepted every change the AI suggested without reading the diff, and when something broke he pasted the error back in and let the model fix it.
The post landed because the tools had caught up. In 2023 an AI could complete a line. By 2025 it could write and run an entire app from one sentence. Within a month Merriam-Webster listed the term as slang and trending. Nine months later Collins named it Word of the Year 2025.
Karpathy meant it for throwaway weekend projects and later called the post a shower-of-thoughts throwaway tweet. What people actually do with it now is bigger: internal tools, Chrome extensions, and small businesses that take real payments. That gap between the playful name and the serious use is where most of the advice on this page comes from.
How does vibe coding work?
Four steps, and none of them is “open a terminal”.
- 01
Describe the app
One or two sentences. “A habit tracker with streaks and a weekly email.” No spec, no wireframe, no tech stack decision.
- 02
The AI writes it
A model like Claude or GPT generates the whole project: pages, database, logic. In BuildCheap you see the dollar cost of that generation before you run it.
- 03
It runs live
The app boots in a sandbox with a real URL. You click around and test it like a user would, not like a developer would.
- 04
You refine by talking
“Make the button green.” “Add login.” Good tools change only what you asked for. Bad ones rewrite half the app and break something else.
Vibe coding vs traditional coding vs no-code
People confuse vibe coding with no-code. They are different things. No-code gives you fixed blocks. Vibe coding gives you a developer who never sleeps.
| Traditional coding | No-code | Vibe coding | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who writes the code | You | Nobody, you drag blocks | The AI |
| What you need to know | A programming language | The tool’s own menus | How to describe what you want |
| Time to a working app | Weeks to months | Days | Minutes to hours |
| Can you build anything | Yes | Only what the blocks allow | Almost anything a dev could |
| Do you own the code | Yes | Usually not | Yes, if the tool exports it |
| Typical cost | Salary or agency fee | Monthly subscription | Subscription or pay per action |
Which vibe coding tools exist, and how do they compare?
Nine tools, one honest table. BuildCheap is ours, so read that row knowing that. The column that matters most is the one almost nobody offers: can you see the cost before you run the action.
| Tool | Type | Pricing | Cost shown before run | Live URL | Export code | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BuildCheap | Prompt-to-app | Real dollars per action | Non-coders who want to know what each build costs | |||
| Lovable | Prompt-to-app | Subscription + credits | Polished full-app generation | |||
| Bolt.new | Prompt-to-app | Subscription + tokens | Fast browser prototypes | |||
| v0 | UI generator | Subscription + credits | React interfaces, Vercel users | |||
| Replit Agent | IDE + agent | Subscription + usage | Hosting and editor in one place | |||
| Base44 | Prompt-to-app | Credits | Simple internal tools | |||
| Emergent | Agent builder | Credits | Agent-style app generation | |||
| Cursor | AI code editor | Subscription | People who already code | |||
| Claude Code | Terminal agent | Subscription or API usage | Developers working in an existing codebase |
Head-to-heads: BuildCheap vs Lovable, BuildCheap vs Bolt.new, BuildCheap vs v0, BuildCheap vs Replit Agent, BuildCheap vs Base44, BuildCheap vs Cursor.
What can you build with vibe coding?
Web apps and SaaS
Dashboards, booking tools, marketplaces, CRMs. The bulk of what gets vibe coded.
See what people builtChrome extensions
One prompt, one extension, live on the Web Store. We publish teardowns of real ones.
Extension teardownsInternal tools
The spreadsheet-with-buttons your team has needed for a year. Usually a 20 minute build.
See pricingLanding pages and MVPs
Test demand with a buy button before you build the real thing. This is how our founder ships.
Start freeWhat goes wrong with vibe coding?
The tools are good enough that the failures are now about money and judgment, not about whether the AI can write code.
Trusting credits
Most tools bill in credits. A failed generation costs the same as a good one, and you cannot map credits to money. Ask what one generation costs in dollars before you commit.
The doom loop
You ask for one fix, the AI rewrites half the app, something else breaks, you ask for another fix. Pick tools with scoped edits, and describe one change at a time.
Shipping without a look
Vibe coded apps can leak API keys or skip auth checks. Before you take payments, have the AI audit its own code for secrets and open database access, then test as a stranger.
Getting locked in
If you cannot export the source, the app lives and dies with the tool. Every row in the table above shows whether export exists.
How do I learn vibe coding? Watch it for free.
Sanskar Tiwari built BuildCheap and teaches vibe coding for free on YouTube. Not clips. A full course and two long podcast episodes where he builds real apps on camera and shows the numbers behind them. Start with whichever one matches your question.
How I'd Start a Business With Claude Code in 2026 (Full Course)
How This 26 Yr Old Made ₹3 Crores with AI Apps
How This 26 Yr Old Makes ₹20 Lakhs Every Month By Building AI Apps
Prefer short lessons you can follow while you build?
The podcast was cut into a step-by-step course inside BuildCheap: Build a Chrome Extension with AI. One prompt, one extension, live on the Web Store, with every lesson next to the builder. The rest of the library and the Claude integration are there when you want to go further.
Vibe coding FAQ
Who coined the term vibe coding?
Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI and former head of AI at Tesla, in a post on X on 2 February 2025. He described giving in to the vibes, forgetting the code exists, and accepting AI changes without reading the diff.
Do I need to know how to code to vibe code?
No. You need to describe what you want clearly and test whether it works. Knowing some code helps you spot bad output, but tools like BuildCheap are built so you never touch a terminal or a config file.
Is vibe coding the same as no-code?
No. No-code tools give you fixed blocks to arrange. Vibe coding has an AI write real code, so you are not limited to what the blocks allow and you can export the source.
What does vibe coding cost?
It ranges from free tiers to over $100 a month. Most tools charge credits with no dollar value attached. BuildCheap shows the dollar cost of every action before you run it, with a free tier and Pro from $19 a month.
Can you build a real business with vibe coding?
Yes, with care. Prototypes and internal tools are safe. For anything taking payments or storing user data, have the AI audit its own code for leaked secrets and missing access checks, and keep the ability to export the source.
Where can I learn vibe coding for free?
On YouTube. Sanskar Tiwari, who built BuildCheap, teaches it for free in a full course with Ishan Sharma and in two long podcast episodes on The Sanskar Show. All three are embedded on this page. The paid course in the BuildCheap library is the same material cut into short lessons you can follow while you build.
Which vibe coding tool is best for beginners?
Pick a prompt-to-app tool that gives you a live URL by default and does not require an editor. BuildCheap, Lovable and Bolt.new all fit. Choose on how the pricing is shown: real dollars are easier to budget than credits.
Sources
Every date and claim above traces to one of these. Quote us, but check them.
- Andrej Karpathy on X, 2 February 2025. The post that coined the term.
- Andrej Karpathy on X, February 2026. His one-year retrospective on the post.
- Merriam-Webster, "vibe coding", slang & trending, March 2025.
- Collins Dictionary, Word of the Year 2025.
- Collins Language Blog, "Collins Word of the Year 2025: AI meets authenticity as society shifts", 6 November 2025.
- CNN, "Vibe coding named Collins Dictionary Word of the Year", 6 November 2025.
- Wikipedia, "Vibe coding".
- Photo of Andrej Karpathy: Gladwin Analytics via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.