👾 The AI Coding Showdown: 6 Platforms, 1 App, Shocking Results

Can AI really replace developers? I put this question to the ultimate test by building the same investment portfolio tracker across 6 different AI coding platforms. What I discovered will change how you think about AI-powered development.

🎯 The Challenge: One App, Six Platforms

I tasked each platform with building a comprehensive investment portfolio tracker with these exact requirements:

The Benchmark App:

• Real-time data integration for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Nasdaq stocks, global equities, and ETFs

• Interactive dashboard with account overview, 12-month performance tracking

• Dual visualization via line charts (portfolio value over time) and pie charts (asset allocation)

• Transaction management system with buy/sell functionality

• Cash account integration with automatic balance updates

• Complete transaction history in chronological order

• Mobile-responsive design with modern dark theme

Each platform got the identical prompt. No technical specifications. No second chances.

🏆 The Results That Shocked Me

1st Place: Caffeine AI (7.7/10) 🥇

The dark horse that came out of nowhere! This platform absolutely nailed the user experience with fast generation, solid reliability and mostly functional app after the initial prompt.

Pros

• Simple and easy-to-use interface

• Entire app runs on blockchain which makes it more secure

• All-in-one (persistent storage, authentication, one-click deployment)

Cons

• Alpha version, not yet released to general public

• Lacks some features (code editing/export, file upload)

• UI design quality a bit behind competitors

2nd Place: Firebase Studio (7.2/10) 🥈

Google's offering brought moderate results after the initial prompt. A few features were working but needed more prompts to fix the remaining issues.

Pros

• For beginners and advanced users

• Full IDE support with Gemini models

• Great customization and available features

Cons

• More complex for beginners

3rd Place: v0 (6.3/10) 🥉

With Vercel's version, I needed three attempts and manual bug fixing to run the preview. UI quality is high but needs more work to make it fully functional.

Pros

• Easy to use

• Good app quality

• Rich features (code export, database integrations, deployment on Vercel)

Cons

• Very simple code editor

• Slow code generation

4th Place: Replit (6.0/10)

The coding giant delivered solid fundamentals but lacked the polish for production-ready apps. After the initial prompt, none of the features worked but the app dashboard looked great.

Pros

• Ease of use

• Supported features (file uploads, prompt enhancer, deployment, database)

• Great UI design in apps

Cons

• Very slow code generation

• Vendor lock in to Replit

• None of the prompted features worked

5th Place: Lovable (5.5/10)

Despite the charming name, this platform struggled with prompt alignment and complex feature integration. Gave the simplest app version of the tested platforms.

Pros

• Easy to use and has all the necessary features

Cons

• Don’t allow code edit or export in free version

• Slow code generation and low app quality

• Apps are always public in free mode

6th Place: Bolt.new (FAIL)

The platform that made me almost rage quit. Complete breakdown on core functionality - couldn't spin up the app.

• No rating. Consumed all the tokens for the day without a visual result.

📊 The Score Breakdown

Here's how each platform performed across critical developer metrics:

💡 Key Takeaways

🔹 Features: Most platforms offer similar features, with Firebase Studio allowing editing the code in a web IDE.

🔹 The Reliability Gap: Security is nonexistent in most of the apps. Upgrading after its live is difficult without losing user data. Caffeine AI is a promising counterpart due to its decentralized architecture, integrated authentication system, and data persistence.

🔹 Great for Rapid Prototyping and MVPs: AI coding tools are rapidly evolving, but they’re not ready to replace seasoned developers. However, they’re powerful for rapid prototyping and MVP development.

More Resources

Blog: In-depth articles on AI workflows and practical strategies for growth
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Agency: Production-ready AI implementation services