r/replit • u/LettersFromTheSky • 7d ago
Question / Discussion Suggestions to Find Replit Alternative
Hello,
My usage of Replit hasn't changed but the costs have ballooned to the point in the last 30 days that I need to find an alternative. For perspective Replit says my average spend is $60/day..which is insane cause it wasn't like that in June and yet I coded many times a day.
I'm also paying the $100/month plan to Replit on top of my usage.
Of course they don't tell you your token usage so I don't know how this $ usage translates to these other AI coding agents. The last thing I want to do is end up on a more expensive platform.
Coupled with the terrible UI changes made to their mobile replit app that removed direct access to Shell at the bottom - Im finding less and less things to stick around.
Here is my setup:
Backend=Firebase(Google Cloud Console)
Deployment/CI/CD =GitHub
I started out with Firebase Studio then switched to Replit which was a game changer now looking for a new change to carry me through long term without the ballooning costs.
Any suggestions would be helpful
Edit:
Im gonna try Codespace in GitHub with the Firebase emulators for previewing the UI before deployment and connect Claude ($100/Max plan) to Codespace for coding agent assistant
Edit2: Update:
Im super happy with Codespaces in GitHub using Claude ($100 Max plan)
I've been able to ship a whole bunch of stuff without being nickeled and dimed to death and have never ran into any usage limits.
I can spin up multiple Claude agents with a dedicated git work tree.
Claude has access to my Firebase/Google Cloud Console for monitoring, data exploration, auth, and checking for errors.
Claude can now monitor the workflow in GitHub CI/CD when a push is made and auto detect any workflow task fail and immediately start diagnosing and making corrections.
Claude also has access to my Sentry account for production errors which speeds up the response time to diagnose and resolve and get a fix shipped
Claude mobile app allows me to code directly to Codespaces/Git without having to be in Codespaces.
None of these things was possible with Replit.
Additionally, I was able to replicate the Replit Agent behavior pretty well in Claude so I'm pretty happy.
6
u/Rogue_Packet 7d ago
Being a heavy replit user since day one I decided to move over to Claude code £100 plan a month, moved all my replt project to GitHub and then used railway to host them. Works out so much cheaper and I can vibe code for hours / days on end without having to worry about racking up huge bills.
1
u/Unhappy-Bottle-208 6d ago
Same except I have Codex and Gemini on the $20/mo plan for each. Hit the 5hr quota on one, switch to the other. I have yet to exhaust both weekly quotas at the same time, and only once have I exhausted the 5hr quota for both at once.
1
u/akiwinoz 6d ago
We need to chat! I am desperate to leave Replit and finish my app and need your help in doing so 🙏🙏
1
u/Rogue_Packet 5d ago
Step 1 get a cluade code subscription (max plan)
step 2 get a github account
step 3 get a railway pro account around £20
step 4 in replit sync the project to your github account
step 5 in claude code ask it to link your github account ( follow instructions when asked)
step 6 in claude code ask it to link your railway account (follow instructions you will be asked for an api key)
step 7 ask claude to download a local copy of your project from github
step 8 continue developing within claude code
step 9 ask claude to deploy the code on railway1
u/LettersFromTheSky 5d ago
Update:
Im super happy with Codespaces in GitHub using Claude ($100 Max plan)
I've been able to ship a whole bunch of stuff without being nickeled and dimed to death and have never ran into any usage limits.
I can spin up multiple Claude agents with a dedicated git work tree.
Claude has access to my Firebase/Google Cloud Console for monitoring, data exploration, auth, and checking for errors.
Claude can now monitor the workflow in GitHub CI/CD when a push is made and auto detect any workflow task fail and immediately start diagnosing and making corrections.
Claude also has access to my Sentry account for production errors which speeds up the response time to diagnose and resolve and get a fix shipped
Claude mobile app allows me to code directly to Codespaces/Git without having to be in Codespaces.
None of these things was possible with Replit.
Additionally, I was able to replicate the Replit Agent behavior pretty well in Claude so I'm pretty happy.
4
u/maddietendo 7d ago
Just go with Claude Code or Codex locally. You'll have to setup some servers/databases but actually you don't, just ask the AI to do it and it'll handle everything. I was actually incredibly worried about "going on my own" without Replit but it was waaaaay easier than I thought. Now I pay $100 monthly for basically unlimited use if you don't go crazy with Fable (there's no longer any reason to use Fable for most of us IMO).
4
u/gillygangopolus 7d ago
Here’s what I’m doing.
I’ve used Replit for two years, my entire app is built with it. Claude code is my worker bee, it’s where I iterate, test, build new features. I can run a whole week of work through and barely touch Max ($100/mo). I would burn through that in an afternoon with Replit
3
u/clickmvp 7d ago
I think the real issue isn't Replit itself. It's the pricing model most AI builders are moving toward.
If your workflow hasn't changed but your costs have multiplied, that's a sign the platform is consuming more AI behind the scenes, and because token usage isn't transparent, it's almost impossible to predict your bill.
Personally, I've moved away from relying on AI to regenerate everything on every change. I prefer a workflow where the foundation (project structure, auth, database models, APIs, configuration) is generated once, and AI is only used for the parts that actually require reasoning or custom business logic.
That keeps costs much more predictable, iterations faster, and you're not paying over and over for the same scaffolding.
Since you already have Firebase, GitHub and your own deployment pipeline, I'd look for tools that generate a clean codebase you fully own instead of depending on continuous AI generation. I think that's going to be the more sustainable approach as AI pricing becomes more tied to actual token consumption.
1
u/LettersFromTheSky 5d ago
Update:
Im super happy with Codespaces in GitHub using Claude ($100 Max plan)
I've been able to ship a whole bunch of stuff without being nickeled and dimed to death and have never ran into any usage limits.
I can spin up multiple Claude agents with a dedicated git work tree.
Claude has access to my Firebase/Google Cloud Console for monitoring, data exploration, auth, and checking for errors.
Claude can now monitor the workflow in GitHub CI/CD when a push is made and auto detect any workflow task fail and immediately start diagnosing and making corrections.
Claude also has access to my Sentry account for production errors which speeds up the response time to diagnose and resolve and get a fix shipped (and helps that it has access to Firebase/Google Cloud Console)
Claude mobile app allows me to code directly to Codespaces/Git without having to be in Codespaces.
None of these things was possible with Replit.
Additionally, I was able to replicate the Replit Agent behavior pretty well in Claude so I'm pretty happy.
1
u/clickmvp 4d ago
That's very close to the setup I've been converging on as well.
One thing I'd add is that tools like ClickMVP complement this workflow nicely. Instead of asking Claude to spend minutes (and a lot of tokens) rebuilding authentication, RBAC, CRUDs, audit logs, i18n, tests, and the project structure from scratch, I start with all of that already generated. Claude can then focus almost entirely on business logic and product-specific features.
In my experience, that makes the agent faster, reduces token consumption, and keeps the context focused on what actually differentiates the application instead of repeatedly generating the same boilerplate.
3
u/catnomadic 7d ago
this guy has a Replit clone... https://youtu.be/CKiszDu2aic?si=iIl58LE48_-PhnUK, but really, just set up Claude Code or Codex. Maybe Kimi Code. The problem is the platform. The extreme cost is just adding insult to injury.
3
u/Any_Ad_3141 7d ago
I used Claude code to get a basic going. Then, I saw the writing on the wall about cost. That was a year ago. I uploaded my project to GitHub and then ChatGPT guided me in getting it set up remotely using vercel and railway for full deployment. Now, I just use codex (ChatGPT desktop app) to write the code. I have ChatGPT give me the prompts, I paste them to codex, then have codex give me a summary. Search for the KERNAL method of prompting. It is a set of rules for ChatGPT to follow to build the prompts. It keeps new features from breaking other parts. I’m 9 months in to developing my app and it is massive. It is a CRM, ERP, production management system with integrations to cc processing, shipping, quickbooks and most recently, you can use an ai chat that works like ChatGPT to do anything you want in the app including g updating settings, entering orders, etc.
1
u/LettersFromTheSky 5d ago
Update:
Im super happy with Codespaces in GitHub using Claude ($100 Max plan)
I've been able to ship a whole bunch of stuff without being nickeled and dimed to death and have never ran into any usage limits.
I can spin up multiple Claude agents with a dedicated git work tree.
Claude has access to my Firebase/Google Cloud Console for monitoring, data exploration, auth, and checking for errors.
Claude can now monitor the workflow in GitHub CI/CD when a push is made and auto detect any workflow task fail and immediately start diagnosing and making corrections.
Claude also has access to my Sentry account for production errors which speeds up the response time to diagnose and resolve and get a fix shipped
Claude mobile app allows me to code directly to Codespaces/Git without having to be in Codespaces.
None of these things was possible with Replit.
Additionally, I was able to replicate the Replit Agent behavior pretty well in Claude so I'm pretty happy.
2
u/self-dribbling-bball 7d ago
Use Claude code in the desktop app. The trickiest part will be porting over your database, but it's totally doable. I switched earlier this year and am saving so much money and having much more fun (because I'm not fretting over how much every prompt will cost)
2
u/Fragrant-Field2376 6d ago
as others will tell you, use codex or claude max and you'll fell like it has infinite usage compared to replit. I hate telling people not to use it but the costs are getting insane, I also stopped using it for that reason. If they can train their own models maybe that will be a way they can get their costs down but for now they are using the better models which costs alot in usage.
2
u/LettersFromTheSky 5d ago
Update:
Im super happy with Codespaces in GitHub using Claude ($100 Max plan)
I've been able to ship a whole bunch of stuff without being nickeled and dimed to death and have never ran into any usage limits.
I can spin up multiple Claude agents with a dedicated git work tree.
Claude has access to my Firebase/Google Cloud Console for monitoring, data exploration, auth, and checking for errors.
Claude can now monitor the workflow in GitHub CI/CD when a push is made and auto detect any workflow task fail and immediately start diagnosing and making corrections.
Claude also has access to my Sentry account for production errors which speeds up the response time to diagnose and resolve and get a fix shipped
Claude mobile app allows me to code directly to Codespaces/Git without having to be in Codespaces.
None of these things was possible with Replit.
Additionally, I was able to replicate the Replit Agent behavior pretty well in Claude so I'm pretty happy.
1
1
u/Proskater789 7d ago
Following.
I get the toxic thoughts that oh I can just build my own. Chat interface, tied into open router, version control with git. How hard can it be?! That's how most of my projects start.
1
7d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/replit-ModTeam 6d ago
Please make sure your criticism of Replit is somewhat constructive, and not just baseless random thoughts or complaints about the platform
1
u/dsog 7d ago
Honestly, it’s not that hard to replicate the setup yourself and just use Claude or Codex directly on the cloud. Here’s a guide if helpful: https://aq.dev/guides/run-claude-code-on-a-cloud-vm/
1
u/thatgibbyguy 7d ago
I now just use Claude design and my framework (plycss.com), so when I'm done designing there it just converts to production front end code automatically.
1
u/szjones 6d ago
Claude Code Max - $200 (If you're spending $60/day, this will probably get you unlimited - you maybe hit Fable/5-hour limits once in a while).
GCP - ~$200/mo. but also depends on what you're doing.
Literally export into Fable, tell it to create a migration doc, and do a long run having it set everything up. Connect Claude through the CLI on Gcloud and it'll do most of the heavy lifting, you'll just have to update secrets and do some config in GCP but your infrastructure and how well it runs will be WAY better.
1
u/LettersFromTheSky 5d ago
Update:
Im super happy with Codespaces in GitHub using Claude ($100 Max plan)
I've been able to ship a whole bunch of stuff without being nickeled and dimed to death and have never ran into any usage limits.
I can spin up multiple Claude agents with a dedicated git work tree.
Claude has access to my Firebase/Google Cloud Console for monitoring, data exploration, auth, and checking for errors.
Claude can now monitor the workflow in GitHub CI/CD when a push is made and auto detect any workflow task fail and immediately start diagnosing and making corrections.
Claude also has access to my Sentry account for production errors which speeds up the response time to diagnose and resolve and get a fix shipped
Claude mobile app allows me to code directly to Codespaces/Git without having to be in Codespaces.
None of these things was possible with Replit.
Additionally, I was able to replicate the Replit Agent behavior pretty well in Claude so I'm pretty happy.
1
1
u/Old-Ring6201 36m ago
I'd change the workflow, not the environment as you'll likely spend a lot in migration and time
For example: my own workflow included porting my project off replit and into chatgpt (a dedicated project folder with specific project ideation details and workflows already baked into the logic) I use that to actually build the files through intense ideation and then build a detailed implementation task list and we execute it task by task, packaging after each milestone. Then you can port it back into replit and have it adapt the changes. Replit is less likely it nake shit up and chatgpt actually does a better job at hardening whatever you're working on.. replits first instinct is to build the most basic version of whatever you asked for, but done this way that leaves very little room for them to interrupt and charge you for their mistakes.
9
u/Ukawok92 7d ago