Bolt.new Reviews 

My name is Chizorom. Recently visited Lagos and realized that the bolt riders take whatever amount is on the app, so why do 90% Portharcourt riders insist on double or almost double the fare for their rides?
How can this be stopped?
If you need to adjust prices in Portharcourt please do because asking a passenger to pay something higher than what is on the app seems wrong to me. Better still shut bolt down completely in Portharcourt.

used Bolt.new on the free plan to improve an existing single-file restaurant digital menu. I gave a clear, detailed prompt with priorities and constraints.What happened:
It only made a “Plan”
Never rewrote or updated the actual index.html
Preview stayed empty (“No preview available”)
Tokens were consumed just for planning and internal steps
Same thing happened on a previous attempt — no real output from the prompt
For a tool that markets itself as a builder, spending tokens on thinking without producing the requested file is unacceptable. I got zero usable work from the prompt.Google Jules has been far more reliable for the same kind of HTML/UI tasks — it actually edits the file and returns results instead of stopping at a plan.Until Bolt consistently ships the code it plans, I can’t recommend it for real work.

This Web Based AI has been everything I had hoped for! It is making my dream a reality. For anyone saying that we can't make complex projects using Web Based AI they are just wrong. Bolt lives up to anything you throw at it. If you have any problems at all, the Bolt Team is there to help with any and all of your issues.  They even sent me a free t-shirt! Thank You Bolt!

Constantly crashes in the last 5 percent - I'm literally spending half an hour talking and it kicks me out and all progress is lost. a bloody nightmare.

I love Bolt, and more than most I love the support response. The educational classes they provide is very helpful and insightful and I definitely love the overall ease of use to design and deploy

Great platform, with awesome customer support

My go to product for AI development. Easy to use and keeps getting updates to more easily build your dream project.

Bolt is absolutely AMAZING! We initially worked with programmers using Laravel, but despite their efforts, they were unable to deliver the complex functionality our project required. Then we discovered Bolt and everything changed! What once seemed out of reach is now becoming a reality. Using Bolt, we have successfully developed our sophisticated platform and advanced to the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) phase! The progress has been extraordinary, and we couldn't be more excited about what we've accomplished and the possibilities ahead. Bolt has truly transformed our vision into a working reality!

I am the founder of YELTOM — Your AI Business Builder, a comprehensive SaaS platform designed to help entrepreneurs establish and manage their own businesses.

When I started building YELTOM with Bolt.new, I had a vision of what I wanted to achieve, but bringing that vision to life was an entirely different challenge.

Over months of development, Bolt has enabled me to build a sophisticated application incorporating customer authentication, subscription payments, domain registration, business email provisioning, AI-powered business planning, logo generation, website creation and publishing, and multiple third-party integrations.

What impresses me most is that I have been able to build something of this complexity without being a traditional software developer. My background is in electrical engineering and business ownership, not programming.

Has everything been perfect? Absolutely not. There have been bugs, frustrating moments, unexpected challenges and plenty of trial and error. But that is part of developing a genuine software product, and the ability to identify problems, refine functionality and continually improve the application has been invaluable.

Bolt has fundamentally changed what is possible for someone like me. It has allowed me to turn an ambitious business concept into a real, working product.

I recently submitted YELTOM to Bolt’s Builders Week competition, which represents a significant milestone in this journey.

For anyone with a serious business idea, a clear vision and the determination to see it through, I would absolutely recommend Bolt.new.

Five stars, well earned.

GJ Motley
Founder — YELTOM

I discovered Bolt nine months ago, and I haven't stopped using it since. In short, it's helped me turn wishful ideas into working products I use personally and deliver to small business owners.

My Top Tips:

#1 Protect your tokens with version control. Bolt provides generous token usage, but you should still leverage the rollback tab function and GitHub branches. If a development path stalls, or you and Bolt AI just can't get the feature right. don't keep trying what may need a different approach (human developers run into this too; it is not a BOLT AI thing, it's the nature of good design). Rolling back prevents you from burning unnecessary tokens.

#2 Use Plan Mode if you're new: Plan Mode lets you outline and refine your approach with Bolt before execution, saving tokens. Treat it like collaborating with a human colleague: confirm the plan before taking action.

#3 Build a working relationship over time: Since I've become familiar with how the Bolt AI agent operates over the last 6–9 months, I rarely need Plan Mode now. Like working with any developer, there are occasional moments of frustration, but those diminish as you adapt. What I’m most proud of is growing alongside the platform.

#4 Think like an architect. You'll save time and energy by outlining your process and creating a simple wireframe before prompting. Bolt is smart enough to work from a raw idea, but like working with a human developer, results are best when you plan ahead.

#5 Take your time—it pays off: I’ve built about 3-5 different products that are currently active and transforming how I work. Taking the time to learn and experiment with Bolt is well worth the investment.

#6. Take Control of Design & UI/UX
Bolt has a default visual aesthetic (like all AI agents), but you can mold it completely if you know how to direct it. Don't just ask for minor tweaks like "change this color" or "move this button"; force it to change the overall design architecture.

6b) Give it clear structure: If you feed Bolt a reference image, make sure it clearly demonstrates a design structure distinct from Bolt’s default look.

6c) Treat AI like a real designer: My friend is a top brand designer, and she holds 3 to 5 consultations before she even touches her mouse. Bolt is AI, not a magician—it needs the same level of deliberate direction to deliver great results.

7. Plan Mode: You Don't have to deal with those three questions at the end of plan mode: Just click "Implement." The post-plan questions are 100% optional. You do not have to type answers. Every reply forces a full re-read and burns tokens. 90% of the time, Bolt's plan already contains the answer to the quesiton or your project file already has the answers; Bolt is trying to be helpful, covering its bases. Seriously, you can just hit " Implement plan if you answer those questions (unless you need to); you may burn tokens and lose plan context.

7b: Crucial Trap Warning: I don't recommend typing/clear between a generated plan and clicking "Implement," or Bolt will instantly wipe the plan and lose context.

8. Plan Mode and the Three Questions: You can deal with the End-of-Plan Questions with Account Knowledge

8a) Where to go: Account Settings > Knowledge (support.bolt.new_settings_account-settings_#knowledge)

8b) What to add: Paste this exact line (applies globally to all your projects, so you only do it once):

8c) "In Plan mode, do not end the plan with questions. If something is unclear, state the assumption you are making inside the plan instead. If you have a quesiton answer it yourself, and if I don't like your response, I will stop the plan."

What truly sets Bolt apart for me is its outstanding customer support and genuine humanness. Even though it's an AI company, exceptional people back it.

Lastly, I gave Bolt five stars not because they're perfect, but becuase they have a great product, good people, and they care deeply about their work. So yeah, for me, this is a trust issue, and the question is: can this be trusted? And the answer, in my experience working with Bolt for nearly 6-9 months with more than 7 GitHub repositories, is YES!

We had an amazing experience using bolt.new. The platform allowed us to build and deploy a website in literally seconds. What impressed us just as much as the AI technology was their excellent customer support team, who guided us whenever we needed help. Highly recommended for anyone looking to build fast without sacrificing quality.

Good app building tool with great connectivity features

I was happy with my initial prompts turning out great startup results, but there were a few times I found myself swearing at an AI because it wasn't giving me what I was asking for even though I was being extremely specific about what I wanted. On a few occasions it has wasted a huge amount of tokens forcing me to upgrade my account beyond what I could afford at the time. Now I'm stuck on a pro200 subscription which is nearly $300 Australian. And I still haven't been able to get any subscribers to my first project, which I think should just about be a best seller

Good way to grind your teeth on AI my first experience so far so good. It gets frustrating at times persevering does yield results. Not a bad way to build a website. Chris.

Very nice takes a little long but the result is GREAT.

I am submitting a formal complaint regarding the consumption of my paid Tokens as a result of AI behavior that was outside the scope of the task I requested.

I want to make one principle absolutely clear:

A user should not be required to pay for errors, hallucinations, unnecessary processing, repeated analysis, or inefficient behavior generated by the AI system itself.

I provided Bolt with a precise, limited, and clearly restricted instruction. I explicitly told the Agent not to audit the project, not to redesign anything, not to analyze unrelated files, and not to perform unnecessary work.

The requested modification was extremely small and targeted.

Despite this, approximately 212K Tokens out of my 300K daily allowance were consumed in a very short period of time.

This is completely disproportionate to the actual task performed.

The fact that an AI system may require Context, reasoning, file analysis, retries, or internal processing does not automatically make it reasonable for the user to bear the full cost of that processing — especially when the excessive consumption results from AI errors, hallucinations, repeated operations, unnecessary analysis, or failure to follow explicit instructions.

I paid for Tokens to accomplish development work — not to finance uncontrolled AI processing or compensate for mistakes made by the system.

I therefore require Bolt to address the following:

1. Explain exactly where the approximately 212K Tokens were consumed.
2. Provide, if available, a detailed usage breakdown for this specific session.
3. Confirm what files, Context, operations, and Agent actions generated this consumption.
4. Confirm whether the Agent repeatedly processed the same files or Context.
5. Confirm whether unrelated parts of my project were analyzed.
6. Explain why the system continued consuming such a large amount of Tokens despite my explicit instruction to keep the intervention minimal.
7. Clarify what safeguards Bolt has to prevent users from losing large amounts of paid Tokens because of AI errors or inefficient Agent behavior.
8. Review the session logs from a technical perspective rather than sending me a generic explanation about AI Context.
9. Restore or refund any Tokens that were consumed unnecessarily, abnormally, or as a result of AI/system behavior rather than legitimate work required to complete my request.

This is not simply a complaint about AI performance.

The important issue is the financial consequence of AI failure.

If the Agent makes mistakes, hallucinates, enters unnecessary reasoning loops, repeatedly analyzes information, or performs work that the user explicitly instructed it not to perform, the resulting Token consumption should not automatically become the user's financial responsibility.

Otherwise, users are effectively paying for the system's own errors.

That is not a reasonable model of accountability for a paid service.

I am therefore requesting a formal investigation of this specific session, including the actual usage data and Agent activity.

Please escalate this matter to the appropriate technical and billing team, and provide me with a Ticket/Case Number.

I also request confirmation that my usage logs will be reviewed and that Bolt will determine whether the approximately 212K Tokens were reasonably and necessarily consumed for the task I requested.

If the investigation confirms excessive, unnecessary, abnormal, or system-generated consumption, I expect the corresponding Tokens/Credits to be fully restored or appropriately refunded.

Please do not send me a generic explanation about AI, Context windows, or how Agents work.

I am asking you to investigate the actual session, identify where the Tokens went, determine whether that consumption was justified, and correct any unjustified financial loss to the user.

A paid AI service must have accountability for the financial consequences of its own AI behavior.

Users should pay for the work they request — not for the AI's mistakes.

very expensive .... chatgpt can do same thing

You have to subscribe to try because they only allow 300k tokens for trial and that is not enough for even starting your project up. So I subscribed and found out my website that compiles fine in my computer and shows fine in my server has an incompatible folder structure. If you have a backend API server, the system is not able to connect to it. So I wasted my tokens for the month just arguing with the agent and it was a complete waste. Nothing worked. No refunds, no help.

it was so easy to builda website in just a few prompts. tbh its amazing ngl

It's slowly getting better. The support now seems to have a quicker turnaround, although I'm unsure how consistent this is. Everyday there seems to be improvements. I'm going to stick with them... for now.