Free, without the fine print
Build a real app for free
Building is free. So is your first launch, custom domain included.
Nothing counts down while you think.
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Capture from bb dev run studio: the ideas gallery with a prebuilt idea selected and its live preview open, showing a real app taking shape with no payment prompt anywhere. 1440x820 at 2x, aspect-video.
The credit trap
You have seen this free tier before
Five hundred credits sound like plenty until an afternoon of prompting eats them, the build stalls mid-feature, and the upgrade prompt arrives. That is not a free tier; that is a trial that runs out. And when it ends, you cannot even say where the credits went.
What free means here
Building costs nothing
Sketch screens, connect data, wire up logic, launch once: all free. AI is the one thing with a meter.
Build by hand, free
Sketching screens, connecting data, and wiring up logic cost nothing. Clone a working example and make it yours. Build the whole app this way and never pay.
AI, when you ask for it
Add credits up front, 1 credit = 1 dollar. AI work draws from your balance, and the usage view shows what each day of building cost. No monthly AI fee.
Or bring your own AI
Connect Claude or ChatGPT through the Orbit CLI or MCP, or add your own API key. The AI you already pay for does the building, and Orbit adds no charge.
Use the AI for free
Three ways to skip the AI bill
If you already pay for AI somewhere, Orbit does not charge you again.
Claude or ChatGPT, via MCP
Connect Orbit as an MCP server. Your existing subscription builds the app.
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Screenshot: Claude Desktop with the Orbit MCP connected, mid-conversation building an app, the app preview visible. 1440x820 at 2x, aspect-video.
Your terminal, via the CLI
The Orbit CLI drives the same builder from your terminal, on the agent you already run.
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Screenshot: a terminal running the Orbit CLI building an app, live preview beside it. 1440x820 at 2x, aspect-video.
Your own API key
Add your provider key. The AI you use is between you and your provider.
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Screenshot: the settings screen where a user adds their own provider API key. 1440x820 at 2x, aspect-video.
Launch included
One live app, on your domain, free
Your first deployment costs nothing and runs on your own custom domain with HTTPS. Someone types your address, and what loads is your app.
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Capture from bb dev run studio: the launch surface right after a deploy, showing the app live on a custom domain with the HTTPS lock visible in the preview chrome. 1440x820 at 2x, aspect-video.
From the team
The honest part
We are a small, bootstrapped team that loves building apps. We built Orbit so building feels like joy again, not a fight with your tools.
Right now, a lot of people are wondering what AI will take from them. We want Orbit to be the other answer: AI that helps you start something of your own. A tool your team opens every day, a product, a business.
What we cannot do is hand out free AI tokens. At our size, that bill would sink us. So we made everything else free instead: the builder, the working examples, your first launch on your own domain.
And if you already pay for AI anywhere else, bring it. Your subscription through MCP or the CLI, or your own API key. Trying Orbit should cost you nothing, and now it does not.
The Orbit team
Questions, answered
Is Orbit really free?
Building is free. AI usage and additional deployments are what cost money. Your first deployment is free, custom domain included.
What does AI usage cost?
AI usage draws from a prepaid credit balance where 1 credit = 1 dollar. The usage view shows what each day of building cost, split into AI and hosting. There is no free AI allowance and no monthly fee.
Can I use my existing Claude or ChatGPT subscription?
Yes. Through the Orbit CLI or MCP, your own subscription drives the build and Orbit charges nothing for AI.
What do templates cost?
Nothing. Templates and working examples are free to clone, edit, and launch as your own app.
Build the app you've been imagining.
By tonight you could have an app live on your own domain and owe nothing.