How Much Does It Cost to Fix a Vibe-Coded App?

You built an app with Cursor, Lovable, Bolt, or Replit. It works — mostly. Now you're trying to figure out what it'll cost to get it ready for real users. Here's what it actually costs based on dozens of projects we've worked on.

The short answer

Most vibe-coded apps cost between £500 and £5,000 to get production-ready, depending on complexity. A simple Lovable app with security gaps might need a weekend of work. A complex Cursor-built SaaS with architectural issues could need 2–3 weeks.

The cost depends on three factors: how much code the AI generated, how many of the common security issues are present, and whether the architecture needs restructuring or just hardening.

What you're actually paying for

When someone says they'll "fix" your vibe-coded app, here's what that typically includes:

Security hardening — Finding and fixing exposed API keys, adding input validation, enabling database security policies, implementing rate limiting. This is non-negotiable for any app handling user data. Takes 1–3 days depending on the codebase size.

Error handling — Adding error boundaries, handling failed API calls, managing loading and empty states, session expiry. The AI built your happy path. A developer makes the sad paths not crash. Budget 1–2 days.

Production configuration — Environment variables properly separated, CI/CD pipeline, monitoring, logging, proper deployment setup. Most vibe-coded apps run from a single environment with no staging or error tracking. Takes 1–2 days.

Code cleanup — Removing duplicated code, adding TypeScript types, fixing inconsistent patterns, adding tests to critical paths. Not always necessary for launch, but important if you plan to keep building. Takes 2–5 days depending on scope.

Launch preparation — Analytics setup, SEO basics, landing page polish, performance optimisation. Optional but valuable if you're trying to get users. Takes 1–3 days.

Cost by approach

Do it yourself: £0 (but your time)

If you have development experience, our production checklist walks through every step. Expect to spend 20–40 hours depending on how many issues your app has. Use our 15-point readiness checklist to score your app first.

This works well if you built with Cursor or Windsurf and already understand the codebase. It's harder if you used Lovable or Bolt and aren't comfortable reading the generated code.

Freelancer: £500–£3,000

A good freelancer charges £30–£100/hour. For a typical vibe-coded app, expect 10–30 hours of work:

• Simple fix-up (10–15 hours, £500–£1,500): Security patches, input validation, basic error handling. App is fundamentally sound, just needs hardening.
• Moderate overhaul (15–25 hours, £1,500–£2,500): Security fixes plus refactoring messy state management, adding proper auth flows, database optimisation.
• Major rework (25–40 hours, £2,500–£3,000+): Significant architectural changes, adding a proper backend, restructuring the database, comprehensive testing.

The risk with freelancers is finding one who understands AI-generated codebases. Most developers haven't reviewed code from Lovable or Bolt before. See our guide on how to hire a developer for AI-built apps for what to look for.

Specialist agency: £500–£5,000

Agencies that specialise in vibe-coded apps (like us) offer structured packages:

Our Launchpad tier runs about £500. It's the basics — we fix your exposed secrets, get you deployed properly, and set up error monitoring so you know when something breaks. Most simple Lovable apps fit here.

Growth (~£2,000) is the full security audit plus hardening, database optimisation, API security, and analytics. This is what most apps approaching launch need.

Scale (~£5,000) adds architecture refactoring, load testing, CI/CD, and test coverage on top of everything in Growth. For apps with paying users that need to handle real traffic.

The advantage of a specialist is speed and pattern recognition. When you've fixed the same Lovable RLS issue or Cursor type safety problem dozens of times, the diagnosis is fast.

Cost by tool

The tool you used affects the cost because different tools create different problems:

Lovable apps (typically £500–£2,000): The main costs are backend security — enabling RLS, moving secrets server-side, adding rate limiting. The frontend code is usually clean. Deploy guide: How to deploy a Lovable app.

Bolt apps (typically £1,000–£3,000): Often need a proper backend added since Bolt runs everything client-side. Secret management and API route creation are the biggest costs. Deploy guide: How to deploy a Bolt app.

Cursor apps (typically £1,000–£3,000): The code is usually more complex, which means more to review. Type safety, test coverage, and architecture consistency are the main costs. Deploy guide: How to deploy a Cursor project.

Replit apps (typically £1,500–£4,000): Migration costs are the wildcard. If you're moving off Replit's hosting, expect additional work for deployment configuration. Deploy guide: How to deploy a Replit app.

v0 apps (typically £1,500–£4,000): v0 generates frontend components but no backend. The cost is largely building the server-side layer that doesn't exist yet. Deploy guide: How to deploy a v0 app.

What not to pay for

Some things that get quoted aren't always necessary for launch:

• Full test coverage — Nice to have, but you can launch with tests only on critical paths (auth, payments, data mutations). Full coverage can come later.
• Complete rewrite — If someone tells you the whole app needs rewriting, get a second opinion. Most vibe-coded apps are 80% fine. You're fixing the 20%, not starting over.
• Premium monitoring — Free tiers of Sentry, Vercel Analytics, and PostHog are enough for launch. Don't pay for enterprise monitoring when you have 50 users.
• Premature scaling — You don't need load testing or CDN configuration until you have traffic. Fix security, add error handling, and launch. Optimise when the numbers justify it.

How to estimate your own costs

Score your app against our 15-point production readiness checklist:

• Score 12–15: You're close. Expect £500 or less to close the remaining gaps.
• Score 8–11: Moderate work needed. Budget £1,000–£2,000.
• Score 4–7: Significant gaps. Budget £2,000–£4,000.
• Score 0–3: Major work required. Budget £4,000–£5,000 or consider whether the codebase is the right foundation.

Getting started

If you want a quick, no-obligation assessment, request a free audit. We'll review your app and send a 5-point security snapshot within 48 hours. That'll tell you exactly where you stand and what needs fixing — whether you work with us or handle it yourself.

Or if you already know what you need, tell us about your project and we'll send a scoped proposal within 48 hours.