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Do you need a powerful computer to build apps with AI?

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Source checked 30 Sept 2026 · Published 1 Oct 2026 · Last reviewed 1 Oct 2026 · By Ctrl+Z Therapy (how we test)

The short answer

Mostly, no. Lovable, Bolt and Replit run in your browser, and the heavy work happens on their servers. Even Claude Code, which runs on your computer, needs 4 GB of RAM or more on a recent Mac, Windows or Linux. What costs money is the plan, not the laptop: Claude Code isn't on the free Claude plan.

What to do

  1. Start with the computer you have.
  2. Check which plan your tool needs. That's the real cost.
  3. You'll only want more power if you run AI models on your own machine, and that's optional.

Source

Checked on 30 Sept 2026. Prices, limits and settings change, so check the source before you rely on them.