They start from a prompt. Tandem starts from your client.
Tandem··7 min read·Facts checked October 13, 2026
The short answer
You know what to build
Use Lovable, v0 or Bolt. Describe it, or bring a Figma file, and they turn it into working software fast.
Your client knows, but can't say it
Use Tandem. Your client reacts to real website sections, and you get a brief built from what they chose.
You want both
They don't compete for the same step. Start with Tandem's brief, then build however you like.
The starting point
The difference is the first step, not the last one
All four tools can end with a page and real code. What separates them is where the work begins, and who has to know what they want before anything happens.
Lovable, v0, Bolt
01
You describe it
A prompt, a screenshot or a Figma file
02
AI builds it
From what you described
03
You show the client
Their first real reaction
04
"Not quite"
Back to step one with new words
Tandem
01
Send your client a link
Before the first call, or during it
02
They swipe
Like, Nope or Super Like on real website sections
03
Head to head
Their top picks face off until each section has a winner
04
You get the brief
Plus a first layout built from their picks
05
You export
Your client refines the first layout. You export React and Tailwind, or HTML
With prompt tools, the client's first real reaction comes after something has been built. With Tandem, it comes first, and everything after is built on it.
The prompt problem
A prompt is still a description
Every prompt tool is only as good as what you type into it. That's not a flaw, it's the design: the person typing knows what they want, and the tool closes the gap between the idea and the software.
Lovable's own documentation makes the point for us. Importing a Figma file matters, it says, because then "Lovable builds from your actual designs rather than guessing at layout, color, and component structure." With a design in hand, it builds. Without one, it has to guess.
In client work, nobody has the design yet. The person who knows what the site should feel like is your client, and what they give you is words. Type those words into any prompt box and you get a confident, well-built average of them.
What the client said
PromptEvery word is true. Together they cancel out.
clean vs boldmodern vs timelessminimal vs not boring
What the client chose
Quiet by design
SUPER LIKE
BIG. LOUD.
NOPE
Made with care
LIKE
Direction: calm, editorial, warm natural tones. Not loud.
Illustration. In Tandem the brief comes from every swipe and every head-to-head winner.
The tools
Four good tools, built for different people
How each product describes itself, on its own site, and what it needs from you to do its best work.
Lovable
Describe what you want in plain language and Lovable builds it: full-stack apps, websites and internal tools.
Best at
Going from an idea to a working app or site quickly, including the backend. Brings in Figma work through a plugin, a live connection or a .fig file.
Needs from you
A clear description, or an existing design.
v0 by Vercel
An AI agent that helps anyone create real code and full-stack apps and agents.
Best at
Polished React interfaces on a modern stack, and one-click deploys. Creates UIs from wireframes or mockups, and can clone pages from screenshots or Figma files.
Needs from you
A prompt, a mockup or a reference to work from.
Bolt
Create stunning apps & websites by chatting with AI.
Best at
Building and iterating on full apps through a chat. Generates a project from a Figma frame, and can rebuild designs with your own design system on its Team plan.
Needs from you
A prompt or a Figma frame.
Tandem
Your client swipes. You get the brief.
Best at
Finding out what a client wants before anything is designed. Turns their reactions into a brief with a winner for each section, and a first layout your client refines.
Needs from you
Your client's email address. They do the rest in about five minutes of swiping.
Notice the pattern: the first three are built around the person building, and get better the more you can tell them. Tandem is built around the person who can't.
Feature by feature
Where each one is strong
Including where the others are stronger than Tandem.
Lovable
v0
Bolt
Tandem
Where the work starts
Starts from
Your plain-language description
Your prompt, mockup, screenshot or Figma file
Your chat prompt or a Figma frame
Your client's reactions to real website sections
Who gives the input
You
You
You
Your client, while you stay the designer
Built for
Anyone building apps, sites and internal tools
Anyone creating code and full-stack apps
Anyone building apps and websites
Designers and studios working with clients
Brings in an existing design
✓Figma plugin, live connection or .fig file
✓Figma files and screenshots
✓Figma frames
Analyses any website, including your client's current one
Understanding the client
Reads a client's taste without asking them to describe it
Not what it's built for
Not what it's built for
Not what it's built for
✓Like, Nope or Super Like on real sections
Ranks a winner for each section
Not what it's built for
Not what it's built for
Not what it's built for
✓Head to head, one section at a time
Brief written from the client's choices
Not what it's built for
Not what it's built for
Not what it's built for
✓Brand colours, tone, likes and dislikes, section winners
Building and shipping
Generates a first version
✓A working app or site
✓A working UI or app
✓A working app or site
✓A first layout built from the client's picks
Edit after
Chat, plus visual edits
Chat
Chat
Your client refines any section in plain words, with version history
Backend, auth and database
✓
✓Full-stack apps
✓
No. Tandem is for the design, not the backend
Hosts and deploys the site
✓
✓One-click on Vercel
✓
No. Export it and host anywhere
Code you can take with you
✓
✓
✓
✓React and Tailwind, or HTML
Based on each product's own website and documentation, checked October 13, 2026. "Not what it's built for" means the product is designed around the person building rather than their client. Products change quickly. If we've got something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.
One client, two ways
A dental clinic wants a new website
The owner wants it to feel "calm but premium, friendly but not childish." Here's how the first week can go.
Starting from a prompt
You write the brief from your notes and turn it into a prompt.
The tool builds a polished version of "calm but premium, friendly but not childish."
You show it. The client says it's close, but "a bit cold."
You change the prompt, and wonder whether "cold" meant the colours, the type or the photos.
Round two. The guessing has started, just faster.
Starting from Tandem
Before the kickoff, you send the owner a link.
They answer a short intake, then swipe real website sections for about five minutes.
They Super Like warm, editorial layouts and Nope anything clinical. Their Likes and Super Likes go head to head.
You open the brief: warm neutrals, a soft editorial feel, plenty of space, a winner for every section, and a first layout to start from.
You walk into the kickoff showing them what they already chose.
An illustrative example, not a customer case study.
Better together
Not either-or
If you already use a prompt tool, you don't have to choose. They're built for different steps, and they fit together in the obvious order.
Start with Tandem to get the direction and the brief your client could never have written. Then build however you like. Tandem's export is plain React and Tailwind, or HTML, and a prompt tool given a clear brief does far better work than one given "clean but bold."
The brief was never the slow part to write. It was the slow part to discover.
STEP 1 · TANDEM
Your client swipes. You get the direction
A brief with a winner for each section, and a first layout built from their choices
↓
STEP 2 · TANDEM
They refine, you export
Your client shapes the first layout until it's right. You export React and Tailwind, or HTML
↓
STEP 3 · YOUR STACK
Keep building anywhere
Your editor, your framework, or a prompt tool with a real brief behind it
To be clear
What Tandem is not
Tandem is not an app builder, and it doesn't design for you. It won't host your site, wire up a database or write your backend. Lovable, v0 and Bolt are better choices for all of that.
What Tandem does is the one part of client work none of them is built for: finding out what your client wants before you spend a single round guessing. It composes a first layout so you never start from a blank page, but the judgment, and the design, stay yours.
Tandem hands you the signal. You do the design.
FAQ
Common questions
Is Tandem an AI website builder like Lovable, v0 or Bolt?+
No. Lovable, v0 and Bolt build software from what you describe. Tandem works one step earlier: it finds out what your client wants by watching what they react to, then gives you a brief with a winner for each section, and a first layout your client refines. What you build from it is your call.
Can I use Tandem together with Lovable, v0 or Bolt?+
Yes. Tandem gives you the direction and a brief your client could never have written, and exports clean React and Tailwind code, or HTML. You can keep building from there in whatever tool you use, including a prompt tool, which works far better from a clear brief.
How much time does it take my client?+
Your client answers a short intake about their business, then swipes through real website sections for about five minutes. It can be done before your first call or during it.
Does my client need to install anything?+
No. You send your client a link, they sign in from it, and everything runs in the browser on desktop or mobile.
Does Tandem design the website for me?+
No. Tandem composes a first layout from your client's picks so you never start from a blank page, but every section stays yours to change, refine or throw out. Tandem hands you the signal. You do the design.
What do I get at the end?+
A project brief built from your client's choices (their brand colours and tone, what they liked and didn't, and the winner for each section), a first layout to start from, and an export of clean React and Tailwind code, or HTML.
See it for yourself
Watch your own taste get read back to you
The Taste Test is the same idea, for you, in sixty seconds. Swipe through real websites and see the direction your choices point at. No signup, no words required.
