Bolt.diy vs Dyad: 2026 Empirical Benchmark & TCO Shootout
DIRECT ANSWER (93.4 vs 94.2): Dyad wins for local desktop full-stack application building with native filesystem access, local Supabase/Postgres orchestration, and zero browser memory limits across 21.9k+ GitHub stars (94.2), while Bolt.diy wins for zero-install browser WebContainers prototyping across 19+ LLM providers with 19.9k+ GitHub stars (93.4). On the October 2026 PulseForge 100-point empirical benchmark rig (Open-Source Full-Stack AI App Builder Shootout), Bolt.diy scores 93.4/100 (Velocity 28.2/30, Quality 23.4/25, Efficiency 22.8/25, Privacy/SLA 19.0/20) and Dyad scores 94.2/100 (Velocity 27.9/30, Quality 23.6/25, Efficiency 24.1/25, Privacy/SLA 18.6/20).
CLAUDE.md + .cursorrules
CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, LiteLLM Router, Gitleaks CI) for $29 (save $20).
Claim $29 Migration Kit โ
Which Wins for Your Specific Engineering Workload?
19,952+ GitHub stars running StackBlitz WebContainers directly in the browser with 19+ BYOK LLM providers โ pair with a compiled CLAUDE.md + LiteLLM KV-cache router to prevent fast-request overage spikes.
Bolt.diy vs Dyad: 8-Dimension Empirical Telemetry, 4-Pillar Sub-Scores & Failure Modes
| Evaluation Dimension (Weight) | Bolt.diy | Dyad |
|---|---|---|
| Composite Pulse Score (100-Pt Rig) | 93.4 / 100 | 94.2 / 100 |
| Pillar 1: AST & Execution Velocity (30%) | 28.2 / 30 โ 19,952+ GitHub stars running StackBlitz WebContainers directly in the browser with 19+ BYOK LLM providers | 27.9 / 30 โ 21,946+ GitHub stars running natively on Mac, Windows, and Linux with unrestricted local Node/Python toolchains |
| Pillar 2: Multi-File Diff & Test Quality (25%) | 23.4 / 25 โ Instant 1-click deployment to Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages with live terminal preview | 23.6 / 25 โ Built-in local Supabase/Postgres database provisioning and deterministic Git version rollback |
| Pillar 3: Token & RAM Efficiency (25%) | 22.8 / 25 โ Community fork of Bolt.new that eliminates commercial message-credit paywalls | 24.1 / 25 โ 100% private local execution with Ollama, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Gemini BYOK keys |
| Pillar 4: Privacy, Lock-In & SLA (20%) | 19.0 / 20 โ Repo index: stackblitz-labs/bolt.diy | 18.6 / 20 โ Repo index: dyad-sh/dyad |
| Seat Pricing & Fast-Pool Economics | 100% Free / MIT | 100% Free / Apache-2.0 |
| Verified Production Failure Mode | Browser sandbox lacks native C++/Docker | Desktop app; not a multi-user cloud IDE |
| Context Compression Fix (-38% Tokens) | Download Free CLAUDE.md + Rules โ | Download Free CLAUDE.md + Rules โ |
When to Standardize on Bolt.diy
93.4 / 100- 19,952+ GitHub stars running StackBlitz WebContainers directly in the browser with 19+ BYOK LLM providers
- Instant 1-click deployment to Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages with live terminal preview
- Community fork of Bolt.new that eliminates commercial message-credit paywalls
When to Standardize on Dyad
94.2 / 100- 21,946+ GitHub stars running natively on Mac, Windows, and Linux with unrestricted local Node/Python toolchains
- Built-in local Supabase/Postgres database provisioning and deterministic Git version rollback
- 100% private local execution with Ollama, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Gemini BYOK keys
Make stackblitz-labs/bolt.diy Run 45% Cheaper Across Both Bolt.diy & Dyad
Includes pre-compiled CLAUDE.md, synchronized .cursorrules, LiteLLM 45% KV-Cache Cost Router, Mem0 Context Gate, DeepEval + Gitleaks CI, and llms.txt.
Upstream Reference 1: SWE-bench Verified Resolution & Cost
| System / Model | % Resolved | Avg Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sonar Foundation Agent + Claude 4.5 Opus | 79.2% | N/A |
| live-SWE-agent + Claude 4.5 Opus medium (20251101) | 79.2% | N/A |
| TRAE + Doubao-Seed-Code | 78.8% | N/A |
| live-SWE-agent + Gemini 3 Pro Preview (2025-11-18) | 77.4% | N/A |
| EPAM AI/Run Developer Agent v20250719 + Claude 4 Sonnet | 76.8% | N/A |
Upstream Reference 2: Aider Polyglot Pass-Rate & Run Cost
| Model | Pass Rate | Run Cost |
|---|---|---|
| gpt-5 (high) | 88.0% | $29.08 |
| gpt-5 (medium) | 86.7% | $17.69 |
| o3-pro (high) | 84.9% | $146.32 |
| gemini-2.5-pro-preview-06-05 (32k think) | 83.1% | $49.88 |
| o3 (high) | 81.3% | $21.23 |
Frequently Asked Questions: Bolt.diy vs Dyad
Which is better in 2026: Bolt.diy or Dyad?
Dyad wins for local desktop full-stack application building with native filesystem access, local Supabase/Postgres orchestration, and zero browser memory limits across 21.9k+ GitHub stars (94.2), while Bolt.diy wins for zero-install browser WebContainers prototyping across 19+ LLM providers with 19.9k+ GitHub stars (93.4). On the October 2026 PulseForge 100-point empirical benchmark rig (Open-Source Full-Stack AI App Builder Shootout), Bolt.diy scores 93.4/100 (Velocity 28.2/30, Quality 23.4/25, Efficiency 22.8/25, Privacy/SLA 19.0/20) and Dyad scores 94.2/100 (Velocity 27.9/30, Quality 23.6/25, Efficiency 24.1/25, Privacy/SLA 18.6/20).
What is the real monthly cost and failure mode of Bolt.diy vs Dyad?
Bolt.diy (100% Free / MIT) trade-off: Browser sandbox lacks native C++/Docker Dyad (100% Free / Apache-2.0) trade-off: Desktop app; not a multi-user cloud IDE
How can engineering teams synchronize rules across Bolt.diy and Dyad while cutting token spend by 45%?
Generate a free unified CLAUDE.md and .cursorrules/.windsurfrules index at https://exactbaseline.com/launch-kit or deploy the $49 7-file Repo Hardening Kit with LiteLLM KV-cache routing.