v0 by Vercel - Code Generator That Sometimes Works

v0 is Vercel's attempt to let anyone generate React code by typing what they want. Started as v0.dev for simple components, they rebranded to v0.app in August 2025 and added "agentic" features that mostly make everything slower and more expensive.

You describe what you want, it spits out React code. Sometimes the code actually works. I've shipped 12 client projects using v0 over the past 8 months - here's what nobody tells you.

The Stack (Which You're Stuck With)

v0 only generates code using their chosen stack. No Vue, no Angular, no escape:

• React - You probably know what React is
• Next.js - Vercel's framework, so of course they push it. Read the App Router docs to understand what v0 generates
• Tailwind CSS - Utility classes everywhere, good luck maintaining this shit. Check the component examples to see proper patterns
• Shadcn/UI - Actually decent component library. Browse the component gallery to see what v0 copies from
• TypeScript - At least they got this right. Learn proper typing to fix v0's any disasters

The generated code follows React patterns from 2024, which is great until you need to integrate with literally anything else.

The AI Model Lottery

Here's the frustrating part - you can't pick which AI model generates your code. v0 uses GPT-4, Claude Sonnet, and their own v0-1.5-md model, but you have zero control over which one it picks. Read about LLM model differences to understand why this matters.

Some days you get Claude and your code is clean. Other days you get GPT-4 and it hallucinates CSS classes that don't exist. I've regenerated the same component 5 times to get a decent version because the model selection is completely random. Check the v0 community forums for hundreds of similar complaints.

What Changed (And Why It Sucks Now)

The move to v0.app added "agentic features" that sound impressive until you actually use them:

The Agent System: Breaks complex requests into subtasks, which sounds great until it takes 3 minutes to generate a simple form because it's "analyzing your requirements" and "optimizing the approach." The old version generated components in 10 seconds.

Web Search Integration: v0 can search for current information, which means it sometimes finds outdated Stack Overflow answers from 2019 and uses them. I've seen it import deprecated React lifecycle methods because it found an old tutorial. The React docs migration guide explains why these patterns are bad.

Database Integration: Claims to work with Supabase and Vercel Postgres. The Supabase integration generates basic CRUD operations that work fine for demos, breaks immediately when you need anything custom. Spent 6 hours debugging a generated auth flow that had zero error handling.

Stripe Integration: Generates basic checkout forms but completely ignores webhook handling, error states, and refund logic. Good for demos, useless for production. Read the Stripe integration guide to see what you'll need to add manually.

Who Actually Uses This

Developers like me use it to avoid writing the same dashboard components for the 50th time. Great for scaffolding, terrible for anything complex.

Designers love showing clients "working" prototypes, then get frustrated when the generated code doesn't match their Figma files pixel-perfect.

Product Managers create prototypes to show stakeholders, then hand developers a mess of AI-generated code that needs complete rewriting.

Founders build MVPs thinking they'll save money, then hire developers to fix everything when users start complaining.

The Reality Nobody Mentions

I've launched production apps built with v0, and here's the breakdown:

• Initial scaffolding: 60% time savings
• Debugging generated code: 2-3 hours per component
• Adding real error handling: Start from scratch
• Custom business logic: Rewrite everything
• Production optimizations: v0 has never heard of them

The tool is amazing for getting something on screen fast. It's a nightmare when you need it to actually work reliably for real users.

After 8 months of production use, here's the honest comparison with alternatives and the technical reality of what actually works versus what breaks in production.

v0's "sophisticated architecture" is just multiple AI models fighting over who gets to write your code. After debugging hundreds of generated components, here's what actually happens under the hood.

The "Agentic" System (Mostly BS)

The agent system sounds impressive until you wait 3 minutes for it to generate a fucking form. Here's what really happens when you ask for an "e-commerce dashboard with inventory management":

Task Decomposition: The agent breaks your request into subtasks, then forgets half of them. I asked for inventory management and got a table with no CRUD operations, no search, and hard-coded data. Took 2.5 minutes to generate garbage I could write in 20 minutes.

Web Search Integration: Sometimes it finds React 16 tutorials from 2018 and uses deprecated lifecycle methods. I've seen it import componentWillMount in 2025 even though it was removed in React 17. The web search feature is hit or miss - mostly miss. Check React's legacy docs to understand what patterns to avoid.

Site Inspection: Upload a screenshot and watch it completely miss the actual layout while perfectly recreating the Lorem Ipsum text. Great for copying color schemes, useless for anything structural.

The Model Selection Nightmare

You can't pick which AI model generates your code, which is infuriating when you know Claude writes cleaner React than GPT-4:

GPT-4 Days: Generates complex components with overly clever abstractions, hallucinates CSS classes, creates 15 useState hooks for a simple form. Loves to over-engineer everything.

Claude Days: Clean, readable code that actually follows React best practices. Proper TypeScript types, sensible component structure. Unfortunately, you can't force it to use Claude.

v0-1.5-md Model: Their custom model trained on React patterns. Sometimes generates the cleanest code, other times creates Tailwind class hell with 30 utility classes per div.

The random model selection means your components have inconsistent coding styles. I've generated the same component 5 times just to get the Claude version.

Integration Ecosystem (Demo-Quality Only)

The integrations work great for demos, break immediately in production:

Database Connectivity: Supabase integration generates basic CRUD operations that work until you need joins, transactions, or any business logic. The generated auth flow has zero error handling - users get white screens when login fails.

Vercel Postgres: Creates simple queries that fall apart with real data volumes. No connection pooling, no query optimization, no handling for connection failures.

Authentication: NextAuth.js integration creates login forms that work in happy path scenarios. Error handling? Session management? Logout functionality? You'll be writing that yourself. Read the NextAuth.js docs and security best practices to understand what's missing.

Payment Processing: Stripe integration generates checkout forms that work for single payments. Subscriptions, webhooks, refunds, tax handling - all manual work. I spent 3 days adding proper error states to a generated checkout flow.

Code Quality Reality Check

The generated code follows some best practices and completely ignores others:

TypeScript: Uses TypeScript but with any types everywhere. Interface definitions are half-assed. I've seen data: any[] for complex objects that should have proper type definitions.

Responsive Design: Tailwind responsive classes work fine, but the breakpoint choices are arbitrary. Everything breaks between tablet and desktop sizes.

Accessibility: Adds ARIA labels to obvious elements, ignores keyboard navigation and focus management. Screen readers hate v0-generated forms. Check the WCAG guidelines and React accessibility docs to see what needs fixing.

Performance: Generates heavy components that re-render constantly. No memoization, no lazy loading (despite Next.js support), no proper loading states. Read the React performance guide and Next.js optimization docs to fix these issues.

Deployment Reality

One-click Vercel deployment works great until you need literally anything custom:

Environment Variables: Manual setup required. The "automatic" configuration sets up development defaults in production.

Database Migrations: Not handled. Your schema changes break production deployments.

Custom Build Steps: Forget about it. The generated package.json is basic as hell.

Non-Vercel Deployment: Good luck. The code is littered with Vercel-specific optimizations that break elsewhere.

What Actually Breaks in Production

State Management: No centralized state, no proper data flow. Components pass props 6 levels deep instead of using Context or a proper state library.

Error Boundaries: Don't exist. One API error crashes your entire app.

Loading States: Basic spinners at best, usually just nothing while data loads.

Form Validation: Client-side only, easily bypassed, breaks with edge cases.

Memory Leaks: Event listeners never get cleaned up, subscriptions never unsubscribe.

SEO: Meta tags are hardcoded, no dynamic content, robots.txt and sitemaps not generated.

The reality: v0 generates a prototype that looks professional but falls apart under real user load. Plan to spend 60% of your development time fixing what it generates.

These technical issues are just the beginning. The bigger problem is Vercel's business model - they're using v0 to lock you into their expensive ecosystem while selling you broken prototypes as production-ready applications.

Vercel's business model is simple: get you hooked on AI-generated code, lock you into their stack, then charge you enterprise rates when you're stuck. After spending $1,200+ on v0 over 8 months, here's the financial reality nobody talks about.

Actual Pricing (Way More Than Advertised)

The pricing tiers are marketing bullshit designed to hide the real costs:

Free Tier ($0/month): $5 in monthly credits gets you maybe 10-15 simple components. As of May 2025, they switched to token-based pricing. Useless for anything real - pure marketing bait.

Premium Plan ($20/month): $20 in credits lasts about a week if you're doing real work. I burn through this in 3-4 client components. Total scam.

Team Plan ($30/user/month): Still not enough if you're building actual applications. My monthly bill is usually $80-120 because I go over the credit limits.

Enterprise: They won't tell you the price upfront. Probably $500+/month based on their other enterprise products.

The "agentic" features consume credits like crazy. A simple contact form cost me $2.30 because it spent 2 minutes "analyzing requirements" and searching the web for form best practices it already knew.

Hidden Costs That Kill Your Budget

Credit Burn Rate:

• Simple component: $0.10-0.50
• Dashboard with 5 components: $5-8
• Full application: $15-25
• Failed generations: Still charged full price
• Regenerating for better code: Pay again each time

Vendor Lock-in Tax: v0-generated apps only deploy easily to Vercel. Want to use AWS? Good luck unfucking all the Vercel-specific optimizations. I spent 3 days migrating a client app to DigitalOcean.

Developer Debugging Time: You save 60% on initial scaffolding, then spend 200% normal time debugging the generated mess. Real ROI is negative unless you only do prototypes.

Enterprise Ransom: Once your team depends on v0, Vercel has you by the balls. Enterprise pricing jumps from $50/month to $500+/month the moment you need collaboration features.

ROI Reality Check

The "60-80% time savings" is complete bullshit marketing. Here's the real breakdown for production apps:

Time Analysis (100 hour project):

• Traditional development: 100 hours
• v0 initial scaffolding: 40 hours (60% savings!)
• Debugging v0 code: 45 hours
• Adding production features v0 missed: 35 hours
• Total with v0: 120 hours (20% slower)

You only save time if you're building prototypes that never need to work reliably.

The Vendor Lock-in Trap

This is Vercel's real business model:

Phase 1: Get developers hooked with "easy" AI generation
Phase 2: Generated code only works smoothly on Vercel infrastructure
Phase 3: Charge enterprise prices when you're dependent

The React/Next.js stack lock-in is intentional. Want to use Vue? Angular? A different deployment platform? Start from scratch.

I've seen companies spend $50K+ migrating off Vercel because their v0-generated apps were too integrated to deploy elsewhere cost-effectively.

Competition Reality

Cursor ($$20/month flat): Better ROI because you control the code quality and aren't locked into a specific stack. Read the Cursor documentation to see the difference.

Claude Artifacts ($$20/month + usage): Faster, cheaper for simple components. No vendor lock-in. Check the pricing calculator for real costs.

Bolt.new (Free tier): Better for prototypes without the Vercel ecosystem dependency. Compare StackBlitz features to v0.

Hand-coding ($0/month): Slower initially, but you own the code and can deploy anywhere. Use the React docs and Next.js tutorials to build proper skills.

Enterprise Adoption (And Horror Stories)

Companies that went all-in on v0 fall into predictable patterns:

Startup Phase: "This is amazing! We're shipping so fast!"
Growth Phase: "Why is our monthly v0 bill $300? The apps are getting slow..."
Scale Phase: "We need to migrate off Vercel, but everything breaks when we try..."

I know three companies that spent $30K+ migrating production apps away from v0-generated Vercel lock-in.

Strategic Warnings for Decision Makers

Don't Use v0 If:

• You need to control your deployment infrastructure
• Budget predictability matters
• Your team wants to learn actual React development
• You're building apps that need to scale performantly

Maybe Use v0 If:

• You're prototyping and don't care about vendor lock-in
• You have budget for $100+/month in AI generation costs
• You're comfortable rewriting everything for production
• You're already committed to the Vercel ecosystem

The Vercel Exit Strategy (Plan Ahead)

If you use v0, plan your exit from day one:

1. Code Ownership: Download and backup all generated code
2. Deployment Independence: Test deployment on non-Vercel platforms early
3. Skill Development: Don't let your team forget how to code without AI
4. Cost Monitoring: Track credit usage and set hard limits
5. Alternative Tools: Keep Cursor/Claude licenses as backup

Bottom Line Business Reality

v0 is an expensive prototyping tool disguised as a development platform. The ROI only works if you never need production-quality code and don't mind being locked into Vercel's ecosystem.

For real business applications, you'll spend more money and time with v0 than traditional development, while giving up control over your infrastructure and codebase.

Use it for demos and prototypes. Build production apps with real development tools.

The verdict: v0 is an expensive prototyping tool pretending to be a development platform. Unless you enjoy debugging AI-generated code and paying premium prices for vendor lock-in, stick with traditional development or better AI tools like Cursor.