v0 by Vercel Alternatives: AI UI Generators Compared

v0 by Vercel showed everyone that AI could generate usable UI components. Now there's competition. Let's see which tools actually deliver.

Quick Comparison

Tool	Best For	Output	Price
v0 (Vercel)	React + Tailwind	React/shadcn	Free tier, $20/mo+
Claude Artifacts	Quick previews	HTML/React	Claude Pro $20/mo
ChatGPT	General coding	Any framework	Free, Plus $20/mo
Cursor AI	In-editor generation	Any framework	$20/mo
PromptUI	Production exports	HTML/CSS/React	$9 one-time, $49/mo

v0 by Vercel

v0 is Vercel's AI UI generator. It's tightly integrated with the React ecosystem and outputs shadcn/ui components with Tailwind styling.

Strengths:

• High-quality React component output
• shadcn/ui integration means consistent, modern styling
• Good at understanding complex component requests
• Iterative refinement in conversation

Weaknesses:

• React-only (no vanilla HTML/CSS export)
• Tied to Vercel/shadcn ecosystem
• Limited free generations
• Can't customize the underlying design system

Best for: React developers already using Tailwind/shadcn who want quick component generation.

Claude Artifacts

Claude's artifact feature lets you generate and preview UI components directly in the chat interface.

Strengths:

• Instant visual preview
• Easy iteration ("make the button bigger")
• No separate tool needed
• Great for prototyping ideas

Weaknesses:

• Preview environment is limited
• No proper export workflow
• Components are often simplified
• Can't preview complex interactions

Best for: Quick mockups and ideation. Not for production code.

ChatGPT / GPT-4

The generalist option. GPT-4 can generate UI code in any framework you ask for.

Strengths:

• Framework agnostic
• Good at following specific requirements
• Can generate complex logic alongside UI

Weaknesses:

• No visual preview
• Quality varies significantly
• Often generates outdated patterns
• Requires manual copy-paste workflow

Best for: Developers comfortable reviewing and fixing code, working in frameworks v0 doesn't support.

Cursor AI

Cursor is an AI-powered code editor that can generate UI inline with your existing codebase.

Strengths:

• Understands your project context
• Generates code that matches your existing style
• Fast iteration in familiar environment

Weaknesses:

• No visual preview during generation
• Requires existing project setup
• Not designed specifically for UI generation

Best for: Adding components to existing codebases, not building from scratch.

PromptUI

A dedicated UI generator focused on production-ready exports in multiple formats.

Strengths:

• Exports clean HTML, CSS, and React
• Multiple style presets (minimal, glassmorphism, etc.)
• Affordable pay-per-generation model ($9 for 10)
• Optimized specifically for UI output

Weaknesses:

• Smaller user base than v0
• Less community content/examples

Best for: Developers who want clean, export-ready code without framework lock-in.

Head-to-Head: Same Prompt, Different Tools

I gave each tool the same prompt:

"A pricing section with three cards: Starter $9/mo, Pro $29/mo (most popular), Enterprise $99/mo. Dark theme, modern look, subtle animations on hover."

Results:

v0: Clean React component with shadcn styling. Hover animations included. Required some adjustment to match brand colors.

Claude: Generated a preview but the code was simplified. Missing some hover states. Good for concept validation.

ChatGPT: Produced working code but used generic Tailwind classes. Needed more iteration to look polished.

PromptUI: Clean HTML/CSS with proper animations. Exported directly usable. CSS was well-organized.

My Recommendations

Conclusion

There's no single "best" AI UI generator. Each tool has trade-offs:

• v0 — Best React output, ecosystem lock-in
• Claude — Best for quick previews, weak for production
• ChatGPT — Most flexible, most manual work
• Cursor — Best for existing projects
• PromptUI — Best for clean, multi-format exports

Try the free tiers of each. The right tool depends on your workflow, not benchmarks.