John Rush Profile picture
Feb 4 27 tweets 10 min read Read on X
I've tried all (24) AI coding agents & IDEs 😵‍💫

[Cursor, Softgen, Windsurf, Wrapifai, Copilot, Lovable, Bolt, v0, Replit, MarsX, Claude, AmazonQ, Pear, Devin, Github Spark, IDX, Webdraw, Tempo, Cline, Continue, Databutton, Base44, Qodo, Aider]

The Vibe Coding giga-thread:
1/24. @SoftgenAI
- works well for both coders and non coders
- can fix its own bugs
- can host the web apps

It worked really well for my little project (Vacation calendar manager)

2. Cursor
- a fork of a VC code
- raised loads of funding turning into a unicorn
- founders went on a Lex Fridman pod
- turns coders into 10x devs. Not the best fit for non-coders.

3. Wrapifai
- perfect for mini tools (lead magnets or tools to drive SEO traffic)
- mostly produces functioning app right away with one prompt
- doesn't handle serious apps
- unlimited apps (instead of per token..)

4. Windsurf (works well for advanced apps. my top 3)
- acts as a true agent
- offers deepseek
- can use the web search
- has a memory.

5. GitHub Copilot ( the OG of this game, started back in 2020 )
- can generate code
- handles large codebases
- can merge PRs, fix bugs, search code

6. Lovable
- fastest-growing EU based startup today ($10M ARR)
- has native supabase integration
- has the best AI+NoCode mix on the market

7. Bolt
- started as a side project of stackblitz and went huge raising $105M
- works similar to softgen, lovable & windsurf

I built several lead magnets using bolt

8. v0
- best for making well-designed web pages or UIs
- doesn't work well for fullstack apps
- can use figma as a starting point
- lets you edit elements one by one

9. Replit
- most advanced AI Agent for coding imho
- has two modes: Agent or Assistant
- true full stack app generator. Has its own server, db, hosting...

Here is the real app I built using it

seobotai.com/broken-link-ch…
10. MarsX (my own product)
- a mix of AI, NoCode and High Code
- I built @seobotai, @indexrusher and all my other products using marsx
- it basically takes the whole coding world to the next level since it isn't a website builder, but "SaaS builder"

11. Claude
- it can write and run code
- super easy to get started (free)
- works for basic cases. e.g. building components or learning coding

12. Amazon Q
- very few people use it
- totally lagging behind the top players

13. Pear AI
- entered into YC
- had a huge drama around forking a github repo
- had a mentor call with them, two very talented guys taking an alternative path on competing with cursor

14. Devin
- super expensive
- targets corporate world
- acts as a junior dev in a dev team

very good review:
15. Github Spark
- works well for small or demo apps
- still behind the "waitlist"

16. IDX
- free alternative to cursor
- can build mobile apps
- uses gemini

17. Webdraw
- best for people with zero coding experience
- totally genius UX
- free
- turns sketches into web apps

18. Tempo Labs
- Generates full-stack apps using a text or image prompt
- It starts by making an architecture and diagrams
- I think they have the best AI Coding UX, wow

19. Cline
- VC code plugin
- works for large codebases
- supports any LLM
- runtime awareness

20. Continue dot Dev.
- an open source alternative to Cursor

Image
21. Databutton
- from Norway
- backed by VCs who backed one of my startups
- has very unique approach, different from most of the players
- works great for true nocoders

22. Base44
- for noncoders
- all in one
- creates dashboard-like apps pretty well

23. Qodo
- for coders
- can write tests, refactor and generate code
- supports all llms(including deepseek)

24. Caffeine AI
- new player
- too early to say anything. for now just putting them into the list to come back to them later when they launch

25. Aider
- a terminal app for generating web apps out of prompts

26. That's it.

I built lots of AI tools using AI. Some of my projects:
unicornplatform.com
listingbott.com
seobotai.com
indexrusher.com More here: johnrush.me Image

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More from @johnrushx

Jul 6
How I got my first 100 users for each of my 24 startups:
1. Cold emails:

- go for quality, not quantity
send to 20 people; if no reply, change the copy and resend. repeat until 2 replies.
- make it super short and include the outcome E.g. for @listingbott I'd send this "100 backlinks from relevant directories in one click"
2. Social media DMs (Li, X, IG, FB, RD, etc)
- send 15 sec loom with an audit of their biz/site/profile...where the preview makes it obvious it's personalized.
- impress them with your quick effort
- e.g. for @seobotai it'd be: "SEO audit of their website"
Read 23 tweets
Jul 2
I had a dream tonight, it was the year 2055, I saw this:

1. Attention is the ultimate currency that replaced money, time & resources
2. Work is optional (full abundance with artificial scarcity)
3. 99% of the population doesn't work, they...
...play e-games, all life
4. Every human owns a generic humanoid robot, as we own smartphones
5. Unethical games dominate: Hunger Games, Squid Games, Gladiator Games, Mortal Combat, and more
6. Children are produced in the lab and taken care of by robo-parents
7. The invention of anti-aging medicine completely eliminated reproduction in rich cities
8. The ww3 is ongoing in the form of never-ending drone/tech/ai/info wars, very similar to sports games, with minimal civilian casualties
Read 6 tweets
Jun 13
> Traditional SaaS is done (soon)
> commoditized
> founders clone successful products & halve the price
> a race to the bottom, down to $0
> everything is about to look & work the same: the social mediaschedulers, web builders, calendar apps, etc

I think this is what comes next:
AI Agent will dominate the software.

AI Agents will be the only proxy between humans and machines.
Non-AI software will still be necessary, but it'll be used by AI, not humans.

Today, we build software for humans, tomorrow, we'll build for agents.

The Future of UX:
Old UX will be gone and most traditional software will simply expose API for other agents(e.g., MCP servers).

The new UX: chat, canvas, mindmap, AR

Most consumer UX will be AR, e.g. we'll be wearing glasses and AI will augment the interface on top of the real world.

Canvas UX:
Read 7 tweets
Jun 13
Don’t do this until you made $10k with your startup:

> hire > google/fb ads
> redesign > registering a company
> outsourcing > more features
> refactoring > start a new project
> VC funding > events
> dark mode > conferences

Why:
No employees!

> they can perform well-defined tasks, but at the beginning, most tasks need creativity & exploration.
> they don’t care as much as u, they won’t be obsessed with making the product better, listening the users and working their ass off. The customers gonna feel it
No Google/FB ads!

> paid ads can’t magically bring traffic to a product that sucks organically. So first get some organic traction

> if u still go for paid growth, use: influencers or niched networks like @TinyAdz , if you're in b2b tech
Read 9 tweets
Jun 3
My 17 ideation methods 🧵:

(I shipped more than 50 products doing this)
1) Marketplace, where you're the chicken.

To solve chicken & the egg problem, you should be the chicken and your users are the eggs. E.g. in TinyAdz I was the first advertizer, I paid to adevertize my own products, so that publishers could earn money on the day one. So easy.
2) Build a tool for yourself.

If u truly satisfy yourself & become a big fan of your own tool, the chance you won’t find external users is zero.
(I built SeoBot and listingbott this way)
Read 19 tweets
May 29
I've tried all (46 😵‍💫) AI Coding Agents & IDEs

[Factory, Cursor, Heyboss, Windsurf, Emergent, Wrapifai, Copilot, Lovable, Bolt, v0, Replit, MarsX, Canva, Devin, Github Spark, IDX, Stitch & more]

The most complete list ever made (with demos & notes):
1. @FactoryAI

An advanced AI coding tool: generates complex apps, docs, works well with large existing projects, has access to web search, MCPs, can run code on my local machine + UX is 🤌 . best for coders.

I'm building "Inbox agent" using this tool, gonna report back soon
2. @heybossAI

I'd say the most creative AI Coding tool on the market (.
Can build production grade apps, with backend and database.

I'm building my inbox agent here too, so far, I really love the design output.
Works great for non-coders.
Read 48 tweets

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