I made $4,000 from an MVP that cost me less than $50 to build

How to Build an MVP with Replit and Cursor

You can build a working product for less than $50 a month.

• Replit: $25/month

• Cursor: $21/month

That’s enough to go from idea to something real you can show people.

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1. Why not just stay on Replit?

Replit makes it easy to start. No setup. No install. It has a built-in database, simple auth, and works right in the browser.

But once your project grows, things slow down. You start hitting limits. It’s harder to stay organized or move fast.

That’s when it’s time to move to Cursor.

2. Here’s how I do it

Step 1: Start on Replit

• Set up the basic logic

• Use Replit’s built-in database

• Build the layout and get your idea working

• Share it early and get feedback

Step 2: Move to Cursor

Once your app is working and ready for real development:

1. Sign up for Supabase and GitHub, or log in if you already have accounts

2. In Replit, go to Integrations and connect both Supabase and GitHub

3. Open the Git tab in Replit and sync your project to GitHub

4. Open Cursor, then clone or pull your project from GitHub

5. In your terminal, install the dotenv CLI:

npm i -g dotenv-cli

1. Go to “Secrets” in Replit → choose “Edit as .env” → copy everything into a .env file in your local project

2. Now you can run your app locally like this:

dotenv npm run dev

That’s it — your Replit app is now running locally on localhost:5000, and you can see your changes instantly.

When you’re done editing:

• Commit and push your changes from Cursor to GitHub

• Go back to Replit and click “Sync” to pull the changes

• Your commits will appear, and you can “Deploy” your updated app

Important:
Always pull before you push, because Replit creates special “deploy” commits that can conflict with local changes.

3. Want to host it yourself?

If you’re more tech-savvy and prefer deploying your app to your own VPS instead of using Replit’s hosting, I’ve already set that up.

You can use this repo to run your Replit app in Docker:

👉 https://github.com/al3rez/replit-dockerized

It includes a Docker setup that lets you build and run your Replit app anywhere you want — with full control and no platform limits.

4. Why this setup works

You move fast, and you don’t get stuck.

Replit helps you get your idea live quickly. Cursor gives you full control, speed, and cleaner code as your app grows. Supabase handles your backend. GitHub keeps it all in sync.

And if you want full ownership of your deployment, Docker has you covered.

You don’t need a full team. You don’t need expensive tools. You just need to keep building.

5. Final thoughts

Don’t wait. Don’t overthink. Start small. Ship fast.

This setup is cheap, simple, and gives you everything you need to build something real.

You can have your MVP live in a weekend.

Or we can just build it for you: AstroMVP