How to use v0 by Vercel
Corbin Brown
2 min read
v0 is Vercel's AI interface builder: you describe what you want in a chat — “a pricing page with three tiers and a FAQ” — and it generates a working, styled web interface you can see instantly, refine by talking, and publish with a click. Where general coding agents build whole applications, v0's specialty is the visible layer, and within that lane it's one of the fastest tools in vibe coding.
The loop that makes it click
Prompt, look, refine. The first generation lands in seconds; then you talk to it like a designer — “make the header sticky,” “warmer colors,” “stack these cards on mobile.” Two habits raise the quality dramatically: reference real sites (“pricing section like Linear's” gives it something concrete to aim at), and paste screenshots — v0 reads images, so a sketch or a competitor's layout is a better brief than three paragraphs. Check the phone layout early too; a beautiful desktop-only page is a mobile problem you'll pay for later.
Where v0 ends
v0 produces real code (React and Tailwind — the stack most agents speak natively), and that's the graduation path: when your project needs accounts, a database, payments, or anything beyond the visible layer, export the code and continue in a full agent editor like Cursor. Nothing is wasted — the interface v0 built becomes the front of the real app. Plenty of shipped products started exactly this way: v0 for the face, an agent for the organs.
FAQ
Is v0 free?
There's a free tier with monthly credits — enough to learn the tool and build real pages. Paid plans add credits and bigger models. Generations consume credits, so iterating with specific requests beats regenerating from scratch.
v0 vs Lovable vs Bolt?
Same family — prompt-to-app builders. v0 is strongest on interface polish and its export path into the Vercel/Next.js world; Lovable and Bolt push further toward full apps with databases built in. For “make this look great,” v0; for “whole product in one tool,” try the others.