Think about the last time you opened a spreadsheet to track something important-customer orders, project timelines, inventory counts. You spent hours formatting cells, copying formulas, and manually updating rows. Then you wished you could just vibe coding your way out of it. That’s exactly what’s happening now: people who know their business inside out-accountants, teachers, logistics managers-are turning messy Excel and Google Sheets into real web and mobile apps, with zero coding experience.

This isn’t magic. It’s vibe coding, a new way of building software that started gaining real traction in late 2025. Instead of writing code line by line, you describe what you want in plain language. You tell an AI: "I need a form where my team can add new clients, search by name, edit their info, and delete old entries. All changes should update this Google Sheet." The AI spits out working code. You test it. You tweak the prompt. You do it again. In a few hours, you’ve got a full app-no developer needed.

How Vibe Coding Works: From Sheet to App in Minutes

The process starts with your spreadsheet. Maybe it’s a list of student grades, a sales tracker, or a project task board. You open it in Google Sheets, go to Extensions > Apps Script, and then paste a clear description into an AI tool like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.

Here’s what a good prompt looks like:

• "Create a web interface connected to this Google Sheet. Users can add new rows through a form with fields for Name, Email, Status, and Notes. They can search by Name or Status. Editing a row updates the sheet. Deleting a row removes it from the sheet. Use a clean, modern design with a dark mode toggle. Deploy it as a public link."

The AI generates two files: a backend script (usually code.gs) that talks to Google Sheets, and a frontend (index.html) that shows the form and table. The first version? It’s rough. Buttons might not work. Styling is off. Search doesn’t handle typos. But it’s a start.

Now comes the vibe part. You look at the app. You say: "The search doesn’t work if someone types 'Joh' instead of 'John.' Fix it." The AI updates the code. You copy-paste it back. Refresh. Test again. Do this 3-5 times, and suddenly you’ve got something polished. No GitHub, no terminal, no debugging syntax errors. Just you, your domain knowledge, and an AI that listens.

The Tools Making Vibe Coding Real in 2026

It’s not just ChatGPT anymore. A whole ecosystem has grown around vibe coding. Here are the platforms people are using right now:

• Base44: The go-to for building professional dashboards. It lets you design layouts visually, generate editable forms, and export to PDF or shareable links. One user built a resume builder with 12 template designs, real-time preview, and logo upload-then sold it for $40,000 a month.
• Replit: Great for full-stack apps. You can build a frontend, connect to a database, add user login, and deploy everything in under 30 minutes using AI prompts.
• Supabase: Used behind the scenes for databases and authentication. It’s not part of the vibe coding interface, but it’s the engine powering secure user logins and data storage.
• Despia: Turns your web app into an Android app. You take the Base44 project, feed it into Despia, and it packages everything for Google Play. Privacy policy? Done. App icon? Done. Store listing? Done.
• Stripe: For monetization. Add a "Pro Plan" button. Let users pay $10/month. Stripe handles the payment. The AI writes the integration code.

These tools don’t replace each other-they chain together. You build the interface in Base44. Connect it to Supabase for data. Use Stripe for payments. Package it with Despia. Deploy it. That’s the new workflow.

What You Can Actually Build (Real Examples)

Vibe coding isn’t for building TikTok clones. It’s for replacing manual, repetitive tasks with digital tools. Here’s what’s already out there:

• Student Attendance Tracker: A teacher turned a Google Sheet with 200 names into a web app where students check in with a tap. It auto-sends reminders to parents if someone misses three days. No backend knowledge needed.
• Inventory Manager for Small Retailers: A mom-and-pop shop replaced their handwritten logbooks with an app that scans barcodes, tracks stock levels, and emails alerts when items drop below 5 units. It’s live on their phone.
• Resume Builder: A freelance designer built a tool where users pick a template, type in their experience, and download a PDF. They added payment gates. Now they earn $40,000 a month. No team. No office. Just a laptop and AI.
• Event RSVP System: A community organizer built a form that collects names, dietary needs, and emergency contacts. It auto-sends confirmation emails and updates a Google Sheet. Used for 12 local events last month.

These aren’t prototypes. They’re live, used daily, and making money. The common thread? The builders weren’t coders. They were the people who lived the problem every day.

Where Vibe Coding Falls Short

It’s powerful-but it’s not a magic wand. There are hard limits.

It works great for apps that:

• Store data in one place (like Google Sheets or Supabase)
• Have one or two user roles (admin, viewer)
• Don’t need real-time collaboration across 100+ people
• Don’t require complex file uploads (like videos or large images)
• Don’t need to connect to 5+ external APIs

It struggles with:

• Multi-user permissions (e.g., "User A can edit, User B can only view, User C can delete")
• Real-time syncing across devices (like Google Docs, but custom)
• File uploads that need server-side processing (e.g., converting PDFs to text)
• Complex email workflows (e.g., automated drip campaigns)
• Apps that need to run offline for long periods

That’s okay. Most businesses don’t need these. They need simple, reliable tools to replace paper, Excel, or sticky notes. Vibe coding nails that.

The Hidden Skill: Knowing What to Ask

The biggest myth about vibe coding is that you don’t need to know anything. Wrong. You need to know your domain deeply.

A teacher who’s been grading papers for 15 years knows exactly what fields matter: attendance, late submissions, participation notes. They can describe the app perfectly. A developer without that context? They’d build something technically perfect-but useless.

Successful vibe coders don’t just type prompts. They:

• Break down their process into steps
• Anticipate edge cases ("What if someone enters a date in MM/DD/YYYY instead of DD/MM/YYYY?")
• Know which features are nice-to-have vs. must-have
• Test each version like a user, not a coder

That’s why the best vibe coders aren’t engineers. They’re nurses, farmers, librarians, and small business owners.

Deployment and Monetization: Getting Your App Out There

Building the app is only half the battle. You need to get it in front of people.

For web apps: Use Google Apps Script’s deployment feature. It gives you a unique URL. Share it. Embed it in a Google Site. That’s it.

For mobile: Use Despia to turn your web app into an Android APK. Submit it to Google Play Console. Fill in the store description. Upload icons. Add a privacy policy. Done. No Java. No Kotlin. Just AI-generated code and a few clicks.

For money: Add Stripe. Let users pay $5/month for premium features. Or charge $20 to download a template. The AI writes the payment button code. You test it. You launch. People pay. You earn.

The resume builder making $40k/month? It’s not ads. It’s subscriptions. Users pay to unlock advanced templates. The creator didn’t hire a sales team. He just made something people needed-and made it easy to buy.

What’s Next for Vibe Coding?

By mid-2026, vibe coding isn’t a trend. It’s a category. Platforms like Base44, Lovable, and Cursor are adding AI-assisted debugging. You can now say: "This button doesn’t work on Safari. Fix it." and the AI analyzes the browser logs and updates the CSS.

YouTube tutorials from Sheets Ninja and Matt Palmer have millions of views. Reddit threads are full of people sharing their first vibe-coded apps. Companies are quietly using it to build internal tools without IT departments.

It’s not replacing developers. But it’s replacing the need for companies to hire them for simple apps. And that’s a huge shift.

If you’ve ever said, "I wish I could just automate this,"-you’re already a vibe coder. You just didn’t know the name yet.

Start Your First Vibe-Coded App Today

Here’s how to begin:

1. Open a Google Sheet with data you manage manually.
2. Go to Extensions > Apps Script.
3. Paste this prompt into ChatGPT or Claude: "Turn this Google Sheet into a web app with a form to add, search, edit, and delete entries. Use a clean design. Deploy it as a public link."
4. Copy the code it gives you into Apps Script.
5. Test it. Fix one thing. Try again.
6. Share the link with someone who needs it.

You don’t need permission. You don’t need a budget. You just need a problem you care about-and the willingness to ask an AI for help.