stately.ai

Stately.ai has a dedicated pricing page at stately.ai/pricing, which indicates that paid plans exist. However, the available site evidence does not include the specific plan names, prices, free-tier limits, or trial details. To get current pricing, visit that page directly, since plans and prices can change.

What the evidence does and doesn't tell you

• Confirmed: A pricing page exists, and it is linked from the main site navigation alongside Blog, Docs, Log in, and Sign up.
• Not confirmed: Whether there is a free tier, how many projects or collaborators a free plan allows, trial length, per-seat vs. flat pricing, or any specific dollar amounts.
• Not confirmed: Payment platforms or billing methods.

Because these details aren't in the source material, any specific number you see elsewhere should be verified against the official page before you rely on it.

What you can evaluate before checking the price

Pricing decisions usually depend on what you actually need from the product. Based on the site's own description, Stately positions itself as a visual tool for building and deploying logic, with these capabilities relevant to plan comparison:

The XState library itself is open source, so if your main need is the runtime for state machines and statecharts, you can use it without a Stately subscription. The paid product is the visual editor, AI assistance, and team collaboration layer around it.

How to decide

1. Start with the free path if one exists. Sign up or try the visual editor from the homepage to test the workflow before committing.
2. Check the pricing page for the specific limits you care about — number of diagrams, AI usage, collaborators, and private vs. public projects.
3. Match the plan to your team size and integration needs. GitHub sync and team collaboration are the features most likely to sit behind a paid tier.
4. Consider whether you need Stately at all. If you only need XState for state management, the open-source library covers that without a subscription.

Common sticking points

• Assuming the tool is free because XState is open source. They are related but separate: XState is the free library, Stately is the hosted visual platform.
• Assuming a free tier exists. The evidence only confirms a pricing page, not a free option.
• Relying on secondhand pricing. Prices and plan structures change; the official pricing page is the only reliable source.

For the exact plans and current costs, go to stately.ai/pricing.

Stately.ai uses AI as an assistant across the diagram-to-code workflow rather than as a standalone chatbot. According to the site, AI helps at each phase "with state machines to guide them, while humans use the visual editor to audit and enhance their work." You can generate flows to scaffold behavior, suggest variants, surface edge cases, and even write code. This suits teams that want to move from an idea to a working prototype quickly while keeping a human review step.

Where AI fits in the workflow

Stately describes AI as a helper at every stage, not a replacement for the visual editor. The intended division of labor is:

• AI generates — flows, behavior scaffolding, variants, edge cases, and code.
• Humans audit and enhance — using the drag-and-drop visual editor to review and improve what AI produces.

This matters because the diagram stays the source of truth. AI output lands in a format you can inspect visually, so you are not accepting generated code blind.

Specific AI-assisted capabilities

Based on the site's description, AI can:

• Generate flows to scaffold behavior — start from a prompt or idea and get an initial state machine or statechart structure.
• Suggest variants — offer alternative ways a flow could work.
• Turn up edge cases — surface scenarios you might not have considered.
• Write code — produce code based on the state machine.
• Support rapid prototyping and iteration — you can "rapidly prototype or gather requirements without worrying about technical details," then simulate the design to test and iterate.

A concrete example: you describe a checkout flow, AI scaffolds the states and transitions, you simulate it in the visual editor, and you adjust the edge cases it flagged before generating a React app from the diagram.

How AI connects to executable output

AI-generated work is not a dead end. The diagrams are executable and run on XState, an open-source library for orchestrating state in JavaScript and TypeScript apps. The site states there is no lock-in.

From a diagram you can:

• Generate a React app to jumpstart product development.
• Keep iterating visually with AI help, or dive into the code to extend the scaffolding.
• Generate tests automatically to keep coverage robust and up to date.
• Export generated code in JavaScript or TypeScript.
• Connect with GitHub to sync Stately with your codebase.

AI also works alongside non-XState code: Stately can automatically visualize Redux, Zustand, and other code, so you get the visual and AI benefits even without XState. An IDE extension brings Stately into VS Code.

What to check before relying on AI features

The site describes these capabilities at a product level, not with per-feature limits. Before committing:

• Confirm current availability and plan access on the Pricing page, since AI features may differ by tier.
• Verify the AI-to-code path for your framework — the site names React, Vue, Svelte, and other integrations, but test the one you use.
• Plan a human review step, which the site itself frames as part of the workflow: humans audit and enhance AI output.

If your goal is faster prototyping with a visual, reviewable source of truth, the AI features are aimed at exactly that. If you need fully autonomous code generation with no review, that is not how Stately presents the tool.

Stately.ai and XState are closely connected but not the same thing. Stately.ai is a visual platform for designing, simulating, and generating logic as diagrams and code. XState is the open-source JavaScript/TypeScript library that Stately uses as its runtime for executing those diagrams. You can use Stately without XState in some cases, and you can use XState without Stately — there is no lock-in.

The core relationship

Stately describes XState as "a best-in-class open source library for orchestrating and managing state in JavaScript and TypeScript apps." When you build an executable diagram in Stately, XState is what runs it. This means:

• Stately = the visual layer. Drag-and-drop editor, simulation, AI-assisted generation, documentation, test generation, and code export.
• XState = the execution layer. The library that interprets state machines, statecharts, and the actor model at runtime.

The two are designed to work bidirectionally: changes in code update the visualization, and changes in the visualization update the code.

Do you have to use XState with Stately?

No. Stately explicitly states "No lock-in." Two paths exist:

So XState is the default runtime for executable diagrams, but Stately can still add value to codebases that use other state management libraries.

Where XState runs

Because XState is a JavaScript/TypeScript library, it runs anywhere JavaScript runs — frontend, backend, or elsewhere. Stately lists integrations for React, Vue, Svelte, and other frameworks. XState uses event-driven programming, state machines, statecharts, and the actor model to handle complex logic in predictable, robust, and visual ways.

Practical implications

• If you adopt Stately for new projects: you'll typically be writing XState machines, whether or not you touch the code directly. Stately can generate React apps from diagrams and export JavaScript or TypeScript.
• If you already use Redux or Zustand: you can visualize that code in Stately without migrating to XState.
• If you want to leave: since XState is open source and there's no lock-in, the generated code and the library remain usable independently of Stately.
• Tooling: an IDE extension brings Stately into VS Code, and you can connect GitHub to sync Stately with your codebase.

In short: XState is the engine Stately uses to make diagrams executable, but Stately is broader than XState — it also visualizes other libraries and supports design, simulation, and documentation workflows that don't require XState at all.

Stately.ai is a visual platform for designing, simulating, and shipping application logic using state machines and statecharts. You use it if you want to turn flows—frontend user journeys or backend workflows—into diagrams that are also executable code, rather than static pictures that drift out of date. It fits teams working in JavaScript or TypeScript, especially those already using or willing to use XState.

What it actually does

The core idea is an executable diagram: the same artifact serves as design, documentation, and running logic.

• Visual editor — a drag-and-drop canvas for building state machines and statecharts. No code required to create flows, so non-engineers can contribute.
• Simulation — run the design to test and iterate before committing to implementation.
• Code generation — export generated code in JavaScript or TypeScript, including auto-generated React apps and tests.
• Bidirectional updates — changes in code reflect in the visualization and vice versa, so you can work in whichever mode suits you.
• AI assistance — generate flows, suggest variants, surface edge cases, and write code at each phase.

The XState connection

Diagrams run on XState, an open-source library for orchestrating state in JavaScript and TypeScript apps. This is the mechanism that makes the diagrams executable rather than decorative.

Practical consequences:

• No lock-in — XState is open source and usable independently of Stately.
• Runs anywhere JavaScript runs — frontend, backend, or elsewhere.
• Framework integrations — React, Vue, Svelte, and others.
• Works without XState too — you can automatically visualize Redux, Zustand, and other code to get the diagram benefits in an existing codebase.

Who it's for

Getting started

1. Open the visual editor on stately.ai and build a flow, or start from a community diagram for inspiration.
2. Simulate the design to test behavior and iterate.
3. Generate code (JavaScript or TypeScript) or a React app prototype.
4. Connect GitHub to sync Stately with your codebase, or use the VS Code extension to bring Stately into your editor.
5. Inspect running apps with Stately Inspector to compare actual behavior against the design.

Pricing details are listed on the site's pricing page; check there for current plans and limits.

Stately.ai turns a diagram into running code by treating the diagram as the source of truth and executing it with XState, an open-source JavaScript and TypeScript library for state management. You draw the logic in a visual editor, and Stately exports it as JavaScript or TypeScript, generates a React app from it, or syncs it with your codebase through GitHub. This works best when your logic is event-driven — user flows, backend workflows, or any behavior you can describe as states and transitions.

The core mechanism: diagrams that run

The visual editor is not just a drawing tool. Each diagram is a state machine or statechart, and XState is what makes it executable. XState uses event-driven programming, state machines, statecharts, and the actor model to handle complex logic in predictable, visual ways.

That means the same artifact serves two purposes:

• For people: a drag-and-drop diagram that contributors of any background can read and edit.
• For machines: code that runs on the frontend, the backend, or anywhere JavaScript runs.

Because the diagram is executable, you can simulate a design to test and iterate before committing to an implementation.

From diagram to code: what you can generate

Stately generates several outputs from the same diagram:

The React app generation is meant to jumpstart product development. From there you can keep iterating visually, or dive straight into the code and extend the scaffolding yourself.

Bidirectional updates: code and diagram stay in sync

You are not locked into drawing first. Updates flow both ways between code and visualization, so you can work in whichever direction is more productive.

• Change the diagram, and the code reflects it.
• Change the code, and the visualization reflects it.
• Connect with GitHub to sync Stately with your codebase.

You can also visualize existing code that was not written in XState. Stately automatically visualizes Redux, Zustand, and other code, so you get the benefits of the visual editor even in a codebase that does not use XState. An IDE extension brings the same power into VS Code.

Where it fits in a real stack

Because XState runs wherever JavaScript runs, the same approach covers frontend user flows and backend workflows. Integrations are available for React, Vue, Svelte, and other frameworks, so the generated logic can slot into the framework you already use.

A practical example: you need to model a multi-step checkout — cart, address, payment, confirmation, plus retry and cancellation paths. You sketch those states and transitions in the editor, simulate the flow to catch edge cases, generate a React app to demo it to the team, then export TypeScript and sync it to GitHub. Later, a teammate edits the exported code; the diagram updates to match.

What to keep in mind

• No lock-in: the runtime is XState, an open-source library, so the generated logic is not tied to a proprietary engine.
• You can start without code: flows can be created with no code required, which is useful for gathering requirements or prototyping before technical details matter.
• AI assists at each phase: AI can scaffold behavior, suggest variants, surface edge cases, and write code, while humans use the visual editor to audit and enhance the work.
• Inspection: Stately Inspector lets you inspect running apps, which helps confirm the deployed behavior matches the diagram.

If your logic is naturally described as states, events, and transitions, this workflow removes the usual gap between the design and the implementation. If your logic is mostly stateless data transformation, a state machine tool adds little.