Cursor vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
The two leading standalone AI coding editors, and a pairing Windsurf named itself before its own June 2026 rebrand to Devin Desktop: its verdict calls itself the closest competitor to Cursor, and cheaper.
The difference that matters
Both are VS Code-derived editors with a whole-repo agent loop, priced identically at $20/mo for the entry paid tier. Windsurf was renamed Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026 after Cognition's acquisition, and its Cascade agent was retired July 1, 2026 in favor of Devin Local, a Rust rewrite; existing users kept their plans through the change. Cursor has the longer track record and the larger user base; Devin Desktop's Devin Local agent is the newer, actively-iterated challenger.
Side by side
| Cursor | Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Limited Agent requests, access to Composer, no credit card required | Unlimited Tab autocomplete plus a light Devin Local agentic usage quota (reported as roughly 25 Flow Actions/month or 2-3 days of active agentic coding, sources disagree on the exact mechanic), no premium model access |
| Entry paid plan | $20/mo | Pro, $20/month (raised from $15/month around March 2026, before the June 2026 Devin Desktop rebrand), unlocks premium/frontier models and a larger daily/weekly Devin Local quota than Free |
| Bills in | not stated | Daily and weekly usage quotas on Devin Local agent actions, not the older prompt-credit system; Tab autocomplete is unmetered on every tier |
Choose Cursor if
You want the more established agent loop with the widest track record, and are not looking to save on price since both now cost the same at entry.
Choose Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) if
You want to try the newer Devin Local agent loop, or you are already invested in Devin Desktop's daily/weekly usage-quota model over Cursor's request-based limits.
Our verdict
Cursor for the more proven agent loop. Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) if you specifically want to compare agent loops rather than price, since they no longer differ meaningfully on cost.
What to watch out for
Windsurf's pricing page (now devin.ai/desktop) could not be fetched directly during initial verification; its $20/mo entry price and 2026 shift to daily/weekly usage quotas rest on 5+ cross-corroborated third-party trackers, not a live vendor page. The June 2026 Devin Desktop rebrand and Cascade-to-Devin-Local agent swap were confirmed by a direct redirect check on 2026-08-19. Both tools also gate their higher usage tiers (Cursor's Pro+/Ultra, Devin Desktop's Teams/Max) very differently, so a single-plan price match does not mean equivalent usage room at heavier volume.
Compare against the rest
Both of these sit in the full Coding & Dev directory, which covers 7 tools.
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