For most of 2025, the Cursor vs Windsurf decision had a simple financial shortcut: Windsurf cost $15/month and Cursor cost $20. That shortcut is gone. In March 2026, Windsurf raised its Pro price to $20/month. Then, on June 2, 2026, Cognition — the company that acquired Windsurf in late 2025 — shipped an over-the-air update that rebranded the entire product as Devin Desktop.
The editor formerly called Windsurf now opens as Devin Desktop. The underlying VS Code fork is unchanged, but the agent engine, branding, and product direction are different. If you are comparing these two tools in June 2026, you are comparing Cursor against Devin Desktop — not a product called Windsurf.
What just happened to Windsurf
The acquisition and rebrand timeline matters for understanding where the product is heading:
- April 2025 — Codeium rebrands its AI IDE as Windsurf, positions directly against Cursor at $15/month
- July 2025 — Cognition AI (maker of Devin, the autonomous coding agent) acquires Windsurf for ~$250M after a deal with OpenAI fell through
- March 19, 2026 — Windsurf restructures pricing: credits replaced by daily/weekly quotas, Pro raised from $15 to $20/month, new $200 Max tier added
- April 15, 2026 — Windsurf 2.0 ships: Agent Command Center + native Devin integration inside the editor
- June 2, 2026 — Over-the-air update renames the product Devin Desktop. Cascade agent deprecated; end-of-life July 1, 2026
The product you download from windsurf.com now redirects to devin.ai. Plans, pricing, settings, extensions, and keybindings carried over automatically for existing users.
Pricing: now identical at $20/month
| Tier | Cursor | Devin Desktop (Windsurf) |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Hobby — limited Tab, 50 slow requests | Free — SWE-1.6 with daily quotas, unlimited Tab |
| Entry paid | Pro — $20/mo, $20 credit pool, unlimited Auto | Pro — $20/mo, daily/weekly quotas, SWE-1.6 + frontier models |
| Mid | Pro+ — $60/mo, 3× credit pool | — (no mid tier) |
| Power | Ultra — $200/mo, 20× credit pool | Max — $200/mo, higher quotas, cloud sessions |
| Teams | $40/user/mo | $40/user/mo |
| Annual discount | ~20% | ~20% |
The billing models differ even at the same headline price. Cursor uses a monthly credit pool: you can burn through it in one intense week, then coast on unlimited Auto mode for the rest. Devin Desktop uses daily and weekly quotas that refresh automatically, which prevents end-of-month droughts but also prevents heavy sprints. The March 2026 quota change triggered significant user backlash from developers who preferred the flexibility of the pool model.
The fundamental difference: where the AI lives
Both tools are VS Code forks with AI built in — but they have different philosophies about what that means.
Cursor is built around the developer staying in control. The inline editor, Composer, and Agent all work with the developer reviewing and approving changes. Background Agents can run async in cloud sandboxes, but the default workflow is collaborative: the AI suggests, the developer approves.
Devin Desktop is built around the agent doing more. The Agent Command Center — a Kanban-style view — is now the default surface. The idea is that developers manage multiple agents running in parallel, checking in rather than reviewing every diff. Devin Local (replacing Cascade) and Devin Cloud sessions both run inside the same view.
Neither philosophy is objectively better. Which one fits depends entirely on how you want to work.
IDE support: the clearest differentiator
This is where the decision often ends for many developers.
Cursor is a standalone application. You use Cursor, or you do not. There is no Cursor plugin for JetBrains, Neovim, or Xcode.
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) ships plugins for 40+ IDEs: VS Code, JetBrains (IntelliJ, WebStorm, PyCharm, GoLand), Neovim, Vim, Xcode, and more. The JetBrains plugin is explicitly not affected by the Devin Desktop rebrand and keeps its Windsurf name. For teams with mixed editor preferences — some on VS Code, some on IntelliJ — Devin Desktop provides a consistent AI layer across all of them.
If you use JetBrains or Neovim daily, this question answers itself: Devin Desktop.
Models: access and cost
Both tools support multiple LLM backends including Claude Sonnet, GPT-5, and Gemini on paid tiers. The key difference is what happens when you use the AI:
Cursor's Auto mode is unlimited and routes to a smart model selection that does not consume credits. Manually selecting Claude Sonnet or GPT-5 draws from your credit pool. Heavy Agent users on Pro can exhaust the $20 monthly pool in a long afternoon of refactoring. Pro+ at $60 triples the pool.
Devin Desktop's SWE-1.6 is Cognition's proprietary coding model, positioned as faster and cheaper per task than routing everything to a frontier model. SWE-1.6 access is included in the free tier without consuming quota on Tab completions. The bet is that SWE-1.6 handles 70%+ of routine coding tasks, leaving frontier model quota for complex problems.
For developers who primarily use Auto/SWE-1.6 mode, the effective cost of both tools is similar. For developers who default to Claude Sonnet or GPT-5 for every prompt, Cursor's credit pool model can be more expensive than it appears at $20/month.
Unique features
Cursor only:
- Supermaven Tab completions — widely regarded as the fastest and most accurate autocomplete in the market, with ~72% acceptance rate reported by users
- Background Agents — async agents running in cloud sandboxes on isolated Git branches, allowing parallel work without blocking the editor
- Largest community and extension ecosystem among AI IDEs in 2026
Devin Desktop (Windsurf) only:
- Codemaps — AI-annotated visual code navigation for large codebases and monorepos. No equivalent feature in Cursor or Claude Code as of June 2026
- Agent Command Center — Kanban view for managing multiple local and cloud agents in parallel
- Native Devin Cloud integration — long-running autonomous tasks can hand off to Devin Cloud without leaving the editor
- 40+ IDE plugins — consistent AI layer across JetBrains, Neovim, Xcode, and others
- Enterprise compliance — FedRAMP, HIPAA, ITAR certifications for regulated industries
Head-to-head: which one wins by scenario
| Scenario | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You use JetBrains or Neovim | Devin Desktop | Only option with native plugin support |
| You want the best inline autocomplete | Cursor | Supermaven Tab is faster and more accurate |
| You work on large monorepos | Devin Desktop | Codemaps is a genuine differentiator |
| You want to review every diff | Cursor | Approval-gated agent workflow |
| You want agents to run autonomously | Devin Desktop | Agent Command Center + Devin Cloud |
| Team in regulated industry (FedRAMP/HIPAA) | Devin Desktop | Enterprise compliance certifications |
| VS Code user, no compliance requirements | Cursor | Faster Tab, larger community, familiar feel |
| Predictable monthly costs, no bill surprises | Devin Desktop | Daily/weekly quota model caps spend |
| Burst usage (one big sprint per month) | Cursor | Credit pool lets you spend it all at once |
| Student with .edu email | Cursor | 1 year free via cursor.com/students |
The Cascade deprecation: what current Windsurf users need to do
If you are a current Windsurf user, one deadline requires action: Cascade is end-of-life on July 1, 2026. Any scripts, automations, or workflows that reference Cascade must be updated to use Devin Local before that date.
Devin Local is the replacement — a Rust-rewritten local agent with up to 30% better token efficiency and subagent support. It runs the same pricing model as Cascade (prompt-based credits continue unchanged). The migration for most users is automatic; only explicit Cascade references in automation need updating.
Enterprise users on MDM/endpoint management systems need to add "Devin" as an approved application name before the next device policy sync — organizations that approved "Windsurf" will need to update their allowlists.
Bottom line
At identical $20/month pricing, the Cursor vs Devin Desktop decision comes down to two questions. First: which IDE do you actually use? If you use JetBrains or Neovim, Devin Desktop. If you use VS Code and want to stay in a VS Code fork, both work — but Cursor's Tab completions and community are stronger. Second: how do you want to work with AI? If you want to review every change, Cursor. If you want agents running autonomously while you manage them from a dashboard, Devin Desktop.
For developers who are comfortable switching editors and have no compliance requirements, Cursor's marginal edge in autocomplete speed and the generous student program make it the default recommendation. For teams on JetBrains, monorepo codebases, or regulated industries, Devin Desktop is the clear choice.
Frequently asked questions
Is Windsurf still called Windsurf?
No. On June 2, 2026, Cognition shipped an over-the-air update that rebranded Windsurf as Devin Desktop. The VS Code fork is unchanged, but the name, branding, and default agent engine have changed. Existing plans and pricing carried over automatically.
Does Cursor work with JetBrains or Neovim?
No. Cursor is a standalone VS Code fork. If you use JetBrains or Neovim, Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) or GitHub Copilot are your practical options.
Which is better for large codebases?
Devin Desktop has an edge on very large codebases through Codemaps — AI-annotated visual code navigation that Cursor does not have. For most projects, both tools perform comparably.
What happened to Windsurf Cascade?
Cascade is end-of-life on July 1, 2026. It is replaced by Devin Local, a Rust-rewritten local agent with improved token efficiency and subagent support. Any automation referencing Cascade must be updated before that date.
Is Devin Desktop free?
Devin Desktop has a free tier with SWE-1.6 model access, daily quotas, and unlimited Tab completions. It is more generous than Cursor Hobby on model access, but quota limits apply to heavy agent use.