One-line verdict: Cursor and Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) cost the same at the Pro tier — $20/month. The choice is still about philosophy, though the specifics shifted with the rebrand: Cursor gives you control (diff-by-diff approval, up to 8 parallel Background Agents, MCP marketplace) while Devin Desktop gives you autonomy plus multi-agent flexibility (Devin Local executes tasks end-to-end with minimal checkpoints, an Agent Command Center for managing multiple agents, and open Agent Client Protocol support for running Codex, Claude Agent, or Gemini CLI inside the same editor). If you trust AI to work independently and want to run multiple agent types in one place, Devin Desktop is the newer, broader bet. If you want to review every change before it lands, Cursor remains the safer choice.
What Actually Happened: The Rebrand in Brief
Cognition AI acquired Codeium (Windsurf's parent company) for roughly $250M in December 2025 and spent the following months integrating the two product lines. On June 2, 2026, it shipped the rebrand as a standard over-the-air update — no reinstall, no migration wizard. Existing accounts, plans, extensions, settings, and keybindings all carried over automatically.
| What | Before (Windsurf) | After (Devin Desktop, June 2, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Product name | Windsurf | Devin Desktop |
| Local agent | Cascade (end-of-life July 1, 2026) | Devin Local (Rust rewrite, ~30% more token-efficient, native subagents) |
| Default view on launch | Code editor canvas | Agent Command Center (Kanban-style agent manager); classic editor one click away |
| Third-party agent support | None | Open Agent Client Protocol (ACP) — runs Codex, Claude Agent, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Junie natively |
| Proprietary model | SWE-1 / SWE-1.5 / SWE-1-mini | SWE-1.6 (successor, still zero-quota) |
| JetBrains plugin | Windsurf plugin | Still called "Windsurf" — explicitly not rebranded |
| Domain | windsurf.com | Redirects to devin.ai; old links still resolve |
| Pricing | Free / $20 Pro / $200 Max (new) | Unchanged — held flat through the rebrand |
If you manage a team fleet: verify your device-management allowlist includes "Devin," not just "Windsurf" — some organizations saw endpoint management tools flag the app when it phoned home under its new identity. If you have CI pipelines or automation scripts that explicitly invoke Cascade, those broke silently after July 1 unless repointed to Devin Local.
Cursor vs Devin Desktop: Side-by-Side Specs
| Category | Cursor | Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) |
|---|---|---|
| Type | AI IDE (VS Code fork) | AI IDE (VS Code fork), now positioned as multi-agent host |
| Pro price | $20/month | $20/month (unchanged through rebrand) |
| Free tier | Hobby — limited Tab + Agent | Free — unlimited Tab + light daily quota |
| Agent engine | Composer (diff-by-diff approval) | Devin Local (Rust rewrite, successor to Cascade, ~30% more token-efficient, native subagents) |
| Agent philosophy | Controlled — approves each file change | Autonomous — executes then shows result, now with a Kanban-style Agent Command Center for multi-agent oversight |
| Third-party agent support | ❌ Cursor's own agents only | ✅ Open ACP — run Codex, Claude Agent, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Junie inside the same editor |
| Proprietary models | Cursor Tab model (autocomplete), Composer 2.5 | SWE-1.6 (0 quota cost, successor to SWE-1.5) |
| Third-party model access | GPT-5.6, Claude Sonnet 5/Opus 4.8, Gemini | GPT-5.6, Claude Sonnet 5/Opus 4.8, Gemini |
| Parallel agents | Up to 8 Background Agents (git worktrees) | Devin Local native subagents + cloud Devin handoff from the same command center |
| Codebase indexing | Full semantic indexing, @codebase, @file, @docs | Fast Context — automatic RAG retrieval (unchanged from Windsurf era) |
| Multi-IDE support | Own editor only (VS Code fork) | Own IDE + 40+ native plugins for other IDEs (JetBrains plugin keeps "Windsurf" name) |
| On-premise / VPC | ❌ SaaS only | ✅ Enterprise VPC + on-prem deployment (unchanged) |
| Compliance | SOC 2 | SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP (unchanged) |
| Parent company | Anysphere — acquired by SpaceX/xAI (SpaceXAI); deal officially closed August 14, 2026 | Cognition AI (maker of Devin) |
Pricing: Still Identical at Pro, But the Ceiling Moved
| Plan | Cursor | Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Hobby — limited Tab + Agent, no credit card needed | Free — unlimited Tab, light daily agent quota |
| Individual Pro | $20/month — $20 credit pool, unlimited Tab/Auto | $20/month — quota-based, all frontier models |
| Power user | Pro+ $60/month (3× credits) · Ultra $200/month (20×) | Max $200/month (new tier added post-rebrand; heavy all-day agent use) |
| Team | Teams $40/user/month — SSO, analytics, RBAC | Teams $80/month + $40/seat — SSO, admin, centralized billing |
The billing model itself is unchanged: Cursor Pro uses a flat $20 credit pool that Auto mode rarely drains for typical use. Devin Desktop kept the quota-based system it switched to in March 2026 (daily/weekly refresh, no front-loading into a single sprint). SWE-1.6 still consumes zero quota, same as its predecessors.
The Core Philosophical Difference: Devin Local vs Composer (Formerly Cascade vs Composer)
The underlying philosophy carried over from Cascade to Devin Local — Cognition rewrote the execution engine, not the approach. Both tools still handle multi-file editing and frontier models; the fundamental difference remains who stays in control during execution.
Devin Local: "Do It, Then Show Me" — Now With Subagents
Devin Local inherits Cascade's autonomy-first design and adds native subagent support: one local session can spawn helper agents for parallel subtasks, something Cascade never had natively. When you give it a task like "refactor all API calls to use the new SDK," it:
- Reads relevant files and maps the codebase with Fast Context
- Plans the full sequence of changes, optionally delegating pieces to subagents
- Executes: edits files, runs terminal commands, verifies output, self-corrects on failure
- Asks for confirmation only on genuinely ambiguous decisions
Cognition states Devin Local is up to 30% more token-efficient than Cascade on comparable tasks — treat this as vendor-stated until independent benchmarks land, similar to how Cursor's own Composer 2.5 efficiency claims should be weighed against third-party testing.
Cursor Composer: "Show Me Every Step"
Composer's diff-by-diff philosophy is unchanged. When you describe a task, Cursor creates a plan, edits files one-by-one presenting a diff for each before proceeding, and waits for your approval at every stage. For a 15-file refactor, Composer still requires roughly 15 approval steps versus Devin Local's typical 3 — the same gap that existed under the Cascade name.
The New Wrinkle: Agent Client Protocol
The most consequential addition from the rebrand isn't Devin Local itself — it's ACP support. Devin Desktop now ships with the open Agent Client Protocol (Apache 2.0), letting you run Codex, Claude Agent, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, or Junie as first-class agents inside the same editor, rather than being locked to Cognition's own agent. Cursor has no equivalent — its Background Agents and Composer remain Cursor-proprietary. If you want to run multiple different vendors' agents from one interface, Devin Desktop is currently the only one of these two offering that.
Multi-IDE Support: The JetBrains Plugin Split
This is now more nuanced than it was under the Windsurf name. Cognition explicitly did not rebrand the JetBrains plugin — it's still called "Windsurf" if you install it inside IntelliJ, PyCharm, or WebStorm. The full Devin Desktop experience (Agent Command Center, Devin Local, ACP) lives only in the standalone editor, which remains a VS Code fork like Cursor. If your workflow spans JetBrains and VS Code-based tools, the Windsurf-branded plugin is your bridge; Cursor still has no JetBrains presence at all. See our JetBrains alternatives guide for the current state of that plugin specifically.
Enterprise and Security
Unchanged through the rebrand — Devin Desktop retains the compliance posture Windsurf built:
| Feature | Cursor | Devin Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type 2 | ✅ | ✅ |
| HIPAA compliance | ❌ | ✅ |
| FedRAMP | ❌ | ✅ |
| VPC / on-premise deployment | ❌ (SaaS only) | ✅ Enterprise |
For fully self-hosted alternatives outside either of these, Tabby runs entirely on your own infrastructure at $0 cost.
Who Should Choose Cursor
- You want explicit, diff-by-diff review of every AI-generated change before it applies
- You're working on production systems where catching edge cases before merge is critical
- You use MCP integrations: Datadog, Stripe, Figma, or AWS via Cursor Marketplace
- You want the most refined autocomplete in the category
- You're VS Code-exclusive and don't need other IDE support
- You're comfortable with Cursor's new ownership — SpaceX (via SpaceXAI) closed its acquisition of parent company Anysphere on August 14, 2026; product, pricing, and models are unchanged as of this writing
Who Should Choose Devin Desktop
- You want maximum agent autonomy — describe the task, come back when it's done
- You want to run multiple agent vendors (Codex, Claude Agent, Gemini CLI) inside one editor via ACP
- You use JetBrains alongside your main editor (the plugin keeps the Windsurf name and branding)
- Your organization needs HIPAA, FedRAMP, or on-premise deployment
- You want 0-quota proprietary models (SWE-1.6) for routine tasks
- You frequently refactor large codebases at scale with parallel subagent support
FAQ
Is Windsurf shutting down?
No. It's a rebrand, not a shutdown. Windsurf became Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026, under continued ownership by Cognition AI. Accounts, plans, extensions, and settings all carried over automatically via an over-the-air update. The only functional casualty is Cascade, which reached end-of-life on July 1, 2026 and was replaced by Devin Local.
What happened to Cascade?
Cascade, Windsurf's signature local agent, reached end-of-life on July 1, 2026. It's replaced by Devin Local, a ground-up Rust rewrite that Cognition claims is up to 30% more token-efficient, with native subagent support for parallel work. Any automation or CI script that explicitly invoked Cascade needs to be repointed to Devin Local.
Does my Windsurf pricing change under the Devin Desktop name?
No. Cognition explicitly held pricing flat through the rebrand: Free, Pro ($20/month), the new Max tier ($200/month), Teams ($80/month + $40/seat), and custom Enterprise.
Does the JetBrains plugin still work the same way?
Yes — and it kept the "Windsurf" name specifically. Cognition did not rebrand the JetBrains plugin form, so if you're using AI coding assistance inside IntelliJ, PyCharm, or WebStorm via this route, nothing changed for you. The Devin Desktop rebrand (Agent Command Center, Devin Local, ACP) applies only to the standalone VS Code-fork editor.
What is the Agent Client Protocol (ACP) and why does it matter?
ACP is an open standard (Apache 2.0) that lets third-party AI agents — Codex, Claude Agent, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Junie — run as first-class agents inside Devin Desktop, rather than being locked to Cognition's own agent. It's the strategic core of the rebrand: Cognition is positioning Devin Desktop as a multi-agent host rather than an editor with one built-in agent. Cursor has no equivalent open protocol for running competing agents inside it.
Is Cursor also changing ownership?
Yes — and this has now happened. SpaceX (merged with xAI earlier in 2026, operating together as SpaceXAI) announced on June 16, 2026 that it would acquire Cursor's parent company Anysphere for $60 billion in an all-stock deal. The deal officially closed on August 14, 2026. As of this writing, Cursor's product, pricing, and available models (Claude, GPT, Composer) are unchanged — no rebrand or model-exclusivity change has been announced. See our three-way Devin Desktop vs Cursor vs Claude Code comparison for the fuller picture on what the closed acquisition does and doesn't mean for users.
Which tool is better for large production codebases?
Cursor Composer remains the safer default for most teams — the diff-by-diff approval workflow catches AI-generated errors before they touch main. Devin Local's subagent capability is powerful for scale, but the underlying philosophy (fewer approval checkpoints) is the same tradeoff Cascade always represented: faster, but with less step-by-step visibility.
Final Verdict
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Price (Pro tier) | Tie — both $20/month |
| Agent autonomy | 🏆 Devin Desktop (Devin Local executes with minimal checkpoints) |
| Agent control and transparency | 🏆 Cursor (diff-by-diff approval) |
| Multi-vendor agent support | 🏆 Devin Desktop (ACP: Codex, Claude Agent, Gemini CLI, OpenCode) |
| Multi-IDE support | 🏆 Devin Desktop (JetBrains plugin retains Windsurf branding) |
| Enterprise compliance | 🏆 Devin Desktop (HIPAA, FedRAMP, on-prem) |
| 0-cost proprietary models | 🏆 Devin Desktop (SWE-1.6 consumes zero quota) |
| Ownership | Both under new-ish ownership — Cursor now part of SpaceXAI (closed Aug 14, 2026); Devin Desktop under Cognition since the Windsurf acquisition |
Choose Cursor if you prioritize transparency and control over every AI-generated change and use MCP integrations for external services.
Choose Devin Desktop if you prefer autonomous execution, want to run multiple agent vendors through ACP, use JetBrains alongside your main editor, or need HIPAA/FedRAMP compliance.
→ Browse all 89 Copilot alternatives filtered by price, IDE support, agent capability, and deployment type. See our three-way comparison with Claude Code for the fullest current picture across all three tools.