Windsurf (Devin Desktop) vs Cursor

The verdict — based on published data

Two standalone AI editors with opposite free-plan philosophies. Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) gives away unlimited Tab completions and inline edits at $0, with a lightweight — and unpublished — agent allowance. Cursor limits Agent and Chat requests on its free plan, also unpublished. The first paid step differs sharply: Cursor's Plus is $8/month but limited to Grok models, while Windsurf's Pro is $20/month. And one housekeeping fact before anything else: Windsurf and Devin Desktop are the same product — Cognition renamed it on June 2, 2026.

Who should pick which

If you…	Pick	Why
Completions are your main use	Windsurf (Devin Desktop)	It is the only free plan in this comparison set with unlimited Tab completions and inline edits.
You want the lowest entry price	Cursor	Plus is $8/month — with the caveat that it includes Grok models only. Fuller model access starts at Premium ($30/month), above Windsurf's $20 Pro.
You work in JetBrains IDEs	Windsurf (Devin Desktop)	It offers plugins for JetBrains and other IDEs alongside its editor; Cursor is its own editor only.
You are reading older Windsurf reviews	Either — but recheck the data	Anything written before June 2026 uses the old name, and pricing on both sides has changed since. The figures on this page were read from the official pricing pages on October 22, 2026.

Side by side

	Windsurf (Devin Desktop)	Cursor
Free tier	Yes — unlimited completions + a lightweight agent allowance	Yes — limited Agent/Chat requests (limits not published)
Entry paid plan	$20/mo (Pro)	$8/mo (Plus, Grok models only)
Form	Standalone editor, IDE plugins, CLI	Standalone editor, CLI, cloud agents
Platforms	Desktop editor · JetBrains and other IDE plugins · Devin CLI	Windows · macOS · Linux · Cursor CLI · Cloud agents
Hands-on test	Hands-on test: scheduled	Hands-on test: scheduled

Pricing compared

Windsurf (Devin Desktop) pricing

Free	$0
Pro	$20/mo
Max	$200/mo
Teams	$80/mo base + $40/full seat/mo

Free: Unlimited Tab completions and inline edits; lightweight agent allowance

Cursor pricing

Free	$0
Plus	$8/mo
Premium	$30/mo
Super	$100/mo
Ultra	$200/mo
Teams	from $30/seat/mo

Free: Limited Agent and Chat requests; exact limits not published
Plus: New-user plan from Oct 12, 2026 — Grok models only

Prices read from the official pricing pages on October 22, 2026 — see each tool's profile for sources. This category reprices often; check before buying.

Free tiers compared

Windsurf (Devin Desktop) — Free

Unlimited Tab completions and inline edits
A lightweight agent allowance on limited models — the vendor does not publish the exact quota
Paid plans do not offer a free trial, so the free plan is the way to evaluate the product

Cursor — Free

A limited number of Agent requests and Chat requests — the vendor does not publish the exact limits
The full editor and its agent features, on the free plan

Head-to-head test results

Benchmark scores: pending. Both tools are in the queue for our frozen-repo benchmark (same tasks, default settings, free tier, scored by unit tests — see How We Test). Until those runs are complete, everything on this page is based on published vendor data only, and no hands-on score is shown for either tool.

How we test →

First, the rename: Windsurf is Devin Desktop

Cognition renamed the Windsurf editor to Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026, and windsurf.com now redirects to devin.ai. Search interest in “Windsurf” has not caught up, which is why this page carries both names. Nothing about the product line was discontinued in the rename: the editor, the plugins and the plans continue under the new brand.

Free tiers: unlimited completions vs limited requests

Windsurf's Free plan makes completions and inline edits unlimited and adds a lightweight agent allowance on limited models (quota unpublished). Cursor's Free plan includes a limited number of Agent and Chat requests (limits unpublished). So on free plans, Windsurf's generosity is in completions and Cursor's is in agent access — and in both cases the agent budget is a number the vendor keeps to itself.

Entry pricing: $8 with a catch vs $20 flat

Cursor's Plus tier ($8/month) is the cheapest entry among standalone AI editors, but it is limited to Grok models; Premium ($30/month) is the first unrestricted step. Windsurf's Pro is $20/month. Which is “cheaper” depends on whether the Grok-only tier meets your needs — a model restriction is part of the price.

Reach: editor-only vs editor plus plugins

Cursor is its editor (Windows, macOS, Linux) plus a CLI and cloud agents. Windsurf/Devin Desktop is an editor plus plugins for JetBrains and other IDEs, plus the Devin CLI. Teams that will not leave JetBrains have exactly one option in this pair.

Frequently asked questions

Is Windsurf the same as Devin Desktop?

Yes. Cognition renamed the Windsurf editor to Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026. The product, plans and plugins continue under the new name, and the old Windsurf pricing page redirects to devin.ai.

Is Windsurf or Cursor cheaper?

Cursor's entry tier is cheaper on paper — Plus at $8/month — but it is limited to Grok models. Windsurf's Pro is $20/month, and Cursor's first unrestricted tier (Premium) is $30/month. On free plans, Windsurf includes unlimited completions; Cursor includes limited Agent and Chat requests with unpublished limits.

Which has the better free plan?

On published data they favor different uses: Windsurf (Devin Desktop) gives unlimited Tab completions and inline edits plus a lightweight agent allowance, while Cursor gives limited Agent and Chat requests. Neither publishes its free agent quota, so a hands-on benchmark — currently scheduled for both — is the only way to compare the agent budgets directly.

Do either of them work in JetBrains IDEs?

Windsurf (Devin Desktop) offers plugins for JetBrains and other IDEs in addition to its standalone editor. Cursor is a standalone editor and does not plug into JetBrains IDEs.