# Cursor vs Windsurf (now Devin Desktop): license, pricing and features compared (October 2026)

Canonical: https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cursor-vs-windsurf · Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Published: 2026-10-25 · Author: Agentic Weekly (operated independently from Texas, US) · Evidence: Evidence: Reported for both tools. The facts in the tables were read from each vendor's own pages and the public GitHub API on 2026-10-25 (America/Chicago). The What we measured section says what we have not run yet; anything we could not confirm is marked as not captured.

**Our pick:** Pick Cursor for teams that want cloud agents with shared, scriptable environments; pick Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) for developers already using Windsurf who want the same editor under the Devin brand. No overall winner: we have not benchmarked them against each other. **Updated:** 2026-10-26 (America/Chicago).

> Cursor and Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) are both listed under AI coding agents. Pricing model: Cursor is "Free tier + paid plans (per its pricing note)"; Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) is "Freemium". Cursor is the better fit for: teams that want cloud agents with shared, scriptable environments. Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) is the better fit for: developers already using Windsurf who want the same editor under the Devin brand. Facts were read from vendor and GitHub pages on Oct 25, 2026 and are Reported; what we ran ourselves is under What we measured.

## What we measured

We have not run either Cursor or Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) ourselves yet, so nothing on this page is Tested; it is Reported from vendor and GitHub pages. Below is what we will run, so the comparison can rest on our own results.

Table: Our own tests for Cursor and Windsurf (now Devin Desktop)

| Test | Cursor | Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) |
|---|---|---|
| Hands-on test log (install and a real task) | Not tested yet. What we will run: the same failing-unit-test fix in a fresh repository, scored by whether the tests pass, with wall time and tool calls. | Not tested yet. What we will run: the same failing-unit-test fix in a fresh repository, scored by whether the tests pass, with wall time and tool calls. |

How we test and label results: [methodology](https://theagenticweekly.com/methodology#testing-rig). All test logs: [test hub](https://theagenticweekly.com/tests).

## Cursor vs Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) at a glance

Cursor and Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) are both listed under AI coding agents. Agentic Weekly's Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) page names Cursor as an alternative. Cursor: Worth a look if you run agents on several repos or want one place for editor, cloud agents and Git hosting; the October changes are mostly for teams. Windsurf (now Devin Desktop): Windsurf was renamed Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026: a full IDE with an Agent Command Center for managing local and cloud coding agents.

Table: Cursor and Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) side by side (vendor pages and GitHub, 2026-10-25)

|  | Cursor | Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Anysphere | Cognition (Devin) |
| Listed under | AI coding agents, Vibe coding | AI coding agents, Vibe coding |
| License | Proprietary hosted product | Proprietary (no open-source license stated) |
| Pricing model | Free tier + paid plans (per its pricing note) | Freemium |
| Free tier | Appears in the plan list in the Paid plans row | Free: $0, light agent quota, limited models, unlimited inline edits and Tab completions |
| Paid plans | Cursor's pricing page (fetched Oct 25, 2026) lists Free $0, Plus $8/month (Grok models only, shared usage pool), Premium $30/month (4x Plus usage, cloud agents and automations, code hosting and AI code reviews), Super $100/month (15x Plus), Ultra $200/month (50x Plus), Teams from $30 per user per month, and custom Enterprise pricing. Third-party model usage is billed separately by usage. | Pro $20/month, Max $200/month, Teams $80/month plus $40/month per full dev seat, Enterprise custom |
| Platforms | Not captured on the pages we read | macOS, Windows and Linux (FAQ lists Devin.app, Devin.exe and a Linux binary); download page we read offered macOS |
| Latest release we saw | Not captured on the pages we read | Jun 2, 2026 |
| Evidence | Reported from vendor pages | Reported from vendor pages |

## How Cursor and Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) differ

- Pricing model: Cursor is "Free tier + paid plans (per its pricing note)"; Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) is "Freemium".
- Plans and prices differ and are not like-for-like (credits, seats and usage limits vary), so we do not name a cheaper tool. The Paid plans row above quotes each vendor's plan list as read on Oct 25, 2026.

Neither tool publishes open-source code under a standard license, so you are choosing between hosted products.

## Which should you pick?

- Pick Cursor if: teams that want cloud agents with shared, scriptable environments; developers who like an editor-first workflow with an agent built in. Skip it if: you work only in a terminal and want a lightweight open-source agent.
- Pick Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) if: developers already using Windsurf who want the same editor under the Devin brand; people who want one place to manage local and cloud coding agents. Skip it if: you want a fully open-source editor (it is proprietary; see Zed or Kilo).

## Strengths and limits

Table: Strengths and limits as listed on each tool page

|  | Cursor | Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) |
|---|---|---|
| Strengths | Frequent, dated changelog entries; Cloud agents, CLI and Git hosting from one vendor; Environments API lets teams automate agent setups | Free tier with unlimited Tab completions and inline edits; Plans carried over from Windsurf without price changes, per the vendor FAQ; Cloud agent access included from Pro |
| Limits | Premium and above list third-party models billed separately at API list price, so total cost is hard to predict; The Environments API is beta; Origin marketplace and canvases are most useful to teams, less to solo users | The product was renamed in June 2026, so older guides and MDM allowlists that say Windsurf are out of date; Free-tier agent quota is described only as light; Max plan quota is described only as significantly higher, with no number |

## What we did not verify

- Cursor: Whether the 4x, 15x and 50x usage multipliers fit your workload (vendor figures, not tested).
- Windsurf (now Devin Desktop): Quota sizes per plan (vendor gives none).
- Output quality, speed and reliability beyond the smoke tests listed under What we measured: not compared.

## FAQ

### Is Cursor or Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) open source?

Cursor: Proprietary hosted product. Windsurf (now Devin Desktop): Proprietary (no open-source license stated). Licenses come from each project's GitHub repository or the vendor's own pages, read Oct 25, 2026; read the license text itself before redistributing or building a competing service.

### Does Cursor or Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) have a free plan?

Cursor: its plan list is quoted in the Paid plans row above. Windsurf (now Devin Desktop): Free: $0, light agent quota, limited models, unlimited inline edits and Tab completions. Checked Oct 25, 2026; prices and limits change, so confirm on each vendor's page.

### What is the main difference between Cursor and Windsurf (now Devin Desktop)?

Pricing model: Cursor is "Free tier + paid plans (per its pricing note)"; Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) is "Freemium". Plans and prices differ and are not like-for-like (credits, seats and usage limits vary), so we do not name a cheaper tool. The Paid plans row above quotes each vendor's plan list as read on Oct 25, 2026.

## Sources

- [Cursor changelog](https://cursor.com/changelog) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Cursor download page](https://cursor.com/download) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Cursor docs](https://cursor.com/docs) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Cursor pricing](https://cursor.com/pricing) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Windsurf is now Devin Desktop (Cognition blog, June 2, 2026)](https://devin.ai/blog/windsurf-is-now-devin-desktop) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Devin Desktop FAQ](https://docs.devin.ai/desktop/devin-desktop-faq) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Devin plans and pricing](https://devin.ai/pricing) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Devin Desktop](https://devin.ai/desktop) (fetched 2026-10-25)

## Related

- [Cursor facts and sources](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/cursor)
- [Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) facts and sources](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/windsurf)
- [Alternatives to Cursor](https://theagenticweekly.com/alternatives/cursor)
- [Alternatives to Windsurf (now Devin Desktop)](https://theagenticweekly.com/alternatives/windsurf)
- [AI coding agents: all tools we track](https://theagenticweekly.com/best/ai-coding-agents)
- [Cursor vs Kiro](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cursor-vs-kiro)
- [Cursor vs Zed](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cursor-vs-zed)
- [Cursor vs Aider](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cursor-vs-aider)
- [Cursor vs Augment Code](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cursor-vs-augment-code)
- [Cursor vs Warp](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cursor-vs-warp)
- [Cursor vs Devin](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cursor-vs-devin)

## Changelog

- 2026-10-25: First published. Facts read from vendor pages and the GitHub API on 2026-10-25.

## How to cite

Agentic Weekly, "Cursor vs Windsurf (now Devin Desktop): license, pricing and features compared (October 2026)", last updated 2026-10-26, https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cursor-vs-windsurf