Cursor vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Two AI-first editor options for AI coding assistants. When each fits, what it costs, who moves from one to the other, and what makers who chose it say.
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)AI-first editorllms.txtAcquired: Now part of Cognition, maker of Devin; windsurf.com redirects to devin.ai. source
Ask your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗
Which fits you
Choose Cursor if- You want to see and steer each change inside your editor
Use it whenYou like working in an editor and want to see and steer each change as it happens.
Trade-offHeavy agent use is billed through credits, so costs can grow beyond the base plan.
Choose Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) if- You want to see and steer each change inside your editor
Use it whenYou want an AI editor with a free tier and plan to hand some tasks to Devin cloud agents.
Trade-offRecently renamed from Windsurf to Devin Desktop and reshaped around Cognition's agents; paid plans run on quotas, with extra usage at API rates.
At a glance
| Cursor | Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) | |
|---|---|---|
| Used by | 538 makers' products | 43 makers' products |
| Cost at default usagedevelopers 1 seat | $20/mo Pro | $20/mo Pro |
| Downloads | ||
| Pricing | Free Hobby tier; paid Pro/Pro+/Ultra individual plans and per-seat Teams/Enterprise plans, usage billed via credits. · paid from $20/mo | Free tier with a light agent quota; Pro $20/month, Max $200/month; Teams $80/month plus $40 per developer seat; extra usage billed at API rates; custom Enterprise. · paid from $20/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | No |
| Incidents, 90 daysfrom its status page | 50+ (15 major) | 13 (9 major) |
What makers say
Makers on using it for AI coding assistants, from Product Hunt and Starter Story interviews, each linked to the source. Products with a page of their own and fuller notes first.
On CursorCursor was our main AI assisted IDE for coding. Writing complex backend logic became so much faster. It literally feels like having a senior developer building the product with you.
Fork of VSCode with an agentic coding focus. Especially easy to manage models and spin up multi-model results for a single query and have all the work trees handled automagically.
Cursor speeds up our coding. It’s like a better version of GitHub Copilot and lets us chat with our codebase, making it easier to navigate and understand. Cant go back without this.
On Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)Windsurf is amazing. It's our go to code editor and is amazing to use to help us build out new features and fix bugs in our application! Its especially amazing to use with Claude!
Windsurf has been a joy to use. It’s fast, clean, and optimized for modern AI workflows. It helped me iterate quickly and stay in flow during long development sessions.
Windsurf's agentic IDE capabilities were essential for managing complex refactors and deep logic changes. It acted as my co-pilot during the entire 1,800-hour journey.
Loved and watch-outs
Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises.
CursorMost loved
- Tab completion is fast and accurate, and stays useful when hand-editing code or when agents fall short on large tasks. PHHNHN 2PH 2
- Changes arrive as reviewable diffs in the editor, keeping the developer in control in bite-size steps. PHHNHN 2PH 2
- Chatting with the codebase in context helps developers navigate and understand unfamiliar code. PHPH 2PH 3PH 4
Watch-outs
On Product Hunt: 5.0★, 956 reviews · mentioned most: seamless integration, intelligent code suggestions, code generation · complaints: context aware, occasional crashesDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)Most loved
On Product Hunt: 4.7★, 68 reviews · mentioned most: developer productivity, AI autocomplete, agentic workflow · complaints: bugs, customer support- The Cascade agent iterates on its own suggestions and applies changes without constant manual approval. PHPH 2PH 3
- Context handling is strong: it tracks recent edits and pulls the right files, helping across large codebases. PHPH 2PH 3
- The editor feels fast, lightweight and clean, keeping developers in flow during long sessions. PHPH 2
Who uses each
Cursor538 makers' products
AdCreative.ai
ai_licia
Amurex
APIRadarDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)43 makers' products
FinyuusUsed by both — often one replacing the other, or each for a different part of the product
Snaply
UTCPWhat makers pair each with
With CursorHosting
Cursor + Amazon Web Services:
Agentplace.io
AI Context FlowAstrio
Beatoven.ai
Blink.new
Bond
BooleanMaths Pulse
ChronicleClusy
ComputerX
Databox
Edgeeand 34 more
Agentplace.ioAI Context FlowAstrioBeatoven.aiBlink.newBondBooleanMaths PulseChronicleClusyComputerXDataboxEdgeeand 34 more
Chat Data
Documentation.AI
Flexprice
IFTTT
Integral
Klariqo AI Voice Assistants
Mailercloud
Glims (Beta)
Jinna.ai
NeedleTransactional Email
Cursor + Resend:
Airbook AI
AraAsteroid
Atomic Bot
Basedash
BentofyBlink.newBrief My Meeting
CardboardClaio.ai
Clarm
Conduitand 63 more
Airbook AIAraAsteroidAtomic BotBasedashBentofyBlink.newBrief My MeetingCardboardClaio.aiClarmConduitand 63 more
Boxo
Breyta.ai
BetterBugs.io
FimoLLM API
Cursor + OpenAI API:Agentplace.ioAI Context Flow
AirtopAndsendArtMathCode
Assembly
BasaltBasedashBlink.newBooleanMaths Pulsecanitbebuilt
Centraland 77 more
Agentplace.ioAI Context FlowAirtopAndsendArtMathCodeAssemblyBasaltBasedashBlink.newBooleanMaths PulsecanitbebuiltCentraland 77 more
dr.aft
FunBlocks MindMax
giselle
Hyring
Melies
MindPal
Askiva AI
Geocities.live
Kanbanq
kuku
Migma AI
Backed AI
devlogs.gg
Katalog
Kick
Querri
papermark
QualGent
STORI
Langfuse
NovuWith Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)Frontend Framework
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + Next.js:
PingPromptRaycast
UXAudit.NowYourAIScroll
Deepgram
Dodo Payments
Product Hunt
Tinybird
PingPromptRaycastUXAudit.NowYourAIScrollDeepgramDodo PaymentsProduct HuntTinybirdDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + Astro:
Aritect
ImbueUXAudit.NowDodo Payments
AritectImbueUXAudit.NowDodo PaymentsDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + React:AritectDodo Payments
AritectDodo PaymentsDatabase
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + Supabase:
CreatorCube AIPingPromptSnapstickUXAudit.NowAstrolidDodo Payments
CreatorCube AIPingPromptSnapstickUXAudit.NowAstrolidDodo PaymentsDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + Firebase:
KnockKnock!Product Hunt
KnockKnock!Product HuntDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + MongoDB:
Loki.BuildViso Now
Loki.BuildViso NowLLM API
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + OpenAI API:CreatorCube AIModelPilot
CuaDeepgramDodo PaymentsProduct Hunt
CreatorCube AIModelPilotCuaDeepgramDodo PaymentsProduct HuntDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + Claude:UXAudit.NowDeepgramTinybird
UXAudit.NowDeepgramTinybirdDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + LiteLLM:PingPrompt
Me.bot
PingPromptMe.botTransactional Email
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + Resend:AritectPingPromptRaycastDodo Payments
AritectPingPromptRaycastDodo PaymentsDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) + SendGrid:
Atlas
Perfai SecurityRaycastDeepgram
AtlasPerfai SecurityRaycastDeepgramNeither quite right?
See the whole AI coding assistants decision →
Claude CodeTerminal agentHanding off multi-step tasks — features, refactors, bug hunts — to an agent that reads the repo, edits files and runs commands.vs Cursor →vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) →
OpenAI CodexTerminal agentDelegating tasks to an agent in the terminal, IDE or desktop app, or to cloud tasks that run in the background and open pull requests.vs Cursor →vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) →
OpenCodeTerminal agentAn open-source coding agent that works with almost any model provider, local models, or an existing Copilot or ChatGPT subscription.vs Cursor →
GitHub CopilotEditor pluginAdding AI completions, chat and agents to the editor you already use, including VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, plus pull request reviews on GitHub.vs Cursor →vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) →