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AI coding assistants · head to head

Cursor vs Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

Sebastiaan Smits Editor Sebastiaan Smits · Published October 20, 2026 · Updated October 20, 2026

Cursor is the better fit for teams that want the deeper agent toolkit and a longer list of enterprise controls, and it costs less per seat at list. Windsurf, which now sits under the name Devin Desktop, is cheaper for one person who wants frontier models inside the plan and keeps a free tier with unlimited Tab completions. Both are full editors, so the choice is about billing shape and governance more than about the editing itself.

Side by side

CursorWindsurf (Devin Desktop)
What it isAI-native editor built around a coding agentCognition's agent editor, formerly Windsurf
Best forIndividual developers wanting an AI editorTeams wanting local plus cloud agents
HeadquartersUnited StatesUnited States
Pricing modelPer seat / month + usagePer seat / month + base fee
PricingFree has limited agent requests; Plus is $8 per month but covers Grok models only; Premium is $30, Super $100 and Ultra $200 per month; Teams seats are Premium $30, Super $100 or Ultra $200 per user per month; Enterprise is custom.Free at $0; Pro $20 per month; Max $200 per month; Teams is $80 per month plus $40 per full developer seat; Enterprise is custom.
Free optionFree planFree plan
List price
as listed on October 20, 2026		Teams seats at $30, $100 or $200 per user per month (Premium, Super, Ultra tiers); individual Premium is $30 per month and Plus is $8 per month for Grok models onlyPro at $20 per month; Teams at $80 per month for the team plan plus $40 per month per full developer seat; Max at $200 per month
Place in our AI coding assistants ranking#5 of 12#8 of 12
Websitecursor.comdevin.ai

Both are reviewed in full in Best AI Coding Assistants in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.

Which one to choose

Choose Cursor if

you are buying seats for a team, want cloud agents, automated code review and an admin layer with SCIM and audit logs, and can live with third-party models billed on top of the plan.

Cursor, #5 in the ranking · Visit Cursor →

Choose Windsurf (Devin Desktop) if

you are a solo developer or a small group who wants frontier models covered by one monthly quota, a free tier that still completes your typing, and a board for watching several agents at once.

Windsurf (Devin Desktop), #8 in the ranking · Visit Windsurf (Devin Desktop) →

Where they differ

Price of a team seat

Cursor Teams seats are $30, $100 or $200 per user per month, matched to the usage tier you choose. Windsurf Teams charges a flat $80 per month for the team plan, then $40 per month for each full developer seat, up to 200 users. Three developers cost $90 on Cursor's lowest tier and $200 on Windsurf. The gap narrows as headcount grows, but Cursor stays lower at list.

Edge: Cursor

What one developer pays

Windsurf Pro is $20 per month and its page says it includes frontier models from OpenAI, Claude, Gemini and SpaceXAI inside the quota, plus cloud agents. Cursor's $8 Plus plan covers only Grok models. Third-party models start at Premium, which is $30 per month, and are then paid for by usage at API list price. For a person wanting a mixed set of models on a single bill, Windsurf is the cheaper route.

Edge: Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

Free tier

Windsurf Free is $0 and keeps unlimited inline edits and unlimited Tab completions, with a light quota for agents and limited model choice. Cursor Free is also $0, but its pricing page lists limited agent requests and limited chat requests, with no cloud agents, Bugbot or third-party models. Someone deciding whether an agent editor suits them gets more of a real working session out of Windsurf's free plan.

Edge: Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

Agents beyond the editor

Cursor sells cloud agents, automations, Bugbot code review and Origin code hosting from Premium upward, and its docs cover a CLI, subagents, hooks and plugins. Windsurf's answer is the Agent Command Center, with Spaces that share context and git worktrees, a board view of sessions, and a handoff to cloud execution on Pro. Windsurf supervises well, though Cursor ships more pieces around the editor.

Edge: Cursor

Admin and security paperwork

Cursor's Enterprise column lists SCIM, audit logs, invoice billing, and controls for repositories, models and MCP servers. Its security page states SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 42001. Windsurf's Enterprise plan lists SAML/OIDC SSO, central admin controls, a VPC deployment and a dedicated deployment option, and its admin guide covers SSO, SCIM and analytics. Cursor documents more of its controls on public pages.

Edge: Cursor

Who you are buying from

Windsurf's own site now redirects to Devin pages, and the product page calls it Devin Desktop, with Cognition behind it. Cursor's pricing page says subscriptions are sold only through X Subscription Corp, with no authorized resellers, while its footer still names Anysphere, Inc. Both buyers must check the contracting party before signing, and neither vendor makes that simpler than the other.

Edge: even

Tally: Cursor 3, Windsurf (Devin Desktop) 2, even 1.

When neither fits

A team that wants to stay in its current IDE should look at GitHub Copilot or JetBrains AI Assistant instead of switching editors. A developer who prefers to run an agent from the terminal across any editor should look at Claude Code.

See GitHub Copilot, Claude Code and JetBrains AI Assistant among the 12 products in Best AI Coding Assistants in 2026.

Questions and answers

Is Windsurf the same thing as Devin Desktop?

Yes. Windsurf's domain now redirects to Devin pages, and Devin's documentation site describes Devin Desktop as the editor that carries the Windsurf plugins and docs. Older Windsurf reviews and contracts therefore refer to the product now sold as Devin Desktop.

Which one is cheaper for a team of ten?

Cursor, at list price. Ten seats on Cursor's lowest Teams tier come to $300 per month, against $480 on Windsurf ($80 team plan plus ten seats at $40). The tiers also differ in what a seat includes, so compare quotas before deciding.

Can I use Claude or GPT models in both?

Yes, though they are billed differently. Cursor supports third-party models on Premium and above at API list price, paid from prepaid credit. Windsurf lists frontier models from several vendors inside the Pro quota, with extra usage bought at API pricing once the allowance is gone.

Does Cursor train on my code?

Not with Privacy Mode on. Cursor's data page says customer data is not used for training by Cursor in that mode and that it holds zero-retention agreements with its providers. With the setting off, it may use and store code data to improve its features.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on October 20, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.