Cursor vs Windsurf in 2026: how they compare now that Windsurf is Devin Desktop

What is the difference between Cursor and Windsurf?

Cursor and Windsurf are both AI code editors built around an agent, and the biggest change in 2026 is that Windsurf is now called Devin Desktop. Cognition renamed it on June 2, 2026, and its FAQ calls it "the same IDE, same editor, and has the same features, but unified under the Devin brand." So if you search for Windsurf today, you land on Devin Desktop.

The practical differences sit in three places: the agent each editor runs, how you pay for models, and how each handles work that runs off your machine. Cursor pairs its Agent with Cloud Agents that run in their own VMs. Devin Desktop puts an Agent Command Center up front, where local agents, cloud Devin sessions and third-party agents sit on one Kanban board.

What happened to Windsurf?

Devin Desktop arrived as an over-the-air update with a new name and command. A few things matter if you used it before:

• Settings carry over. The FAQ says "All of your Windsurf settings will be ported to Devin Desktop automatically," and plans and pricing did not change at the switch.
• The agent changed. Devin Local is now the primary local agent, built on the same harness as Devin CLI. Cascade, the original Windsurf agent, was removed in version 3.9.19 on September 8, 2026, according to the changelog, and a "Continue in Devin Local" prompt moves old conversations to the new agent.
• Some Cascade features did not carry over. Devin Local does not support memories, workflows, App Deploys or Arena Mode. A Cascade Migration Wizard turns memories and workflows into skills.
• The command changed. surf is replaced by devin-desktop, and the legacy commands still ship for backward compatibility.
• Your files keep working. Existing .windsurf/rules/ folders and the old .windsurfrules file are still read, with .devin/ as the new preferred folder.

In the rest of this guide, "Windsurf" and "Devin Desktop" mean the same product.

How does Cursor work?

Cursor is an AI code editor that describes itself as "a coding agent for building ambitious software." It can import your VS Code settings, keybindings and extensions, and it uses the Open VSX registry for extensions. The main pieces:

• Tab, which Cursor's help center calls its "AI-powered autocomplete." It suggests multi-line edits, adds imports, jumps to your next edit location and can predict edits in other files.
• Agent, opened in a side pane with Cmd+I, which can "complete complex coding tasks independently, run terminal commands, and edit code." It saves checkpoints so you can roll back its changes.
• Cloud Agents, which "run in isolated VMs in the cloud." You can start them from the editor, the web, the iOS app, Slack, Linear, GitHub comments or the API.
• Cursor CLI, a command called agent with a -p print mode for scripts and CI.
• Run modes and a sandbox, where Auto-review runs allowlisted calls, sandboxes shell commands when it can, and sends the rest to a classifier.

Cursor ships its own models (Composer 2.5 and Grok models trained jointly with SpaceXAI) and also offers Claude, GPT and Gemini models on Premium and higher plans.

How does Windsurf (Devin Desktop) work?

Devin Desktop is "a next-generation AI IDE built to keep you in the flow." It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux and can import VS Code or Cursor settings. The main pieces:

• Tab, powered by Cognition's own model, with a Supercomplete mode that suggests deletions and additions around your cursor, plus Tab to Jump and Tab to Import.
• Command (Cmd/Ctrl+I) for inline edits from a plain-language instruction.
• Devin Local, the agent, with subagents, OS-level sandboxing, plan mode, git worktree sessions and allow, ask and deny permission rules.
• Agent Command Center, a Kanban board for local agents and cloud Devin sessions. Through the Agent Client Protocol it can also run third-party agents such as Codex CLI, Claude Agent and Gemini CLI, on Pro, Max and Teams.
• Codemaps, DeepWiki and Previews for mapping code flow, explaining symbols on hover and previewing a web app inside the editor.

On models, Devin Desktop offers Cognition's SWE family (SWE-2 is the latest) alongside Claude, GPT and Gemini models, and recommends Fusion, which pairs a frontier lead model with a cheaper sidekick.

Cursor vs Windsurf side by side

How do rules and skills compare?

Rules. Cursor's project rules are .mdc files in .cursor/rules/. Frontmatter with description, globs and alwaysApply decides whether a rule applies always, when the agent thinks it is relevant, or to matching files. A plain .md file in that folder is ignored. See the Cursor rules guide for the format.

Devin Desktop's rules are plain .md files in .devin/rules/ with a trigger field: always_on, model_decision, glob or manual. Each workspace rule file is limited to 12,000 characters, and the global rules file to 6,000. The FAQ says it can also import .cursor/rules (.mdc) into .devin/rules/, which helps if you are switching.

AGENTS.md. Both editors read AGENTS.md. In Devin Desktop, a root AGENTS.md acts as an always-on rule and one in a subdirectory applies to files inside it. Cursor treats it as a plain markdown alternative to .cursor/rules.

Skills. Both support Agent Skills, folders with a SKILL.md file. Cursor's skills docs list .cursor/skills/ and .agents/skills/, and say it "also loads skills from Claude and Codex directories." Devin Desktop's skills docs list .devin/skills/ and, "for cross-agent compatibility," .agents/skills/. So a skill in .agents/skills/ works in both. The Cursor skills guide covers the details.

How much do Cursor and Windsurf cost?

Prices below are as of October 2026.

• Cursor (pricing): Free; Plus at $8 a month, without third-party models; Premium at $30 a month with 4x Plus usage, Cloud Agents, Bugbot and third-party models at API list price from prepaid credit; Super at $100 and Ultra at $200 for 15x and 50x Plus usage. Teams seats are $30, $100 or $200 a month. Cursor is sold as part of The X Subscription, which also covers Grok and X.
• Devin Desktop (pricing): Free, which includes unlimited Tab and a light agent quota on SWE-1.6; Pro at $20 a month; Max at $200 a month; Teams at "$80/month for team plan + $40/mo per full dev seat"; Enterprise on contract. Self-serve quotas refresh daily and weekly, and usage is billed at the token cost of the model you pick.

Both use usage pools rather than a fixed number of messages, so the real cost depends on which models you choose and how much agent work you run.

Which should you pick?

Cursor tends to fit when:

• You want cloud agents that run in their own VMs and can be started from Slack, Linear, GitHub or your phone.
• You like a low entry price and are happy with Cursor's own models for most work.
• You want built-in PR review through Bugbot.
• Your skills already live in .claude/skills/ or .codex/skills/, which Cursor loads directly.

Windsurf (Devin Desktop) tends to fit when:

• You want to watch several local and cloud agents on one Kanban board.
• You want to run third-party agents such as Codex CLI or Claude Agent inside your editor through ACP.
• You already use Devin CLI or Devin cloud sessions and want one account across them.
• You liked Windsurf's Supercomplete style of Tab suggestions.

Neither list is a verdict. Both editors ship changes often, and both offer a free plan, so try a real task from your backlog in each.

Keep your rules and skills portable

If you switch editors, the work worth keeping is your instructions: AGENTS.md, rules and skills. Putting shared skills in .agents/skills/ means both editors find them. Kipt keeps your prompts and skills as Markdown in a private GitHub repo you own, so they are not tied to one editor. If a prompt keeps proving useful, the free SKILL.md generator turns it into a skill folder in your browser.