Cursor vs Windsurf (Nov 2026): Windsurf is now Devin Desktop — Cursor Free, Plus $8, Premium $30, Ultra $200 vs Devin Free, Pro $20, Max $200, and how each meters usage

What this comparison covers

This page is for small software teams, technical founders, and ops people who write scripts and internal tools, choosing between Cursor and Windsurf as their AI code editor. A named person owns the seats, the usage budget, and the rules about what code the agents may touch.

Facts come from the Cursor pricing page, the Devin pricing page (where windsurf.com/pricing now redirects), and the Devin Desktop page, all read on 8 November 2026. We did not run your codebase in either editor, so test both on one real task.

The big change: Windsurf’s maker now calls the product Devin Desktop and positions it as one place to run several coding agents, locally or in the cloud. Its FAQ says plans and pricing stay the same, and Windsurf for JetBrains is still available. Cursor’s pricing page now combines Cursor with Grok chat, image, and Bot features in one subscription with a shared usage pool.

Ground rules: every seat has an owner; agents never push to production code without a human review. This page is not a ranking. For more context see the Cursor review and GitHub Copilot Business.

Major features (with how someone uses them)

Examples at a glance: each feature has a concrete example from a real job plus a short Try this you can run this week.

1. List price per person

What it is: Cursor lists Free $0, Plus $8 a month (Grok models only), Premium $30, Super $100, and Ultra $200, with Teams from $30 per user a month (Cursor pricing). Devin Desktop lists Free $0, Pro $20, and Max $200 a month, and Teams at $80 a month plus $40 a month per full developer seat for up to 200 users (Devin pricing).

The sticker only tells part of the story. Both plans give an allowance, and heavy agent use beyond it is billed at API rates, so price your real hours, not the plan name.

Concrete example (founder and two contractors writing code most days) She prices three Cursor Premium seats against three Devin Desktop Pro seats, then adds a month of expected extra usage to each before comparing.

Try this

Price your real team:

Write how many people on your team write code each week, roughly how many hours a day each spends with an AI agent, and which models you actually need. Price Cursor and Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) for that team, monthly, including any usage you would buy on top of the plan.

2. How usage is metered

What it is: Cursor says every tier includes a pool of AI usage shared across Cursor and Grok, refreshed weekly, with top-offs if you run out; Plus covers Grok models only, and third-party models are billed at API list price on Premium and above (Cursor pricing). Devin says each paid plan has an allowance that refreshes daily and weekly, and extra usage is bought at API pricing (Devin pricing).

If your team leans on one outside model for most work, check whether that model draws from the included pool or bills separately. That single answer can change the monthly bill more than the plan price.

Concrete example (developer who mostly uses one frontier model) He checks which plan includes that model in the allowance and which bills it at API rates, then runs a normal week in each trial to see the real draw.

Try this

Check your main model:

Write the one model you use most. On each pricing page, find whether it is included in the plan allowance or billed at API rates. Note the answer next to each plan before you trial.

3. Local editing vs cloud agents

What it is: Cursor Premium and above list cloud agents and automations, code hosting, and AI code reviews (Cursor pricing). Devin Desktop describes itself as a command center for agents running locally or in the cloud, and Pro lists access to its cloud agents (Devin Desktop; Devin pricing).

Cloud agents can work while you are away, but they also open more changes for someone to review. Decide who reviews agent work before you turn them on.

Concrete example (ops engineer maintaining internal scripts) She runs one small fix as a cloud agent in each tool, reviews the change line by line, and notes which review flow her team would actually keep up with.

Try this

Run one agent task:

Pick one small, low-risk fix from your backlog. Run it as a cloud agent in each tool, review the full change yourself, and time how long the review took.

4. Use the free plans first

What it is: Cursor’s Free plan lists limited agent and chat requests (Cursor pricing). Devin Desktop’s Free plan lists a light agent quota, limited models, unlimited inline edits, and unlimited Tab completions (Devin pricing).

Both free plans are enough to judge the editor itself: how it reads your project, how suggestions feel, and whether your extensions work. Pay only once you hit the limit on real work.

Concrete example (student or hobby developer) He installs both free plans, opens the same project, and keeps the one he reached for more often by the end of the week.

Try this

Try both for a week:

Install both free plans and open the same real project in each. At the end of the week, write which editor you opened more often and which limit you hit first.

5. Team billing and admin controls

What it is: Cursor Teams lists centralized billing, usage analytics, team-wide privacy settings, and SAML/OIDC SSO; Enterprise adds invoice billing, SCIM, spend controls, and audit logs (Cursor pricing). Devin Teams lists centralized billing and an admin dashboard with analytics for up to 200 users; Enterprise adds SSO, admin controls, and a private cloud option (Devin pricing).

If you need single sign-on, note which plan includes it. On Devin’s page SSO appears in Enterprise; on Cursor’s it starts on Teams.

Concrete example (five-person agency with client code) They list the controls their clients require (SSO, privacy settings, audit logs) and check which plan in each tool includes each one before comparing prices.

Try this

List your must-have controls:

Write the security and billing controls you must have (SSO, invoices, audit logs, privacy mode). Mark the cheapest plan in each tool that includes all of them, and compare only those two prices.

6. One owner for seats and agent rules

What it is: Both tools keep billing seats and running agents after the person who set them up has moved on (Cursor pricing; Devin pricing).

An unused seat or an agent with write access to the wrong repository costs more than the plan difference. A named owner matters more than the logo.

Concrete example (ops lead at a 12-person startup) She lists each seat, its user, its plan, and which repositories agents may change, and reviews the list monthly.

Try this

List seat owners:

Write every paid seat, who uses it, its plan, and which repositories its agents can change. Review it monthly and cancel seats nobody used.

Pricing context (November 2026)

Cursor (pricing page, read 8 Nov 2026): Free $0; Plus $8 a month (Grok models only); Premium $30 (4x Plus usage, cloud agents, AI code reviews, third-party models at API list price); Super $100 (15x Plus); Ultra $200 (50x Plus); Teams from $30 per user a month; Enterprise custom. Prices exclude taxes; usage refreshes weekly.

Windsurf, now Devin Desktop (pricing page, read 8 Nov 2026): Free $0 (light quota, unlimited Tab and inline edits); Pro $20 a month (frontier models, SWE-2, cloud agents, extra usage at API pricing); Max $200 a month; Teams $80 a month plus $40 a month per full developer seat, up to 200 users; Enterprise custom.

For more context see the Cursor review and GitHub Copilot Business.

Uncertainty: windsurf.com/pricing redirected to devin.ai/pricing on 8 November 2026, and the vendor says existing Windsurf plans keep their pricing, so a legacy plan may differ from what is listed. Cursor’s page bundles Cursor with Grok features and bills third-party models separately by usage. Neither page lists exact usage allowances in requests or tokens, so run a normal week in each before you commit.

When it’s useful (honest take)

Cursor tends to fit when you want one subscription for the editor plus Grok chat and agents, and your team is fine with a weekly usage pool. Devin Desktop tends to fit when you want a $20 entry plan with several model providers and a command center for multiple agents.

Neither helps if nobody owns the seats or reviews what agents change. Cancel the editor you stop using, and keep a written owner for every paid seat.

Related options (educational)

FAQ

Is Windsurf still available?

On 8 November 2026 windsurf.com redirected to devin.ai, and the vendor said “Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.” Its FAQ says current plans and pricing stay the same, and Windsurf for JetBrains is still available.

Is Cursor cheaper than Windsurf?

It depends on the plan. Cursor listed Plus at $8 a month (Grok models only) and Premium at $30; Devin Desktop listed Pro at $20 and Max at $200. Heavy use beyond the allowance bills at API rates on both, so price your real usage. This page is not a ranking.

Do Cursor and Windsurf have free plans?

Yes. Cursor lists Free with limited agent and chat requests. Devin Desktop lists Free with a light agent quota, unlimited Tab completions, and unlimited inline edits.

How do the team plans compare?

Cursor Teams starts at $30 per user a month. Devin Teams is $80 a month for the team plus $40 a month per full developer seat, for up to 200 users. Enterprise is custom on both.

Who should own AI editor seats?

One named person who tracks every seat, its user, its plan, and which repositories agents may change, and reviews the list monthly.

Optional next step (if seats overlap)

If your team already pays for an AI editor plus a separate chat assistant, list which seats overlap before adding another. Map the overlap with the $19 AI toolkit audit or the $9 AI toolkit spreadsheet. Email Audit $19 or Toolkit spreadsheet $9.

Checkout is live via Stripe. After you pay, we email delivery (spreadsheet) or intake next steps (audit).

Related: Teachable alternatives · Lovable · Cursor review · GitHub Copilot Business · v0 review · Claude review · Three checks before another AI seat · Ops & automation hub