Short answer: Windsurf is now Devin Desktop, so you are choosing between two IDEs and one terminal agent
Verified August 1, 2026. TL;DR: Windsurf was renamed Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026, and windsurf.com now redirects to devin.ai. It is the same editor at the same price. Cursor is the other full IDE. Claude Code is not an editor at all, it is an agent that runs in your terminal, and it is the only one of the three with no free tier.
| Devin Desktop (was Windsurf) | Cursor | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | Full IDE, renamed June 2, 2026 | Full IDE | Terminal agent |
| Free tier | Free plan, $0 | Hobby, free | None |
| Entry paid tier | Pro $20/mo | Pro $20/mo | Claude Pro $20/mo, $17 annual |
| Top individual tier | Max $200/mo | Ultra, 20x Pro agent limits | Claude Max, from $100/mo |
| What it meters | Quotas refreshing daily and weekly | Agent limits per tier | Rolling five-hour session window plus weekly |
Windsurf did not die, it was renamed
Cognition shipped the rename as a regular over-the-air update on June 2, 2026. The FAQ is blunt: "It's the same IDE, same editor, and has the same features, but unified under the Devin brand," and "Your current plan continues to work exactly as it does today. Pricing is unchanged." What did change is the built-in agent. Cascade was replaced by Devin Local, which Cognition says is up to 30% more token efficient and supports subagents.
Cursor and Devin sell headroom, not different products
Both ladders are the same editor with more allowance. Cursor runs Hobby free, Pro at $20, Pro Plus at "3x Pro limits on Agent", Ultra at "20x Pro limits", and Teams from $40 per user. Devin runs Free, Pro at $20, Max at $200, and Teams at $80 a month plus $40 per developer seat. At the entry price the two are a coin flip, so pick on feel, not on the price page.
Claude Code is not competing on the same axis
Claude Code has no free tier. It comes with Claude Pro at $20 a month, $17 billed annually, or Claude Max from $100, and Anthropic's limits "reset on a rolling five-hour session window, and paid plans add weekly limits on top". It also has no editor: you point it at a repo from the terminal, which is why Claude Code vs Cursor is the more useful matchup.
The three-way question is turning into two questions
Devin Desktop ships the Agent Client Protocol, which Cognition describes as "an open-source protocol that lets any compatible agent run inside any ACP-compatible editor", naming Codex, Claude Agent and OpenCode at launch. The editor that used to be Windsurf now hosts rival agents by design, and its front door is a command center for local and cloud agents. Choosing an editor and choosing an agent are separating into two decisions.
How to choose, in one line each
Want an IDE that treats agents as a fleet you manage, install Devin Desktop. Want the other IDE with a published limit ladder, pay Cursor. Want an agent you point at a repo, use Claude Code, or compare the terminal field in Gemini CLI vs Claude Code vs Codex and the Codex, Claude Code, and Copilot breakdown. If the question is whether to write the code at all, run the vibe code or hire check.
