AI Coding Hub

Migration

Windsurf Is Now Devin Desktop

Windsurf no longer exists as a product — on June 2, 2026, it was rebranded to Devin Desktop following Cognition's acquisition of Windsurf. If you're searching for Windsurf alternatives, your first decision is whether to stay on the renamed editor or move to a different tool entirely.

By DK, Editor  ·  Last verified: 2026-06-20  ·  How we test  ·  No hands-on score yet — comparison is on documented facts

What changed

Windsurf was acquired by Cognition (the company behind Devin) for approximately $250M in December 2025. On June 2, 2026, Cognition pushed an over-the-air update that retired the Windsurf brand and renamed the IDE to Devin Desktop. The underlying editor, your plans, settings, and extensions carried over unchanged. The key functional difference is that the bundled agent is now called Devin Local, and access to Devin Cloud (Cognition's autonomous coding agent) starts on the $20 Pro plan (confirm current). Anyone who searches for "Windsurf" today is using Devin Desktop — the old name is gone.

The options

  • Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

    The renamed Windsurf IDE — same editor and plans, now bundled with Devin Local and Devin Cloud agents from Cognition.

    Form
    AI IDE
    Open source
    No
    Free tier
    Confirm current on vendor site — legacy Windsurf tiers carried over
    MCP
    Yes (Cascade/agent supports MCP)

    Best for: Existing Windsurf users comfortable staying in the Cognition ecosystem with Devin agents built in

    ⚠ The Windsurf brand is fully retired. Devin Cloud access requires the $20 Pro plan or higher (confirm current). Ecosystem direction is now set by Cognition, not Codeium.

  • Cursor

    Polished AI-native IDE (VS Code fork) with inline Tab completion, Agent mode, and Background/Cloud Agents.

    Form
    AI IDE (editor)
    Open source
    No (VS Code fork, proprietary)
    Free tier
    Hobby free tier with limited Agent and Tab usage
    MCP
    Yes

    Best for: Developers who want an AI-first IDE with multi-model choice (Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek) and autonomous background agents

    ⚠ Usage-credit pricing model has drawn complaints about unexpected costs. Confirm current limits and plan rates before committing.

  • Claude Code

    Anthropic's terminal-native agentic coding tool — reads files, runs commands, edits across repos, and orchestrates subagents.

    Form
    Terminal-native agent (also IDE and desktop app)
    Open source
    No (proprietary, Anthropic)
    Free tier
    Included on Claude Pro/Max/Team plans until 2026-06-22, then moves to usage credits (confirm current)
    MCP
    Yes — MCP-native with connectors, subagents, hooks, skills, and plugins

    Best for: Developers in the Anthropic ecosystem wanting a powerful terminal agent with deep MCP integration and multi-agent orchestration

    ⚠ Single-vendor model lock-in (Claude only). Pricing is shifting to usage credits after 2026-06-22 — confirm current rates.

  • OpenCode

    Open-source terminal TUI agent with 75+ model providers, BYO API keys, and no vendor lock-in.

    Form
    Terminal (TUI), open source
    Open source
    Yes
    Free tier
    Free and open-source — you pay only your own provider API costs
    MCP
    Yes — native MCP; supports GitHub, Slack, Figma, and custom servers

    Best for: Developers wanting full local control, provider agnosticism, and zero per-seat fees

    ⚠ BYO keys means you manage and pay provider costs directly. Use opencode.ai as the canonical source — the project has fork history.

  • Kiro

    AWS's spec-driven AI IDE that requires structured specifications before code generation, replacing Amazon Q Developer.

    Form
    AI IDE (plus Kiro CLI for terminal)
    Open source
    No (AWS)
    Free tier
    Free tier with 50 credits
    MCP
    Yes

    Best for: Teams that want engineering rigor and spec-first agentic development to reduce downstream logic errors

    ⚠ Spec-mode requests cost approximately 5x more credits than vibe-mode. GA is recent (May 2026) so the ecosystem is still maturing. Confirm current pricing.

  • GitHub Copilot

    GitHub and Microsoft's AI pair programmer: completions, chat, agent mode, and autonomous PR generation, built into your editor.

    Form
    IDE extension (plus coding agent/cloud)
    Open source
    No
    Free tier
    Free tier available; paid individual and Business/Enterprise per-seat tiers (confirm current)
    MCP
    Yes

    Best for: Teams already in the GitHub ecosystem who want integrated completions plus a coding agent without switching editors

    ⚠ Confirm current plan details and pricing on the vendor site.

Verdict

Most existing Windsurf users can stay on Devin Desktop with no migration cost — same editor, same plans. Switch to Cursor if you want a mature AI IDE with multi-model choice and background agents. Switch to Claude Code if you prefer a terminal agent with deep MCP/subagent power in the Anthropic ecosystem. Switch to OpenCode if you want a fully open-source, BYO-keys terminal agent with no vendor lock-in. Switch to Kiro if your team needs spec-driven, rigor-first development backed by AWS.

  • Stay on Devin Desktop if you were already a Windsurf user and your workflow is unchanged — your plans and extensions migrated automatically, and Devin agents are now built in.
  • Choose Cursor if you want a polished AI IDE experience with the widest multi-model selection (Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek) and mature background/cloud agent features.
  • Choose Claude Code if you prefer working in the terminal with deep agentic power, MCP integrations, and multi-step task orchestration, and you are comfortable in the Anthropic ecosystem.
  • Choose OpenCode if avoiding vendor lock-in and per-seat fees is a priority — bring your own API keys, pick any of 75+ providers, and keep everything local.
  • Choose Kiro if you are on an AWS-heavy team and want spec-first agentic development that enforces structure before generating code.

Our AI agents

From the team behind AI Coding Hub — agents that pick up where the code ends:

FAQ

Is Windsurf still available?
No. The Windsurf brand was retired on June 2, 2026. The product is now called Devin Desktop. If you had Windsurf installed, it updated automatically — same editor, same plans, new name.
Do I need to reinstall anything after the Windsurf-to-Devin Desktop rename?
No. Cognition pushed the rebrand as an over-the-air update. Your existing plans, settings, and extensions carried over. You only need to act if you want to switch to a different tool.
What is Devin Local vs Devin Cloud?
Devin Local is the bundled agent inside Devin Desktop (the former Windsurf editor) that runs on your machine. Devin Cloud is Cognition's autonomous cloud agent; access to it starts on the $20 Pro plan (confirm current). Confirm current plan details on the Devin Desktop vendor site.
Which Windsurf alternative is the most open and provider-agnostic?
OpenCode is the only fully open-source option in this list. It supports 75+ model providers, stores your API keys locally, and has no per-seat fee. You pay only what your chosen providers charge.
How does Cursor compare to the new Devin Desktop?
Both are AI IDEs with agent modes and MCP support. Cursor is a VS Code fork with multi-model choice and a more mature background/cloud agent story as of mid-2026. Devin Desktop leans into Cognition's Devin agent lineage. Neither has been independently benchmarked on this site — hands-on scores are pending.
Is Claude Code usable without a subscription?
Claude Code is accessible via an Anthropic API key (usage-priced) or included in Claude Pro/Max/Team plans, though pricing is shifting to usage credits after June 22, 2026. Confirm current rates at anthropic.com before choosing.

Related

Sources: digitalapplied.com · cloudzero.com · marktechpost.com · opencode.ai · kiro.dev · github.com