Refine Code with Precision - Command in Windsurf Editor Explained
Published by WindsurfWatch on YouTube
Updated Oct 4, 2026
AI Coding Tools
Windsurf
AI code editor from Cognition, now sold as Devin Desktop
From $20/mo
Windsurf at a glance
from our research
An AI code editor, renamed Devin Desktop by Cognition, that pairs a local agent with Devin cloud sessions
The free plan keeps Tab completions and inline edits unlimited, with a light agent quota
New owner, new name and a replaced agent within a year, so expect further change
Pro costs $20 a month for one user and includes Devin cloud sessions
Overview
What is Windsurf?
Windsurf is an AI code editor first built by Codeium, a US company founded in 2021. Cognition, the maker of the Devin coding agent, bought Windsurf in July 2025 and renamed it Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026, so windsurf.com now redirects to devin.ai. The rename arrived as a regular update, and Cognition says extensions, settings, plans and prices carried over unchanged.
The editor runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, and onboarding can import your VS Code or Cursor settings. As you type, Tab suggests additions and deletions around the cursor, jumps to the next place to edit and adds missing imports, drawing on your code, terminal and recent actions. For bigger tasks there is Devin Local, which replaced Windsurf's original Cascade agent for new conversations. It runs on your machine, edits, builds and tests code, hands subtasks to subagents and asks permission according to rules you set. A plan made locally can be sent in one click to Devin in the cloud, which works on its own virtual machine and returns pull requests to review in the editor. The Agent Command Center shows local and cloud sessions on one board, grouped by status.
MCP servers, rules, memories and workflows customize the agent, and other agents that speak the Agent Client Protocol, such as Codex CLI, can run inside the editor on their providers' billing. Windsurf is sold on Devin's plans: a free tier, individual subscriptions with daily and weekly usage quotas, and Teams priced per seat, with extra usage paid from prepaid credits at API prices.
Our verdict on Windsurf
Updated Oct 4, 2026Pricing checked Oct 3, 2026
Windsurf's strongest case today is for someone who wants an AI editor and a cloud agent on one subscription. Pro covers the editor, the local agent and Devin cloud sessions from a single quota, and a plan drafted locally can go to a cloud VM with one click and come back as a pull request. The free plan is more than a trial: Tab completions and inline edits are unlimited, so a developer who mainly wants autocomplete can use it indefinitely. ACP support also lets you run Codex CLI or Gemini CLI in the same window under your existing accounts.
The main risk is how much has changed in fifteen months. The product has a new owner and a new name, its signature agent was replaced, and the JetBrains plugin is in maintenance mode. A team that standardizes on it should expect further change. Quotas are the other issue. Pro has daily and weekly allowances whose size Cognition does not publish, so a heavy day can stall work until the allowance refreshes unless you buy credits, which are consumed at API prices. Data handling also needs attention: Cognition's security page says it may use customer data for training by default, and the opt-out, which also turns on zero data retention with model providers, is offered on paid plans.
Most individual buyers will want Pro, which costs $20 a month for one user and adds full model availability and cloud agents. Max costs $200 a month for a much larger weekly quota with no daily cap. Teams costs $40 per full seat a month with an $80 monthly minimum, supports up to 200 users and adds free flex seats that draw on shared credits, central billing and an admin dashboard. SAML/OIDC SSO is listed only on Enterprise, which is priced by quote and billed in Agent Compute Units.
Choose Windsurf if you want local and cloud agents under one bill, or a free editor with unlimited completions. Teams that need SSO without an enterprise contract should look at Cursor, whose Teams plan includes SAML/OIDC SSO at $40 per user a month. JetBrains users are better served by GitHub Copilot, whose agent mode runs in JetBrains IDEs.
Written by Lokesh Kapoor
Pros & cons
Windsurf pros and cons
What it does well
- Agent Command Center tracks local and cloud agent sessions on one board
- Send a locally drafted plan to a Devin cloud session in one click
- Imports VS Code or Cursor settings during onboarding
- Runs Codex CLI and other ACP agents in the editor on their own billing
Where it falls short
- Daily and weekly quota sizes are not published
- The JetBrains plugin is in maintenance mode, and new IDE releases can break it
- Customer data may be used for training by default; the opt-out is on paid plans
Editor's assessment from vendor documentation and published pricing
Pricing
Windsurf pricing
Windsurf's paid plans start at $20/month, above the $19 median across the 14 tools in our AI Coding Tools ranking. A free plan is available.
Free
$0
Free plan
For one person
- Light agent quota
- Limited model availability
- Unlimited inline edits
- Unlimited Tab completions
Usage: Light quota for agent use.
Pro
$20/mo
per month, one user
For one person
- Daily and weekly usage quota
- Full model availability
- Cloud agents (Devin Cloud)
- Extra usage at API pricing
Usage: Quota refreshes daily and weekly. Usage past it is paid from prepaid on-demand credits, consumed at API pricing; purchased credits never expire.
Max
$200/mo
per month, one user
For one person
- Everything in Pro
- Much larger weekly quota
- No daily cap
Usage: Weekly allowance only, no daily cap; overage from on-demand credits at API pricing.
Teams
$40/mo
per full seat, per month ($80 minimum)
Minimum 2 seats
- Up to 200 users
- Centralised billing
- Admin dashboard with analytics
- Free flex seats on shared credits
- Priority support
Usage: Every Teams account pays at least $80 a month. Full seats are $40 each (2 seats = $80, 3 = $120); below two seats the difference is charged as shared usage credits. Flex seats are free and draw on the team's shared credits.
Enterprise
Custom
Tailored pricing for larger teams
- SAML/OIDC SSO
- Centralised enterprise admin controls
- Dedicated deployment option
- Dedicated account management
Usage: Billed in Agent Compute Units at the rate in your order form.
Checked against Cognition AI, Inc.'s pricing page on October 3, 2026 · see the full breakdown
Capabilities
Windsurf features
Checked against the same feature list as every other tool in its category.
Platform
- Not included:Built-in hosting & deployRuns and deploys the application without configuring separate infrastructure.
Team & Governance
- Included:No training on your codeBusiness tiers exclude your source from model training by default.Enterprise only; Teams admins must opt out
- Not included:Self-hosted or VPC optionRuns inside your own infrastructure for regulated or air-gapped environments.
- Included:Team admin & SSOCentral seat management, policy controls and single sign-on.SSO on Enterprise plan
Code Generation
- Included:In-editor chatAsk questions about the code you are looking at without leaving the editor.
- Included:Inline autocompleteMulti-line suggestions as you type, accepted with a keystroke.
- Included:Test generationWrites unit and integration tests against existing code.
Codebase Awareness
- Included:Custom project rulesPersistent instructions describing your conventions, applied to every request.
- Included:Tool & MCP integrationConnects to external tools and data sources so the assistant can read docs, tickets or a database.
- Included:Whole-repository indexingIndexes the entire codebase so suggestions follow your existing patterns and reuse your helpers.
Agent Autonomy
- Included:Automated PR reviewReviews pull requests and comments on problems before a human does.
- Included:Background & async agentsWorks on a task on its own while you do something else, then reports back.
- Included:Multi-file editsApplies a single instruction coherently across several files at once.
- Included:Runs commands & testsExecutes builds and test suites, reads the output and fixes what it broke.
Ecosystem
Windsurf integrations
Videos
Watch Windsurf in action
Product walkthroughs from Windsurf's own YouTube channel.
Intro to Rules, Memories, & Workflows | Windsurf University
Published by WindsurfWatch on YouTube
Alternatives
Top Windsurf alternatives
Tools that do the same job, from the same category.
Fit check
Will Windsurf fit your team?
Support
- Email support
- Knowledge base
- Community forum
Training
- Documentation
- Video tutorials
Deployment
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
Typical users
- Freelancers
- Small businesses
- Mid-size companies
FAQs
Windsurf FAQs
Written by our editorial team.
Is Windsurf the same as Devin Desktop?
Yes. Cognition, which bought Windsurf in July 2025, renamed the editor Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026 and delivered the change as a regular update. Cognition describes it as the same IDE with the same features, says Windsurf settings, extensions and workflows carry over automatically, and says existing plans and prices are unchanged. The main difference is the agent: Devin Local replaced Cascade for new conversations.
Is Windsurf free?
Yes. The free plan includes unlimited Tab completions and unlimited inline edits, plus a light quota for agent use and a limited choice of models. Pro costs $20 a month for one user and adds full model availability, daily and weekly agent quotas, cloud agents and the option to buy extra usage at API prices. See Windsurf pricing for the full plan list.
How do Windsurf's usage quotas work?
Pro and Teams full seats get daily and weekly allowances that refresh automatically, the daily one set at more than a seventh of the weekly; Max has only a weekly allowance. Cognition does not publish their size. Usage is counted from the tokens each request uses, so long requests over a large codebase cost more. When a quota runs out, Free users wait for the reset, while paid plans continue on prepaid credits charged at API prices, which never expire. Devin cloud sessions draw on the same quota.
Does Windsurf train on your code?
By default it may. Cognition's security documentation says customer data may be used for model training unless you opt out, and the opt-out, on the Data Controls settings page, is available on paid plans. Opting out also enables zero data retention with Cognition's model providers. Enterprise customers' data is never used for training without written consent. Third-party agents run through ACP fall under their own providers' terms instead.
Does Windsurf work in JetBrains IDEs?
Only through a plugin that is being wound down. Cognition says the Windsurf JetBrains plugin is in maintenance mode, Cascade inside it is being deprecated and newer JetBrains releases can break it. Its recommendation is to run Devin in JetBrains IDEs over the Agent Client Protocol instead. Teams that work mainly in IntelliJ or PyCharm should check that setup before buying, or compare Windsurf alternatives.
Sources & methodology
Product details come from Cognition AI, Inc.'s public website and documentation (United States). Every plan and price was checked against the vendor's pricing page on October 3, 2026. We haven't tested this product hands-on; the verdict is a desk assessment. How we research and rank tools
- Founded 2023
- 1 language supported
- cognition.ai
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