# Cursor vs Windsurf (Devin Desktop) in 2026

> Cursor vs Windsurf — now Devin Desktop — compared: agent-first editing, Composer vs Devin Local, the Cognition rebrand, and which AI editor fits you.

Both are AI-first VS Code forks, but they diverged in 2026: Cursor doubled down on being the best place to write code (Cursor 3.0's parallel agents, Composer models, plugin marketplace), while Windsurf became Devin Desktop under Cognition — an Agent Command Center first, full IDE behind it, with Devin Local replacing Cascade. Pick Cursor for editor polish, Devin Desktop to manage agent runs.

This matchup changed shape in 2026. For two years Cursor and Windsurf were near-twins — AI-first VS Code forks racing on completion quality and agent features. Then they forked philosophically: **Cursor** rebuilt itself agent-first *while staying an editor*; **Windsurf became Devin Desktop** under Cognition, putting an Agent Command Center in front of the IDE. Today you're not choosing between similar editors — you're choosing between an editor with agents and an agent console with an editor.

## What actually changed

**Cursor 3.0** (April 2026) was an interface rebuild around parallelism: an Agents Window running many agents at once — locally, in git worktrees, in the cloud, over SSH — side-by-side agent tabs, Design Mode for annotating UI in a built-in browser, and the in-house **Composer** model line for fast agentic edits. The plugin system (marketplace, integrations from Atlassian to Datadog) rounded out an ecosystem play. Crucially, none of it displaced the core: Cursor still feels like the best place to *type code*. [Tool profile →](/tools/cursor)

**Devin Desktop** (June 2, 2026, via automatic update to all Windsurf users) reframed the product: the **Agent Command Center** is the default surface — spawn, watch, and review agent runs — with the full IDE a click behind it. **Devin Local** replaced the signature Cascade agent (legacy Cascade runs through July 1, 2026), and ACP (Agent Client Protocol) support means compatible third-party agents can run inside the editor. Plans and pricing carried over from Windsurf unchanged. [Tool profile →](/tools/windsurf)

## Choosing between them

| | Cursor | Devin Desktop (Windsurf) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Identity | AI-first editor, agents included | Agent console, IDE included |
| Inner loop (completion, inline edits) | Best-in-class | Good, not the focus |
| Agent management | Agents Window, parallel across worktrees/cloud | Agent Command Center as the default surface |
| Own models / agent | Composer line | Devin Local (ex-Cascade) |
| Ecosystem | Plugin marketplace, MCP | ACP (third-party agents in-editor), MCP, Devin cloud |
| Pricing shape | Freemium, Pro/Teams tiers | Freemium, carried over from Windsurf |

**Pick Cursor** if most of your day is still hands-on-keyboard and you want agents as leverage, not as the workplace. Its completion and inline-edit experience remains the category benchmark, and Cursor 3's parallel agents cover the delegation use case credibly.

**Pick Devin Desktop** if your workflow is becoming "supervise several agent runs, review their output" — the Command Center is designed for exactly that posture — or if you're already invested in Cognition's Devin cloud agents and want the local/remote continuum.

**Either way, the switching cost is mild**: both are VS Code forks; settings, keybindings, and most extensions carry over, and both speak MCP so your tool integrations are portable. The deeper fork in the road isn't between these two editors — it's whether you want an editor-shaped tool at all, versus a terminal agent like Claude Code ([that comparison](/guides/comparisons/claude-code-vs-cursor), and the [full four-way](/guides/prompting/cursor-vs-claude-code-vs-copilot-vs-windsurf-2026)).

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_Source: https://agentscamp.com/guides/comparisons/cursor-vs-windsurf — Guide on AgentsCamp._