Agentic harness comparison
Claude Code vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Compared on where each one runs, which editors it supports, how autonomous it is, and how it bills — the four things that actually decide Claude Code vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf). Rankings reflect fit and trade-offs, not a single universal winner; partner links, when present, do not replace that methodology.
Details last verified October 2, 2026
Anthropic
Claude Code
Terminal, IDE plugins, desktop, and browser · Agentic
Cognition
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Own IDE with Devin Local and ACP agents · Hybrid
| Specification | Claude Code | Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | ||
| Vendor | Anthropic | Cognition |
| Runs in | ||
| Runs in | Terminal, IDE plugins, desktop, and browser | Own IDE with Devin Local and ACP agents |
| Editor support | ||
| Editor support | Terminal CLI, VS Code / Cursor, JetBrains, Desktop app, claude.ai/code | Devin Desktop, Local or remote workspaces, ACP agents |
| Autonomy | ||
| Autonomy | Agentic | Hybrid |
| Pricing model | ||
| Pricing model | Hybrid | Hybrid |
| Requires changing editor | ||
| Requires changing editor | Winner: No | Yes |
Dates refer to the linked source’s publication or capture unless it explicitly states when the benchmark was measured. Values we could not confirm are shown as “Not verified” rather than estimated.
Claude Code
Anthropic's agentic coding tool runs in the terminal, supported IDEs, a desktop app and the browser. Configuration and permissions vary by surface and organisation. Subscription sign-in shares eligible Claude plan usage; Anthropic Console/API and third-party provider billing are separate paths.
Best for
- Multi-file refactors
- Migrations
- Delegated engineering tasks
Watch out
Claude Code is included with Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise; Free does not include it. Web prices: Pro $20/month or $200 billed yearly; Max 5x $100/month and Max 20x $200/month; Team Standard $25/seat/month or $20 with annual billing, Premium $125 or $100 respectively; Enterprise $20/seat/month with annual billing plus API-rate usage (https://claude.com/pricing). API credentials can bill separately from subscription usage. Model selection depends on account, user/org settings, provider and client version: default clears an override, while Anthropic API opus and sonnet resolve to Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5. Sonnet 5.5 requires v2.1.284+, Opus 5.5 v2.1.280+. Third-party provider aliases can resolve to older versions. Fable normally resolves to Fable 5.1, except Claude apps gateway sessions use Fable 5; neither is an account-type default. On Pro, Fable uses usage credits; on Max it can use up to 50% of the regular weekly allowance before additional Fable work requires usage credits. Interactive credit consent is not a guarantee for automation: non-interactive -p requests can bill credits without asking. Five-hour and weekly limits depend on plan/model; check the account usage page (https://code.claude.com/docs/en/model-config; https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11049741-what-is-the-max-plan). Native Windows supports shell tools, but Claude's sandbox is available on macOS, Linux and WSL2, not native Windows or WSL1. It is off by default and covers shell execution, not every file tool, MCP server or hook (https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sandboxing).
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Devin Desktop is Cognition's IDE, formerly Windsurf. Devin Local shares its harness with the Devin CLI and is the primary bundled local agent; supported ACP agents can also be selected. It offers macOS, Windows and Linux packages and local/remote workspaces, separately from Devin Cloud.
Best for
- Teams evaluating the current Devin Desktop surface
- Teams migrating from Windsurf
Watch out
October 2 pricing lists Free $0, Pro $20/month, Max $200 and Teams $80/month plus $40 per full developer seat; Enterprise is negotiated. Paid quota refreshes daily/weekly and extra usage bills at API prices. Self-serve ChatGPT Plus/Pro linking covers eligible GPT usage only, excluding fast/priority variants; other ensemble models still use Devin quota and exhausted ChatGPT usage automatically falls back to Devin billing. The price page says SWE-2 free through October 16, while model docs say October 15: treat the boundary as unresolved and check your account. Legacy enterprise SWE-2 has a separate discounted tariff. Current Local docs preserve old Cascade histories, support ACP agents, and say Local lacks persistent memories, workflows and App Deploys; the September 8 changelog's removal statement does not establish a universal absence of legacy history. Enterprise Local access requires an admin. Provider retention and permissions depend on the deployment; FedRAMP-specific admin guidance is not a universal desktop policy.
Common questions
Claude Code vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Answered from the verified figures on this page rather than general guidance.
Do I have to change editor to use Claude Code or Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)?
How are Claude Code and Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) priced?
Is Claude Code or Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) better for large refactors?
Should I run Claude Code and Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) together?
Will my project rules transfer between Claude Code and Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)?
Does Claude Code require a Max plan?
Is Devin Desktop the same product as Devin Cloud?
Do coding agents replace code review?
Should we harden MCP before rolling out a coding agent?
Next step
Which one fits
Autonomy and editor constraints decide this far more reliably than a benchmark score.
If most of your week is small, frequent edits, an assistive workflow beats delegation and an agentic harness sits idle while billing. If you regularly hand over work spanning many files, the reverse is true.
Where one tool requires changing editor and the other does not, that difference usually outweighs any capability gap across a team — rollouts fail on adoption, not capability.
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