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GitHub Copilot vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

Two sides of the AI coding assistants decision: editor plugin and AI-first editor. When each fits, what it costs, who moves from one to the other, and what makers who chose it say.

GitHub CopilotEditor pluginllms.txt
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)AI-first editorllms.txt

Acquired: Now part of Cognition, maker of Devin; windsurf.com redirects to devin.ai. source

Ask your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗

Which fits you

Choose GitHub Copilot if
  • You don't want to change editors

Use it whenYou don't want to change editors, or you want to start on a free tier.

Trade-offDeeper agent features vary by editor, and heavy use counts against plan limits.

Choose Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) if
  • You want to see and steer each change inside your editor

Use it whenYou want an AI editor with a free tier and plan to hand some tasks to Devin cloud agents.

Trade-offRecently renamed from Windsurf to Devin Desktop and reshaped around Cognition's agents; paid plans run on quotas, with extra usage at API rates.

At a glance

GitHub CopilotDevin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Used by26 makers' products43 makers' products
Cost at default usagedevelopers 1 seat$10/mo Pro$20/mo Pro
Downloads
PricingFree tier with limited completions; paid individual plans and per-seat Business/Enterprise plans with pooled usage credits. · paid from $10/moFree tier with a light agent quota; Pro $20/month, Max $200/month; Teams $80/month plus $40 per developer seat; extra usage billed at API rates; custom Enterprise. · paid from $20/mo
Free tierYesYes
Open sourceNoNo
Incidents, 90 daysfrom its status page50+ (15 major)13 (9 major)

What makers say

Makers on using it for AI coding assistants, from Product Hunt and Starter Story interviews, each linked to the source. Products with a page of their own and fuller notes first.

On GitHub Copilot
Our token compression technology has to be compatible and efficient with Github Copilot, so we have to use it extensively to understand how we can optimize its context.
Edgee, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Copilot is everywhere, but it often works in isolation. Stash MCP bridges it to your team’s repos, issues, and docs. Making Copilot way more context-aware.
Stash, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Copilot was the first agent I ran inside scritty every day; it set the bar for what a CLI agent's capture and replay had to feel like.
scritty, the makerSep 2026 ↗
17 more on the GitHub Copilot page →
On Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Windsurf is amazing. It's our go to code editor and is amazing to use to help us build out new features and fix bugs in our application! Its especially amazing to use with Claude!
CreatorCube AI, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Windsurf has been a joy to use. It’s fast, clean, and optimized for modern AI workflows. It helped me iterate quickly and stay in flow during long development sessions.
ModelPilot, the makerSep 2026 ↗
Windsurf's agentic IDE capabilities were essential for managing complex refactors and deep logic changes. It acted as my co-pilot during the entire 1,800-hour journey.
HtmlDrag, the makerSep 2026 ↗
26 more on the Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) page →

Loved and watch-outs

Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises.

GitHub Copilot
Most loved
  • Inline completions work in every major IDE, including Vim and Visual Studio, cutting boilerplate as you type. PHPH 2
  • One subscription gives a choice of models from several labs, including some free ones. PHHN
  • Deep editor integration, such as a semantic index of the solution in Visual Studio and a read-only plan mode in VS Code. HNHN 2PH
Watch-outs
  • The switch to usage-based billing made it far worse value, driving people to other tools. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
  • As an agent harness it trails Claude Code and Codex, with truncated or bloated context that confuses models. HNHN 2HN 3HN 4
  • Built-in pull request review misses too much and raises many wrong findings. HN
On Product Hunt: 4.8★, 34 reviews · mentioned most: productivity boost, suggests code snippets, focus on problem-solving
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Most loved
  • The Cascade agent iterates on its own suggestions and applies changes without constant manual approval. PHPH 2PH 3
  • Context handling is strong: it tracks recent edits and pulls the right files, helping across large codebases. PHPH 2PH 3
  • The editor feels fast, lightweight and clean, keeping developers in flow during long sessions. PHPH 2
On Product Hunt: 4.7★, 68 reviews · mentioned most: developer productivity, AI autocomplete, agentic workflow · complaints: bugs, customer support

Who uses each

GitHub Copilot26 makers' products
Beatoven.aiBilly.shBoltEdgeeKastraOpen PaperPackmind Open SourcePeakRoutinePerfai SecuritySalem RoboticsscrittyStash+14 more
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)43 makers' products
AritectAtlasComputerXCreatorCube AIFinyuusHtmlDragImbueLoki.BuildModelPilotPerfai SecurityPingPromptRaycast+31 more
Used by both — often one replacing the other, or each for a different part of the product
Perfai Security

What makers pair each with

With GitHub Copilot
Transactional Email
Hosting
Frontend Framework
With Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Frontend Framework
Database
LLM API
Transactional Email

Neither quite right?

See the whole AI coding assistants decision →
CursorAI-first editorA VS Code-style editor with AI completions, chat and agents built in, keeping your VS Code extensions.vs GitHub Copilot →vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) →
Claude CodeTerminal agentHanding off multi-step tasks — features, refactors, bug hunts — to an agent that reads the repo, edits files and runs commands.vs GitHub Copilot →vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) →
OpenAI CodexTerminal agentDelegating tasks to an agent in the terminal, IDE or desktop app, or to cloud tasks that run in the background and open pull requests.vs GitHub Copilot →vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) →
OpenCodeTerminal agentAn open-source coding agent that works with almost any model provider, local models, or an existing Copilot or ChatGPT subscription.