> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Devin Desktop (Formerly Windsurf) Review 2026: A Powerful AI Code Editor That's Not Built for Australian Business Owners - URL: https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-devin-desktop-australia-2026/ - Published: 2026-06-19T23:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T06:29:28.000Z - Description: Windsurf started as one of the most exciting AI code editors on the market. Then it became Devin Desktop. Here's the honest verdict for Australian users. - Author: Adam - Tags: Coding & Development, Devin Desktop, Windsurf, #review **14**/25 ★★★☆☆ Good Devin Desktop (Formerly Windsurf) · Cognition Verified 30 Sep 2026 Reviewed 20 Jun 2026 Value for Money**3**/5 Ease of Use**3**/5 Feature Depth**4**/5 Australian Fit**2**/5 Reliability & Support**2**/5 From **A$28**/mo · ex-GST · billed in USD (US$20) **The gate:** Five stars need 21+ and Australian Fit of at least 4/5. [Skip to the verdict ](#verdict) > **The verdict:** Windsurf — now rebranded as Devin Desktop — is a genuinely impressive AI code editor. It can read your entire codebase, plan multi-file changes, run terminal commands, and ship working code with minimal hand-holding. For a developer who already lives in VS Code, it's a serious upgrade. For the typical Australian small-business owner who wants to build something without hiring a developer, the learning curve is steep, the pricing is USD-only, your code is processed offshore with no Australian data region, and GST treatment is unconfirmed. The tool is good. The Australian fit is not. Score: 14/25 — Good. ## What it is Windsurf is an AI-native code editor built by Codeium — or rather, it was. The product has had a turbulent 2026\. In a chaotic few weeks, OpenAI made a bid to acquire Windsurf for roughly US$3 billion, that deal collapsed, Google stepped in to acqui-hire the founding team and key engineers, and Cognition — the startup behind the Devin autonomous coding agent — picked up the product, brand, IP, and remaining team. As of 2 June 2026, Windsurf is now called **Devin Desktop**. The update arrived as a standard over-the-air update; if you had Windsurf installed, you woke up to find Devin Desktop instead. For the purposes of this review, we're covering Windsurf as Australians would encounter it today: which means Devin Desktop, Cognition's ownership, and the current pricing structure. **One brand, two products — which one is this?** Since the rebrand, "Devin" spans two distinct things on the same plan: **Devin Desktop** — the downloadable IDE this review covers (the old Windsurf editor you run on your own machine) — and **Devin**, the autonomous cloud agent that runs tasks on its own machine in the cloud. They share a login, a subscription and the same underlying agent ("one Devin, every surface"), but you use them differently. If you want a code editor you drive yourself, this is the right page. If you want to hand off whole tickets to an agent that works unattended, read our separate [Devin (cloud agent) review](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-devin-australia-2026/). At its core, the product is a VS Code fork with a powerful AI agent built in. The signature feature was Cascade — a multi-step agentic mode that could read your whole codebase, plan changes across multiple files, and execute them in sequence. As of 1 July 2026, Cascade is end-of-life. Its replacement is **Devin Local**, a Rust-built agent that Cognition claims is around 30% more token-efficient and can spawn sub-agents to run tasks in parallel. This is a tool for writing software. If you want to build an app, automate a business process, or prototype something without hiring a developer, Windsurf can genuinely accelerate that — but it assumes you're comfortable inside a code editor. It is not a no-code tool. ## What it costs in Australia (AUD + GST) Windsurf/Devin Desktop prices in USD only. There is no AUD billing option and no mention of Australian-specific pricing on the vendor's pricing page. All figures below are converted at approximately AUD 1.40 to USD 1. | Plan | USD/month | Approx AUD/month | Key inclusions | | ---------- | ----------------------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Free | US$0 | A$0 | Light daily/weekly agent quota; unlimited Tab autocomplete; limited model access | | Pro | US$20 | \~A$28 | Standard daily/weekly quota; Claude, GPT-5, Gemini model access; SWE-1.5 (free model); unlimited Tab; extra usage at API rates | | Max | US$200 | \~A$280 | Significantly higher daily/weekly quota; full model access including Opus 4.6 and GPT-5.4-Codex; priority support | | Teams | US$80/month base + US$40/seat | \~A$112 base + \~A$56/seat | Pro features plus up to 200 users, centralised billing, admin dashboard, analytics, Zero Data Retention (ZDR) | | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | SSO/SCIM, RBAC, hybrid deployment, volume pricing | **GST treatment is unconfirmed.** The vendor's pricing page and terms of service make no mention of GST, and pricing is shown in USD with no regional tax disclosures. Whether GST is added at checkout for Australian customers — and whether a compliant tax invoice is issued — is not stated on any primary source, so confirm it at checkout before subscribing. **Pricing history note:** In March 2026, Windsurf restructured its pricing. The old credit-pool system (500 credits/month on Pro) was replaced with daily and weekly quotas. The Pro plan price increased from US$15 to US$20 at that point. Existing subscribers on the legacy plan retained their old pricing. **Extra usage:** If you hit your daily or weekly quota, additional usage is charged at API rates. One developer reported a single Claude Opus 4.6 code-review session consuming roughly 8% of their weekly Pro quota. On complex projects, quota depletion is a real risk on the Pro plan. The **free tier** is real but limited. You get unlimited Tab completions (character-by-character autocomplete), a light agent quota, and access to basic models. In practice, you will run out of agentic capacity within a couple of days of real coding sessions. Think of it as a trial, not a long-term free option. ## How it works / features Windsurf is built on VS Code. If you already use VS Code — or have used it before — the environment is immediately familiar. You import your existing extensions, keybindings, and settings with minimal friction. The central feature is the **AI agent panel**. Rather than asking the AI to autocomplete one line at a time, you describe what you want in plain language — "add a search filter to the product table" or "fix the login error when users submit an empty email field" — and the agent plans the work, reads the relevant files, makes changes across multiple locations, runs terminal commands where needed, and shows you a diff you can accept or reject. **Devin Local** (replacing Cascade as of 1 July 2026) does this work. It runs locally and supports subagents — specialised sub-sessions that tackle parts of a task in parallel. Cognition says it is around 30% more token-efficient than Cascade, which matters because token use directly affects how fast you burn through your quota. **Tab autocomplete** remains available on every plan and never counts against quota. It predicts the next word, line, or block as you type — similar to GitHub Copilot's autocomplete. **Model access** varies by plan. Free users get SWE-1.5, Windsurf's own coding model, at no additional cost. Pro and above unlock Claude (including Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.6), GPT-5.2, GPT-5.4-Codex, and Gemini Pro. Premium models — particularly Opus 4.6 and GPT-5.4 — drain your quota significantly faster than SWE-1.5. **Agent Command Center** (introduced with the Devin Desktop rebrand) is a Kanban-style view for managing multiple agents running simultaneously. You can run a Devin Desktop local session alongside a Devin Cloud session and switch between them without context-switching. **Codemaps** — a visual, AI-annotated map of your codebase structure — helps you understand how files relate to each other before handing work to an agent. This is a genuine differentiator; no direct equivalent exists in Cursor. ## What it does well **The agentic loop is fast and coherent.** When you give Windsurf a clear task on a well-structured codebase, it does the work properly. It reads the right files, avoids touching files it shouldn't, and produces a diff you can review. You stay in the review seat; the agent does the typing. **Setup friction is low for VS Code users.** Because Windsurf is a VS Code fork, any developer already using VS Code can be productive within minutes. Extensions import automatically. If you have a coding background, there is almost no ramp-up cost. **SWE-1.5 is competitive and free.** Windsurf's own proprietary model is included at no quota cost on all plans. It is fast and capable for routine coding tasks, which stretches the practical value of the free tier before you need to reach for Claude or GPT-5. **The free tier is a genuine test drive.** Unlimited Tab autocomplete and a real (if small) agent quota mean you can actually evaluate the product before spending a dollar. **Multi-file edits work.** This sounds basic but is harder than it looks. When you ask Windsurf to refactor a function that appears in eight files, it finds all eight, edits them consistently, and shows you exactly what changed. Cursor does this too, but Windsurf's implementation is straightforward. ## Where it falls short **Cascade is dying and Devin Local is new.** As of the date of this review, Cascade reaches end-of-life on 1 July 2026 — eleven days from now. Devin Local is the replacement but was only shipped in June 2026\. It is unproven at scale. If you are evaluating Windsurf today, you are evaluating a product mid-transition. That is a real risk. **Quota depletion is unpredictable on complex work.** Daily and weekly quotas make sense for routine use, but sprint periods — when you need to ship a lot quickly — can exhaust a week's Pro quota in a day or two. The old monthly credit pool let you concentrate usage; the new system punishes it. Power users will hit the ceiling and face paying API overage rates or upgrading to the A$280/month Max plan. **The product identity is unsettled.** In less than 12 months, Windsurf went from independent startup, to almost-OpenAI acquisition, to Google licensing deal (for the founders), to Cognition product. It is now rebranded as Devin Desktop. That is a lot of corporate turbulence for a tool you are embedding into your daily workflow. Future pricing changes, feature pivots, or ownership shifts are not theoretical risks — they have already happened, twice. **This is not a beginner's tool.** The interface assumes you can read code, understand what a diff shows, and make judgements about whether a proposed change is correct. A non-developer using Windsurf to "build an app" will hit unfamiliar territory fast. You still need to understand what good code looks like to catch the agent's mistakes. **No native mobile app or web interface.** Windsurf is a desktop application. There is no browser-based option for lighter access. ## Australian fit Windsurf's Australian fit is poor by this publication's standards — not because the product is bad, but because it was plainly built for a US audience and nothing has been done to adapt it for Australia. **Currency:** USD-only billing. No AUD pricing option. **GST:** Not mentioned in any primary source documentation, and the treatment is unconfirmed. Australian businesses that can claim GST need a tax invoice; whether one is issued can only be confirmed by testing at checkout. **Data residency:** Your code and prompt content are processed offshore. The Terms of Service state the service operates from offices in California. The Cognition Privacy Policy states data may be transferred, stored, and processed in the EU, UK, and US. There is no Australian or APAC data region. There is no mention of the Australian Privacy Act or Australian Privacy Principles. Code you send to the agent — which can include business logic, customer identifiers, internal API structures, and proprietary workflows — is sent to US-based infrastructure. Enterprises with data sovereignty obligations (government, health, finance, legal) should consider this carefully before deploying Windsurf across a team. **Training on user code:** The Cognition Privacy Policy permits using user content to "train, fine-tune and improve the models" that power the service. There is no blanket "we do not train on your code" statement in the current policy for individual and Pro users. Teams plan users get Zero Data Retention (ZDR), which prevents training. For individuals on Free and Pro, assume your code may be used. **AUD billing:** Not available. **Australian support:** No AU-based support. No AEST timezone support hours listed. **AU-aware outputs:** The tool writes code, not Australian-specific content. There is no Australian context built in. ## Score | Criterion | Score | Why | | --------------------- | ----- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Value for Money | 3/5 | Free tier is real; Pro at \~A$28/month is reasonable for developers. But quota unpredictability on the new system, USD-only billing, and no AUD invoice hurt value for Australian buyers. Max at \~A$280/month is steep. | | Ease of Use | 3/5 | Familiar for existing VS Code users. The agentic loop is well-designed. But non-developers face a steep wall: you still need to read code, evaluate diffs, and catch agent errors. Not a beginner tool. | | Feature Depth | 4/5 | Devin Local, Codemaps, Agent Command Center, multi-model access, and multi-file agentic editing are genuinely strong. Docked one point for the Cascade-to-Devin-Local transition risk and unproven new architecture. | | Australian Fit | 2/5 | USD-only billing, no AU data region, code processed offshore on US servers, no GST clarity, Privacy Policy permits training on Free/Pro user code, no AEST support. Barely qualifies as "available in Australia." | | Reliability & Support | 2/5 | Cognition holds SOC 2 Type II certification (per its Devin security docs), so the underlying security posture is sound. But three ownership changes in under 12 months is a material reliability risk, Cascade's imminent EOL on 1 July 2026 adds short-term instability, and support quality for Australian users is not documented. | **Total: 14/25 — ★★★ Good** *Australian Fit gate: Australian Fit scored 2/5, which is below the gate threshold of 4/5\. The maximum displayed star rating is therefore capped at ★★★★ regardless of raw score. This score of 14/25 maps to ★★★ Good, which is unaffected by the gate. See our* [*review methodology*](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/methodology/)*.* ## Bottom line **If you are a developer in Australia** — comfortable in VS Code, building software daily, and willing to handle USD billing — Windsurf/Devin Desktop is worth a look. The free tier lets you evaluate it at zero cost, and the Pro plan at \~A$28/month is competitive against GitHub Copilot. Just accept that your code is going to US servers, quota management on complex sprints is imperfect, and you are betting on a product that has changed owners twice in a year. **If you want to build an app without coding experience** — this is not the tool. The agent is powerful but assumes you can review its output. When it gets something wrong (and it will), you need to know enough to catch it. Look at no-code tools first; come back to Windsurf if you outgrow them. **If you run a business with data compliance requirements** — health, finance, legal, or government — the absence of an Australian data region and the Cognition Privacy Policy's training-on-code allowance for Free and Pro users should give you pause. At minimum, get your legal team to review before deploying team-wide. The Teams plan includes Zero Data Retention, which addresses the training concern but not the offshore processing concern. **If you want AUD invoicing or GST clarity** — you will not get it here. Budget for a USD credit card charge and sort out GST treatment with your accountant. Update history - **30 Sep 2026 — re-verified by browser; negative confirmed, Teams corrected.** `devin.ai/pricing` on an Australian connection: Free, Pro $20 and Max $200 a month hold; **Teams is $80 a month for the team plus $40 per full developer seat** (up to 200 users), where this table showed the $40 seat only; Enterprise by quote. Pro now includes Cognition's SWE-2 model free until 16 October 2026\. Bare `$`, no `A$`. `aud_native: false` already set. Score unchanged. Capture: `Dossiers/captures/devin-pricing-2026-09-30.txt`; [Wayback 30 Sep 2026](https://web.archive.org/web/20260929230604/https://devin.ai/pricing). - **1 Jul 2026 (upcoming)** — Legacy Cascade engine sunsets; Devin Local (Rust, \~30% more token-efficient) becomes the default. [Source](https://docs.devin.ai/desktop/devin-desktop-faq?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) - **2 Jun 2026** — Windsurf relaunched as Devin Desktop (Cognition); one subscription now spans the desktop IDE and the cloud agent. [Source](https://devin.ai/blog/windsurf-is-now-devin-desktop/?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) - **20 Jun 2026** — First reviewed. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Windsurf available in Australia? Yes — Windsurf, now rebranded Devin Desktop, is a desktop app you can download and use from Australia. But it was plainly built for a US audience: no AUD billing, no Australian data region, and no AEST-timezone support. ### Does Windsurf charge in AUD? No. It prices in USD only, with no AUD billing. Pro is US$20/month (\~A$28). GST treatment is unconfirmed — neither the pricing page nor the terms mention it — so test at checkout and sort out GST with your accountant before subscribing. ### Is there a free plan? Yes, but treat it as a trial. The free tier gives unlimited Tab autocomplete and a light agent quota with access to SWE-1.5, but you'll exhaust the agentic capacity within a couple of days of real coding. Pro lifts the quota and unlocks Claude, GPT-5 and Gemini. ### Where is my code processed? Offshore. The service runs from California, and Cognition's privacy policy says data may be processed in the EU, UK and US — there's no Australian or APAC region. Worse for sensitive work, the policy permits training on Free and Pro user code; only the Teams plan gets Zero Data Retention. ### Who is Windsurf best for? Developers comfortable in VS Code who build software daily and can review the agent's output. It's not a no-code tool — a non-developer trying to "build an app" will hit a wall fast. Note it's mid-transition: Cascade is end-of-life and the new Devin Local agent is unproven. ## Read next - [Devin (cloud agent) review — the autonomous half of the same subscription](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-devin-australia-2026/) - [How we score AI tools: our review methodology](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/methodology/) - [Best AI coding tools for Australians in 2026](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/best-ai-coding-tools-australia-2026/) - [Amazon Q Developer review](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-amazon-q-developer-australia-2026/) - [JetBrains AI review](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-jetbrains-ai-australia-2026/) ## Sources - Windsurf/Devin pricing page (via devin.ai/pricing), checked 20 June 2026\. Wayback snapshots queued. - Windsurf new pricing plans blog post (devin.ai/blog/windsurf-pricing-plans/, published 18 March 2026), checked 20 June 2026\. Wayback snapshots queued. - Windsurf is now Devin Desktop blog post (devin.ai/blog/windsurf-is-now-devin-desktop, published 2 June 2026), checked 20 June 2026\. Wayback snapshots queued. - Windsurf Terms of Service — Individual & Pro (devin.ai/windsurf/terms-of-service-individual), checked 20 June 2026\. Wayback snapshots queued. - Cognition Privacy Policy (cognition.com/legal/privacy-policy), checked 20 June 2026\. Wayback snapshots queued. - Devin Desktop security page (devin.ai/security), checked 20 June 2026\. Wayback snapshots queued. - Devin security documentation — SOC 2 Type II (docs.devin.ai/admin/security), checked 20 June 2026\. Wayback snapshots queued. - Devin docs — plans and usage (docs.devin.ai/desktop/accounts/usage), checked 20 June 2026\. Wayback snapshots queued. ---