Agent command center and IDE vs an extensible editor platform.
Official product sites
Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf. It is a VS Code-based IDE and Agent Command Center for Devin Local, Devin Cloud, Codex, Claude Agent, OpenCode, and other ACP-compatible agents. VS Code is Microsoft's original editor product, with local, cloud, Claude, Codex, and Copilot agent harnesses, MCP, remote development, and a large extension marketplace.
Both are full editors. Devin Desktop packages a more opinionated multi-agent workspace. VS Code provides a broader extension and remote-development platform whose agent access and billing depend on the selected harness. Solo is a separate desktop workspace for local CLI agents and project commands.
Choose Devin Desktop for a packaged multi-agent IDE or VS Code for a more general editor and extension platform. Consider Solo when local agents and project commands should live outside the editor.
Devin Desktop fits when you want Devin Local, Devin Cloud, and ACP-compatible agents organized in one IDE and command center.
VS Code fits best when you want the largest extension ecosystem, built-in and third-party agents, and more routes to customization.
Solo fits when local agents and project commands should move out of the editor into a separate process workspace.
| Feature | Devin Desktop | VS Code | Solo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Full IDE and command center for local and cloud agents | Extensible editor with local and cloud agent harnesses | Local process dashboard for agents and project commands |
| Replaces your editor |  | | — |
| Agent workflows | Devin Local, Devin Cloud, and ACP-compatible agents | Local, Copilot, Claude, Codex, and Cloud harnesses | Supported local agent processes plus MCP coordination |
| Cloud agents | Devin Cloud agents in the Agent Command Center | Cloud sessions through supported harnesses | — |
| AI model choice | SWE-1.7 and supported frontier models, plus ACP agents | Depends on the selected harness/provider | Uses installed agent CLIs; no bundled model |
| Tab completion | Supercomplete; unlimited Tab on the free plan | Copilot completions; 2,000/month on Copilot Free | — |
| MCP integration | MCP support inside IDE and agent workflows | Agent harnesses can connect to MCP servers | Exposes an MCP server for external tools |
| Live previews | In-editor UI preview | Integrated browser and Live Preview extension | — |
| Remote development | IDE and cloud-agent workflows | SSH, containers, WSL, and web | — |
| Local process dashboard | IDE and agent command center | Tasks and terminals inside the editor | Sidebar with CPU/memory stats per process |
| Command restart policy | No documented generic process-supervisor workflow | No documented generic process-supervisor workflow | Automatic self-exit and file-watch restart for commands |
| Open source | — | Code - OSS source is MIT; Microsoft VS Code has its own product license | — |
| Free tier | Light usage quota, limited models, unlimited Tab | Free editor; Copilot Free has limited AI credits and 2,000 completions | 4 projects and 20 processes |
| Paid plans | Pro $20/mo, Max $200/mo, Teams $80/mo plus $40/mo per full seat | Copilot Pro $10/mo, Pro+ $39/mo, Max $100/mo, Business $19/user/mo, Enterprise $39/user/mo | Pro plan |
| Platform | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux, web | macOS and Windows |
Devin Desktop is built on the VS Code foundation and packages an opinionated agent workspace.
VS Code is Microsoft's original editor product. Its scope includes extensions, remote development, debugging, and several agent harnesses.
Solo does not replace either editor.
New Devin Desktop users can choose Free, Pro, Max, Teams, or Enterprise plans. Existing Windsurf customers may retain legacy pricing.
VS Code itself is free. Agent cost depends on the selected harness or provider.
Solo has a free tier for four projects and twenty processes, plus a paid Pro plan. It is a separate purchase from your editor and model provider.
Use Devin Desktop for editing and concurrent coding-agent work; add Solo if you want the broader local project environment managed separately.
Use VS Code for editing, extensions, remote development, and agent harnesses; add Solo if long-running local commands should live outside editor tabs.
Solo provides a dedicated process dashboard, command restart policy, resource visibility, notifications, and shared startup configuration.
Devin Desktop sells a packaged IDE and agent command center. VS Code is free, with optional Copilot and provider-specific agent costs.
Devin Desktop pricing lens
New-user plans include Free, Pro at $20 per month, Max at $200 per month, Teams at $80 per month plus $40 per full seat, and Enterprise.
VS Code pricing lens
VS Code is free as an editor, with optional Copilot Free and paid Copilot layers on top.
Where Solo fits
Solo is a separate local environment layer if neither editor should own the local agents and project commands.
Devin Desktop packages an IDE and multi-agent command center around local, cloud, and ACP-compatible agents. VS Code offers a more general editor platform with remote development, extensions, and several agent harnesses. Choose the coding environment that matches your editor and agent workflow. Choose Solo when you want local agents and project commands managed outside either editor.
Related comparisons
If you are evaluating Devin Desktop, VS Code, Solo, these are the closest next comparisons in the matrix.
Start with one project and a small task. These guides walk through the setup and what to check when the work finishes.
Set up both tools in one project, give one agent implementation work, and ask the other to review the diff.
Read the guide →Give a lead agent a plan, shared todos, and a scratchpad so workers have clear assignments and a useful handoff.
Read the guide →Put a Laravel server, Vite, and a queue worker in solo.yml, then manage their output and restart behavior in Solo.
Read the guide →The Free plan includes every feature, so you only need Pro after you outgrow four projects.
Team seats
Buy seats under one Stripe subscription, then share a claim link in Slack or email. Each claimant signs in or registers and receives a normal Solo Pro license. Optional auto-grow adds prorated seats automatically when the pool is full, so your team never hits a license wall.
Seats 1–3
$99/seat/yr
Seats 4–10
$89/seat/yr
Seats 11–50
$79/seat/yr
Seats 51+
$69/seat/yr
Brackets apply per seat — a 10-seat team pays $99 each for seats 1–3 and $89 each for seats 4–10.
Free for four projects on macOS and Windows.
Start with a terminal and add the programmable meta-harness when you need to coordinate agents with your local development stack.
“I can't live without it.”
