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AI Tool Comparison

Comparing as AI Code Editors & IDEs
Trae vs Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

Compare features, pricing, pros & cons, and user ratings to decide which AI tool is best for your needs.

Trae

Trae

VS
Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

Verdict by Category

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View Trae View Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

Detailed Comparison

Feature
Trae
Windsurf (Devin Desktop)
Pricing
FreemiumTrae uses a token/credit-based pricing model introduced in February 2026. The Free plan includes 5,000 autocompletions per month, 10 fast + 50 slow premium model requests, and 1,000 advanced requests — all at no cost, no credit card required. Lite costs $3/month with increased token allocations. Pro costs $10/month with 600 fast premium model requests per month, no queue waiting, and priority access. Pro+ is $30/month, and Ultra is $100/month for power users and heavy agentic workloads. All plans include access to Claude 4.6 Sonnet, GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, Gemini 2.5 Pro, DeepSeek R1, and ByteDance's Doubao models. SOLO Mode and Builder Mode are available on the free plan within monthly quota limits. The Cloud IDE and Trae Work platform are included with all plans.
FreemiumDevin Desktop, formerly Windsurf, offers a Free plan at $0/month with unlimited access to Cognition's SWE-1.6 coding model and limited Cascade/Devin Local flow actions. The Pro plan costs $20/month and is the most popular tier, unlocking higher usage limits and access to premium models like Claude and GPT. A Max plan is available at $200/month for heavier usage. Teams pricing is $80/month as a base fee plus $40/month per full seat. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes SOC 2 Type II certification, SSO integration, audit logging, centralized admin controls, and a self-hosted inference option for HIPAA, FedRAMP, or CMMC compliance needs. Existing Windsurf subscribers kept their original plan pricing unchanged after the June 2026 rebrand to Devin Desktop.
Categories
AI Coding AssistantsAI Productivity ToolsAI Developer APIs & PlatformsAI No-Code / Automation Tools
AI Coding Assistants
Summary
ByteDance's free AI IDE — frontier models, SOLO agentic mode, VS Code compatible
The AI-native code editor from Codeium, now Devin Desktop by Cognition AI
Trae

Trae Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Most generous free plan of any AI IDE — free access to Claude 4.6 Sonnet, GPT-4o, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and DeepSeek R1 without a credit card
  • 1.6 million+ monthly active users — massive developer adoption proving product-market fit at scale
  • VS Code-compatible — familiar interface, extensions, and keybindings with minimal switching cost
  • SOLO Mode delivers fully autonomous project scaffolding from requirements to deployment — now available as standalone app
  • Pro plan at $10/month is roughly half the cost of Cursor ($20/month) for similar agentic capabilities
  • ByteDance's distribution muscle and model partnerships give Trae access to frontier models competitive with any paid alternative

Cons

  • ByteDance telemetry concern — security researchers confirmed Trae collects detailed telemetry including file paths and hardware identifiers even when toggled off in settings; data retained 5 years with no full opt-out
  • No Linux desktop version — only macOS, Windows, and the Cloud IDE; Linux users limited to browser version
  • Context quality drops on large repos over 50,000 lines compared to Cursor's more mature codebase indexing
  • SOLO Mode still maturing — complex tasks occasionally get stuck in error loops requiring human intervention
  • Credit/token-based pricing introduced February 2026 can be unpredictable for heavy users vs. Cursor's flat $20/month
  • ByteDance geopolitical risk — some enterprises may face procurement restrictions due to TikTok parent company concerns
Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

Windsurf (Devin Desktop) Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Free tier gives genuinely useful daily coding assistance without a credit card
  • Agent Command Center lets developers manage local and cloud AI agents from one unified view
  • Agent Client Protocol support means it works alongside Claude Code, Codex, and other third-party agents
  • Devin Local is a faster, more token-efficient successor to Cascade, up to 30% more efficient
  • Backed by Cognition AI's broader Devin platform, giving a clear path from local edits to full cloud delegation

Cons

  • Cascade, the local agent that defined Windsurf's identity, is being fully retired and replaced by Devin Local as of July 1, 2026
  • The rebrand and ownership change (Codeium to Cognition AI) has caused confusion for long-time users about what changed
  • Model access is managed through Cognition's infrastructure rather than allowing bring-your-own-key configuration like some competitors
  • Cloud-based processing sends code context to Cognition's servers, which may not meet CMMC, HIPAA, or FedRAMP requirements without the enterprise self-hosted option
  • Heavier agentic use requires the Pro plan or above; the free tier is best suited for individual, lighter usage

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