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Kilo Code vs Devin Desktop

Windsurf is now Devin Desktop; compare its full IDE and cloud platform with Kilo Desktop beta and open IDE clients.

What this comparison covers

The current product name is Devin Desktop, formerly Windsurf. This page covers its full IDE, Devin Local, CLI with Fusion, cloud sessions, Review, and team plans. Kilo Desktop beta is a separate agent workspace, not a claim of full IDE parity. Legacy JetBrains plugins and Cascade are identified separately.

Verdict

Devin Desktop is strongest for teams that want a full IDE with cohesive local-to-cloud delegation, CLI, and managed model routing. Kilo fits teams that want open clients, explicit provider choice, local inference, and either a standalone Desktop beta agent workspace or adoption inside existing VS Code and JetBrains IDEs.

Updated Rechecked Cognition self-serve billing, Desktop FAQ, CLI models, JetBrains ACP, and security docs. Billing documentation replaces the unavailable pricing page; legacy contracts may differ.
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Quick Comparison

Current name
Kilo Code
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
Devin Desktop
Windsurf renamed June 2, 2026
Primary surface
Kilo Code
Desktop (beta), VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, and Cloud
Devin Desktop
Full Desktop IDE, CLI/ACP, cloud, Review
Desktop app
Kilo Code
Kilo Desktop (beta)
Standalone agent workspace, not a full IDE
Devin Desktop
Devin Desktop
Full Windsurf-derived IDE plus Agent Command Center
Individual pricing
Kilo Code
Free individual access + usage
Model usage, cloud compute, and card-credit fees are separate
Devin Desktop
Free; Pro $20; Max $200/month
Self-serve plan quotas and additional usage; not a standalone cloud SKU price
Team pricing
Kilo Code
$15/user/month + usage
Devin Desktop
$40/month full seat; $80/month team minimum
Flex seats use shared credits and exclude Desktop; Enterprise custom
Models
Kilo Code
500+
Devin Desktop
Multi-vendor catalog, Adaptive, and Fusion
BYOK/local inference
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
Not publicly documented
Local agent execution is not local inference
Cloud agents
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
Cloud sessions and CLI handoff; check plan or legacy contract
Parallel agents
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
Managed Devins, subagents, worktrees, and Arena
Open source
Kilo Code
MIT IDE/CLI; other components differ
Devin Desktop
Proprietary product

Where Devin Desktop may fit better

Reasons to choose the competitor, depending on your workflow and constraints.

Local-to-cloud continuity

Work can start in Desktop or CLI and hand off to Devin Cloud to continue after the local machine closes.

First-party parallel delegation

Managed Devins, local and CLI subagents, worktrees, Arena, and an Agent Command Center support complex parallel work.

Integrated IDE and model routing

Devin Desktop retains the full Windsurf editor and configuration migration. Devin CLI offers a multi-vendor catalog, Adaptive routing, and Fusion pairings of a frontier lead model with a lower-cost sidekick.

500+ hosted models, plus BYOK and local inference

Choose Kilo Gateway, your own provider credentials, or a compatible local model. Model capabilities and tool support vary; a large catalog does not mean every model fits every workflow.

Open clients with clear license boundaries

The VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI clients are MIT-licensed. Gateway and Cloud backend code are source-available under a separate repository license, not a promise that every hosted service or Desktop component is MIT-licensed.

Desktop for code and data, or the editor you already use

Kilo Desktop beta brings agent chat, interactive Python notebooks, conda environments, and local inference into one workspace. You can also keep working in VS Code, JetBrains, the CLI, or Cloud. Capabilities vary by surface.

Devin Desktop alternative: why developers switch to Kilo Code

Compare Kilo with Devin Desktop, formerly Windsurf, across IDEs, local and cloud agents, models, pricing, and teams.

500+ hosted models, plus BYOK and local inference

Choose Kilo Gateway, your own provider credentials, or a compatible local model. Model capabilities and tool support vary; a large catalog does not mean every model fits every workflow.

Open clients with clear license boundaries

The VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI clients are MIT-licensed. Gateway and Cloud backend code are source-available under a separate repository license, not a promise that every hosted service or Desktop component is MIT-licensed.

Desktop for code and data, or the editor you already use

Kilo Desktop beta brings agent chat, interactive Python notebooks, conda environments, and local inference into one workspace. You can also keep working in VS Code, JetBrains, the CLI, or Cloud. Capabilities vary by surface.

Kilo Desktop for code and data

Beta

Use the Kilo agent in a desktop workspace, or keep your existing VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, and Cloud workflows. Desktop runs the Kilo CLI engine and supports 500+ hosted models through Kilo Gateway, your provider keys, and local inference.

  • Interactive Python notebooks

    Edit and run notebook cells alongside the agent, with outputs visible next to the conversation.

    Notebook documentation

  • Managed conda environments

    Manage Python environments and packages in the app, with access to Anaconda's 19,000 vetted packages.

    Environment documentation

  • Local inference when it fits

    Import a compatible GGUF model into the built-in local model server. Hardware and tool-calling support determine which tasks work well.

    Local inference documentation

Available for macOS Apple Silicon, Windows, and Linux. The built-in local model server, notebooks, and conda environments require a Kilo account. Local inference is not a guarantee of an entirely offline or air-gapped application. See requirements.

Get Kilo Desktop (Beta)
Explore Desktop documentation

Compare the whole cost, not just the seat

Platform
Free for individuals. Teams is $15/user/month; Enterprise is custom. SSO, SCIM, and audit logs are Enterprise features, not included in Teams.
Inference
Use available free models, local inference, or BYOK. Kilo Gateway charges provider rates with no inference markup. Kilo Pass is an optional credit subscription.
Cloud compute
Cloud Agents and hosted Code Reviews have separately priced compute in addition to model inference. Check current pricing and any applicable beta offer. BYOK does not remove compute charges.

Credit purchase processing fee: 5%. Applies to card purchases that add credits, including top-ups and Kilo Pass. Excludes seat subscriptions and non-card payments. See full pricing.

Open-source scope: VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI clients are MIT-licensed; Gateway and Cloud backend code are source-available under a separate license. These licenses do not establish the license of every Desktop component. See component licenses.

Kilo details reviewed . Competitor review dates are listed separately.

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Complete Feature Comparison

An honest look at where Kilo wins, where Devin Desktop wins, and where they're comparable

Desktop and editor support

Desktop app
Kilo Code
Kilo Desktop (beta), not a full IDE
Devin Desktop
Full Devin Desktop IDE and Agent Command Center
Full IDE workflow
Kilo Code
Use Kilo in VS Code or JetBrains
Devin Desktop
Built into Devin Desktop
Standard VS Code extension
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
Legacy plugin lineage
JetBrains agent
Kilo Code
Native open-source plugin
Devin Desktop
Devin via ACP in AI Assistant
Recommended over the maintenance-mode Windsurf plugin; not IDE parity
Terminal agent
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop

Agents and models

Local workspace agent
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
Local model inference
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
Not documented
Cloud handoff
Kilo Code
Cloud Agents; validate workflow handoff
Devin Desktop
CLI and Desktop to Devin Cloud
Coordinated cloud agents
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
Customer-selected provider keys
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
Not documented

Teams and product boundary

Open-source clients
Kilo Code
MIT IDE/CLI; other components differ
Devin Desktop
Central billing and analytics
Kilo Code
Devin Desktop
SSO and audit controls
Kilo Code
Enterprise
Devin Desktop
Enterprise
Default training policy
Kilo Code
Review provider and service terms
Devin Desktop
Opt out on paid plans
Enterprise requires consent

Specialized agents built into Kilo Code

Code, Plan, Debug, and Ask cover the primary workflow. Code, Plan, and Debug can delegate isolated work to Explore, General, or custom subagents, while Agent Manager coordinates parallel VS Code sessions across git worktrees.

Move from Devin Desktop without confusing execution with inference

Validate models, permissions, reusable instructions, and team workflows before removing your current tool. Choose Kilo Desktop beta for a code-and-data workspace, or install Kilo in the editor and terminal you already use.

1

Choose Desktop beta or your standard IDE

Try Kilo Desktop beta as an agent workspace, or install Kilo in VS Code or JetBrains for a full IDE workflow. Retain Devin Desktop for editor-specific features and active work during the pilot.

2 min
2

Translate durable configuration

Review .devin, legacy .windsurf rules, skills, MCP, memories, and workflows. Do not assume conversations or cloud state are portable.

Varies
3

Replace cloud operations

Pilot replacements for managed Devins, Review, automations, chat integrations, and team controls before removing access.

Pilot first

Factual basis

Last reviewed . Product details can change; these first-party sources support the comparison above.

Common Questions About Switching from Devin Desktop

Everything you need to know about moving to Kilo Code.

Yes. Cognition renamed Windsurf to Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026. Codeium and Windsurf names remain in legacy paths, plugins, and account compatibility.

No. Devin Local runs the agent against local files and tools. Current public documentation does not establish Ollama, LM Studio, arbitrary local inference, or general BYOK support.

Devin runs through ACP inside JetBrains AI Assistant, including Remote Development. Cognition recommends this path over the legacy Windsurf plugin, which is in maintenance mode with Cascade being deprecated. ACP is not the full Devin Desktop IDE or the same distribution as Kilo’s native plugin.

Devin Local is intended to replace Cascade. The reviewed FAQ described Cascade as temporarily available during the July 2026 transition, so teams should not design a new migration around long-term Cascade availability.

No. Current self-serve individual plans: Free; Pro $20; Max $200/month. Teams has full seats at $40/month and a $80/month minimum. Paid usage quotas span Devin sessions, CLI, and Desktop; flex seats use shared credits without Desktop access. Legacy Windsurf and Enterprise contracts can package Cloud separately. Confirm your actual entitlement instead of inferring a standalone Cloud SKU price.

Yes. Kilo Desktop is in beta for macOS Apple Silicon, Windows, and Linux. It uses the Kilo CLI agent engine and combines agent chat with files, git, terminals, interactive Python notebooks, and conda environments. Its built-in local model server, notebooks, and conda environments require a Kilo account. Desktop is an alternative workspace, not a requirement to replace your existing IDE.

Individual platform access is free. Teams costs $15/user/month; Enterprise is custom. Paid inference and cloud compute are separate. Kilo Gateway charges provider rates with no inference markup; a 5% processing fee applies to card purchases of credits, including optional Kilo Pass. Seat subscriptions and non-card payments are excluded from that processing fee. BYOK covers inference through your provider, not Kilo cloud compute.

The VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, and CLI are MIT-licensed. Gateway and Cloud backend code are source-available under their repository license, with security and abuse-protection exclusions. These component licenses should not be generalized to the entire hosted platform or Desktop application.

Yes. Kilo supports provider credentials and compatible local inference, including Ollama and LM Studio. Desktop also has a managed local model server for imported GGUF files. Local inference keeps prompts out of hosted model providers, but does not by itself make the whole application offline or air-gapped. Hosted features and connected tools have their own data flows.

Cloud Agents support repository-based work, webhook triggers, and scheduled triggers; triggers are in beta. The current documentation limits each message to 15 minutes, so break long jobs into steps. Cloud compute is billed separately from inference, including with BYOK. Local tools and MCP support should not be assumed to work identically in a hosted environment; check the current Cloud Agent documentation for limits.

Compare Kilo Code with more alternatives

See how Kilo stacks up against every major AI coding assistant.

See all Kilo Code alternatives

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