Article update January, 2026.
Most devs lump Cursor and Devin into the same general category of “AI coding tools,” but don’t underestimate just how varied the two are.
Users of both quickly learn how the two diverge. And it’s not because one is smarter or more capable, but because each one asks something different of the person using it.
The real separation shows up in workflow: How a task gets started. How tightly the developer stays involved as it unfolds. How attention is spent while code is being written, changed, and reviewed.
Rather than comparing features side by side, this article looks at Cursor and Devin through the lens of daily use. The goal is to understand how each tool influences the way developers work and why different teams naturally adopt different approaches over time.
This comparison is about modes, not features.
| Dimension | Cursor | Devin | What this means in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
Primary interaction model | Continuous co-editing | Task delegation | Cursor stays in the loop, Devin creates a handoff |
Where thinking happens | Inside your IDE | Inside the agent | Cursor keeps thinking local, Devin externalizes it |
How work starts | Inline prompt or edit | Assigned task with plan | Cursor begins mid-thought, Devin begins with intent |
Feedback loop speed | Immediate | Phased and delayed | Cursor supports flow, Devin supports patience |
Developer presence assumed | Constant | Intermittent | Cursor expects attention, Devin expects availability |
Sense of authorship | Strong | Shared | Cursor feels like my code, Devin feels collaborative |
Trust boundary | Tight and incremental | Broader and outcome-based | Cursor invites checking, Devin requires trust |
Typical task duration | Short to medium | Medium to long | Cursor shines in iteration, Devin in execution |
Best fit work style | Exploratory and iterative | Planned and goal-oriented | Different ways of thinking |
Primary mental model | Thought partner | Delegated teammate | Explains most downstream differences |
You can distill the philosophical difference between Cursor and Devin into one sentence:
With Cursor, you think through the code. With Devin, you hand the code off.
Cursor tends to feel like an extension of the developer’s own thought process. You stay inside the editor, adjust direction continuously, and refine ideas as they form. The feedback loop is tight, making Cursor the better choice for exploratory work, debugging, and UI-heavy iterations.
Devin feels different. Work begins with an explicit task and a defined goal. Once execution starts, the developer steps back. Interaction happens at checkpoints rather than constantly. Many developers describe this not as a loss of control, but as relief.
These differences appear early, even before teams push either tool to its limits.
| Area | Cursor | Devin |
|---|---|---|
How work begins | Mid-edit, mid-thought | Explicit task definition |
Your role during execution | Actively co-thinking | Reviewing and intervening |
Interaction frequency | Constant | Occasional |
Cognitive posture | Inside the problem | Outside the problem |
Sense of momentum | Continuous | Stepwise |
Early emotional signal | Flow | Relief |
Over time, these small differences compound. They shape trust, fatigue, and how naturally the tool fits into daily work.
One of the clearest differences between Cursor and Devin is where the thinking actually lives while work is in progress.
Cursor keeps reasoning close to the code. You remain inside your editor, watching changes form as they happen. Intermediate steps are visible. Small decisions surface immediately. It is easy to intervene or reverse course because nothing ever fully leaves your field of view.
That proximity shapes behavior. Developers verify continuously, not because they distrust the tool, but because checking is cheap. Thinking and editing blur together. The work feels present and inspectable.
Additionally, Cursor is a fork of VS Code. It’s really an IDE before anything else. If you love working in your IDE, then Cursor’s agentic capabilities can supercharge a pattern that you’ve already optimized.
Devin is something else. AI-native. Web-app based. Devin moves thinking into the agent. You define intent, review a plan, and execution proceeds elsewhere. Intermediate steps are summarized rather than presented in sequence. Visibility arrives in chunks, not continuously.
This distance creates a boundary between work in progress and work that is ready for review. For many teams, that boundary helps reduce distractions. For others, it introduces a context switch that takes time to re-enter.
| Aspect | Cursor | Devin | Why this matters |
|---|---|---|---|
Cognitive location | Inside your editor | Inside the agent (via web) | Proximity vs mediation |
Proximity to code | Immediate | Mediated | Inspect as you think vs inspect later |
Visibility of steps | High | Partial | Continuous vs summarized reasoning |
Default verification | Continuous | Outcome-based | Early vs late discovery |
Context ownership | Human-held | System-held | Memory vs delegation |
Context switching cost | Low | Moderate | Mental boundary introduced |
Failure discovery | Early | Later | Errors surface at different times |
Cursor builds trust through exposure. Devin builds trust through delegation. Neither approach is universally safer or riskier. They optimize for different cognitive preferences.
Another difference becomes clear once work is underway: who actually carries momentum forward.
Cursor assumes the developer remains continuously involved. You initiate changes inline, observe results immediately, and steer direction as ideas evolve. Direction changes are cheap. Intervention is constant.
That tight loop reinforces authorship. Even when Cursor proposes or completes code, it still feels like your work. Progress emerges through small, frequent adjustments.
Devin operates differently. Work begins with a task and a plan, then execution proceeds independently. The developer steps out of the critical path and re-enters at defined moments.
This creates shared ownership. For some teams, that shared ownership creates tremendous leverage—some, but not all.
| Aspect | Cursor | Devin | Experience |
|---|---|---|---|
Initiation style | Inline | Task assignment | Start where you are vs after definition |
Execution ownership | Developer-led | Agent-led | Me working vs collaborative |
Direction changes | Immediate | Checkpointed | Fluid vs structured |
Visibility | Continuous | Periodic | Stream vs summary |
Intervention cost | Low | Moderate | Cheap vs deliberate |
Authorship feeling | Strong | Shared | Personal vs collective |
Completion boundary | Open-ended | Defined | Trails off vs stops |
The tools differ sharply in how they treat time and focus.
Cursor assumes continuous presence. Feedback is immediate. When things go well, this creates a strong flow. When something breaks, an interruption is felt instantly.
That loop is powerful but demanding. Stepping away mid-task often means losing context because the reasoning is tied to the moment.
Devin assumes attention will come and go. Work continues while the developer is elsewhere. Feedback arrives in batches rather than a continuous stream.
This shifts cognitive cost. Cursor taxes attention steadily. Devin reduces presence but requires re-entry.
| Aspect | Cursor | Devin |
|---|---|---|
Attention model | Continuous | Intermittent |
Feedback cadence | Immediate | Batched |
Interruption tolerance | Low | High |
Flow compatibility | High | Variable |
Background execution | Limited | Core |
Cognitive load | High and steady | Spiky but bounded |
Common failure | Fatigue | Context loss |
The tradeoffs grow sharper as teams scale.
Cursor scales individuals. It works best when a small number of developers hold most context and move quickly. Coordination is informal.
As teams grow, that informality becomes fragile. Work tied to continuous cognition is harder to parallelize. Visibility depends on presence.
Devin scales tasks. Goals are defined upfront, execution runs in parallel, and progress is visible by default. Coordination is encoded rather than implied.
The cost is upfront clarity. Ambiguity that might be resolved through live iteration must be surfaced earlier.
| Aspect | Cursor | Devin |
|---|---|---|
Scaling unit | Individual | Task |
Parallel execution | Limited | Strong |
Visibility | Informal | Centralized |
Governance | Implicit | Explicit |
Best team size | Small to mid | Mid to large |
Most failed adoptions fade quietly.
Cursor struggles when continuous presence becomes a liability. Devin struggles when exploration is the work.
| Team reality | Tool bias | Result |
|---|---|---|
Exploratory debugging | Delegation | Overhead |
Heavy UI iteration | Task flow | Slow feedback |
Long background work | Continuous presence | Fatigue |
Ambiguous problems | Plan-first | Rework |
Large cross-functional teams | Individual cognition | Invisible work |
High compliance | Informal flow | Manual governance |
Most teams don’t work in a single mode.
That’s where Builder fits. Cursor excels at thinking through code. Devin excels at handing work off. Builder supports teams that move between those modes while staying connected to product context. It also has best-in-class UI development, making it particularly well-suited for frontend-heavy tasks.
| Dimension | Cursor or Devin | Builder |
|---|---|---|
Mode | Sync vs Async | Both |
UI context | Limited | Native |
Workflow triggers | Optional | Core |
Collaboration | Individual or delegated | Shared context |
Builder complements rather than replaces Cursor and Devin.
| Question | Cursor leaning | Devin leaning | Builder leaning |
|---|---|---|---|
Stay in the editor while thinking | Yes | No | Yes, when needed |
Tasks evolve mid-work | Often | Rarely | Often |
Continuous feedback matters | Yes | No | Yes |
Work runs unattended | No | Yes | Yes |
Delegation beats immersion | No | Yes | Sometimes |
Tasks well defined upfront | Sometimes | Usually | Sometimes |
Checkpoints valued | Mixed | Strong | Strong when required |
UI and product context matters | Sometimes | Rarely | Often |
Team works in multiple modes | Rarely | Sometimes | Often |
Cursor and Devin differ less in intelligence than in expectation.
Cursor fits teams that want to think through code continuously. Devin fits teams that want to hand work off and review outcomes later. Builder fits teams that move between those modes and need product context alongside code.
The best teams choose tools that match how their work actually gets done.
Builder.io visually edits code, uses your design system, and sends pull requests.
Builder.io visually edits code, uses your design system, and sends pull requests.
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