Kiro vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) (2026): Which Vibe Coding App Is Better?

Both are popular AI code editors. Here is how Kiro and Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) stack up on price, strengths and weaknesses, and which one we would pick.

Kiro

Spec-driven agentic IDE: requirements, design and tasks before code

8.1 /10

Pricing: Free plan, paid from $20/mo

Pros

Specs keep larger features on track
Agent hooks automate docs and tests
Generous student and startup offers

Cons

Spec workflow feels heavy for small fixes
Credit-based pricing

Visit Kiro ↗

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

Cognition's agentic desktop code editor, formerly Windsurf

7.8 /10

Pricing: Free plan, paid from $20/mo

Pros

Cascade agent is good at following your context
Free plan available
MCP and rules support

Cons

Renamed and folded into Devin: features and plans are still changing
Smaller extension ecosystem than Cursor

Visit Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) ↗

Kiro vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) at a glance

	Kiro	Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
Editor score	8.1 / 10	7.8 / 10
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starting price	$20/mo	$20/mo
Reader upvotes	0	0
Best for	editor, aws, spec-driven	editor
Agent Skills support	Yes	Yes
Subagents support	No	Yes
MCP support	Yes	Yes
AGENTS.md support	Yes	Yes
Plugins support	No	Yes
Hooks support	Yes	Yes
Rules support	Yes	Yes
Agent skills in this directory	49	47
Subagents & agents in this directory	6	9
MCP servers in this directory	72	74

Our pick

Kiro edges it with a score of 8.1 versus 7.8. Kiro is the better fit if you value: specs keep larger features on track, agent hooks automate docs and tests. Choose Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) instead if you need: cascade agent is good at following your context, free plan available.