I paid the $500 for Devin, the mega hyped AI coding agent, so you don't have to here's an in depth review of how it compares to Cursor:

read the full review:

youtube version:

Thought this was going to be another useless influencer-AI-video-thingy but this was great, thank you

Great review. I agree on the workflow issue The idea is cool, but because its not perfect it ends up creating a ton of weird back and forth work where I am context switching. When it would be easier to do in cursor and just undo/redo if it messes up, rather than comment a PR

But how does it compare to the free open source tool it ripped off?

Ya I had to try it out, but within 10 minutes discovered it's a waste of money.

really cool review it looks like it makes a lot of the same mistakes compared to other tools (which makes sense) i kinda hoped the re prompting itself would solve more but it seems it keeps getting stuck (similar when using cursor manually)

Hey, thanks for the review! A thought to add: With agents there are particular tasks where this async workflow makes most sense. Ex. refactors or fixing small issues that don't require you to do extensive code review to be confident. We're all learning these new flows :)

this was a super detailed breakdown—appreciate the insights! a few key takeaways: 1. Devin vs. Cursor: • Devin feels like it’s aiming to replace workflows, but that approach might be too disruptive without the reliability to back it up. • Cursor’s “stay-in-your-environment” model feels much more natural, especially for devs who like to stay hands-on. 2. the real workflow problem: • Async Agents are promising but need near-flawless execution to justify the wait-and-respond system. without that, devs (like you) clearly prefer the control of real-time ides. 3. potential for Devin: • the knowledge retention (notes, tribal knowledge emulation) is cool, but the current execution makes it feel like an experiment more than a tool you’d fully trust. 4. cursor’s incremental approach wins: • iterative updates, real-time control, and clear ownership of changes make it the better option for now. as you said, small, steady improvements feel more aligned with how dev teams actually work. love how you framed this as a comparison, not just a review—it really highlights where each tool shines (or falls short). curious to see if Devin evolves or if cursor just keeps taking over! 👏

Sounds like Devin is an expensive version of Fine 👀 Fine also offers a Slack and/or Linear based workflow, with virtual dev environments, and allows you to see changes clearly without worrying about phantom edits - and our annual subscription is cheaper than one month of Devin