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Novastart vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Novastart logo

Novastart

Infinite canvas desktop where your apps, teammates and AI agents share one workspace

Freemium
Visit websiteView details
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) logo

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

Agent-first IDE for running local and cloud coding agents in one place

Freemium
Visit websiteView details

Verdict

Novastart is listed under Productivity and Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) under Coding AI. Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.4 vs 7.3 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) is available on JetBrains Plugin.

Best overall

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

  • Software developers
  • Engineering teams
  • Enterprise engineering organizations
  • Teams running several coding agents

Choose Novastart if

  • You want a tool built for keeping many apps and projects organized in saved workspaces, watching AI agents work step by step, sharing a live workspace with teammates.
  • Agents work with a visible cursor and can be paused, steered or taken over.
  • Permanent free plan with all apps available.

Choose Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) if

  • You want a tool built for managing multiple coding agents.
  • Free plan with unlimited Tab completions and inline edits.
  • Full IDE that stays compatible with VS Code and Windsurf extensions.
Best for beginners
Novastart
Best for business
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

Features

19 features compared.

  • Infinite canvas
    Novastart
    Available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not available
  • Saved canvases
    Novastart
    Available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not available
  • Visible AI agents
    Novastart
    Available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not available
  • Multi-agent runs
    Novastart
    Available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not available
  • Agent modes
    Novastart
    Available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not available
  • Team collaboration
    Novastart
    Available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not available
  • Real apps
    Novastart
    Available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not available
  • Local-first data
    Novastart
    Available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not available
  • Undo history
    Novastart
    Available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not available
  • Agent Command Center
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available
  • Spaces
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available
  • Full IDE
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available
  • Devin Local
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available
  • Agent Client Protocol support
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available
  • Tab and Supercomplete
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available
  • Fast Context
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available
  • Devin Cloud handoff
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available
  • MCP and extensions
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available
  • SWE-2 model
    Novastart
    Not available
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Novastart
    Freemium
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Novastart
    Yes
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Novastart
    $0
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    $0
  • Plans
    Novastart
    3 plans
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    5 plans

Novastart plans

  • Free

    $0

    Try Novastart with limited canvas space.

    • All apps
    • 1 folder
    • 2 canvases
    • 4 windows per canvas
    • AI agents pay per use

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $10/month

    Unlimited canvas space, marked as the recommended start.

    • All apps
    • Unlimited folders
    • Unlimited canvases
    • Unlimited windows
    • AI agents pay per use

  • Team

    $20/month

    Pro plus shared canvases for teams.

    • Everything in Pro
    • Team collaboration
    • Shared canvases

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) plans

  • Free

    $0

    Light quota to code with agents

    • Limited model availability
    • Unlimited inline edits
    • Unlimited Tab completions

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $20/month

    Increased quotas and full model availability

    • Frontier models from OpenAI
    • Claude
    • Gemini and SpaceXAI
    • Open source models
    • Free use of SWE-2
    • Devin Cloud access
    • Extra usage at API pricing

  • Max

    $200/month

    Significantly higher quotas for power users

    • Everything in Pro
    • Significantly higher quotas

  • Teams

    $80/month

    $80 per month for the team plan plus $40 per month per full dev seat

    • Everything in Pro
    • Up to 200 users
    • Shared collaboration
    • Centralized billing
    • Admin dashboard with analytics
    • Priority support

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Contact sales for organization-wide deployment

    • Highest priority support
    • Dedicated account management
    • SAML/OIDC SSO
    • Centralized admin controls
    • Dedicated deployment option

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed November 2026.

Novastart
7.3overall
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
8.4overall

  • Agent Transparency

    Novastart
    8.0
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not rated

  • Workspace Organization

    Novastart
    8.0
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not rated

  • Team Collaboration

    Novastart
    7.5
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not rated

  • Setup & Compatibility

    Novastart
    6.0
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not rated

  • Pricing Clarity

    Novastart
    7.0
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not rated

  • Multi-agent Management

    Novastart
    Not rated
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    8.7

  • Multi-file Agentic Edits

    Novastart
    Not rated
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    8.5

  • Editor Experience

    Novastart
    Not rated
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    8.4

  • Model Choice

    Novastart
    Not rated
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    8.6

  • Value for Money

    Novastart
    Not rated
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    7.8

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Novastart

Pros

  • Agents work with a visible cursor and can be paused, steered or taken over
  • Permanent free plan with all apps available
  • Pro at $10 per month removes canvas limits
  • Local-first design keeps canvas contents on the user's machine
  • Peer-to-peer canvas sharing with per-person cursors

Cons

  • The app is a full computer in a window and the site warns to expect some lag
  • App supports only Windows and Intel Macs, and needs 8 GB RAM and virtualization
  • Novastart OS replaces the existing system on the PC it is installed on
  • Agent use costs extra on every plan and needs credits of $25 or more
  • Young product launched in September 2026 with little independent review history

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

Pros

  • Free plan with unlimited Tab completions and inline edits
  • Full IDE that stays compatible with VS Code and Windsurf extensions
  • One view for managing local, cloud and third-party agents
  • Supports ACP agents such as Codex, Claude Agent and OpenCode
  • Available on macOS, Windows and Linux

Cons

  • Paid plans have daily and weekly usage quotas, and extra usage is billed at API pricing
  • Pro rose to $20 per month, and Max costs $200 per month
  • The rename and the move to devin.ai changed menus, docs and branding, and some names such as the JetBrains plugin still say Windsurf
  • Cascade was retired in favour of Devin Local, so Cascade workflows had to migrate

Platforms

  • Web
    Novastart
    Not supported
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not supported
  • Windows
    Novastart
    Supported
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Supported
  • macOS
    Novastart
    Supported
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Supported
  • iOS
    Novastart
    Not supported
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not supported
  • Android
    Novastart
    Not supported
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not supported
  • API
    Novastart
    Not supported
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not supported
  • Browser Extension
    Novastart
    Not supported
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Not supported
  • Linux
    Novastart
    Supported
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Supported
  • JetBrains Plugin
    Novastart
    Not supported
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Supported

Integrations

Novastart

No integrations listed.

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

15 integrations
  • Slack
  • Linear
  • Notion
  • Figma
  • Sentry
  • Stripe
  • Vercel
  • Datadog
  • Atlassian
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Bitbucket
  • Codex
  • Claude Agent
  • OpenCode

Company

  • Company
    Novastart
    Marketplace Distributors LLC
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Cognition AI
  • Founded
    Novastart
    Not listed
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    2023
  • Headquarters
    Novastart
    Manhattan Beach, CA
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    San Francisco, CA
  • Monthly users
    Novastart
    Not listed
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    1M+
  • Listing
    Novastart
    Claimed
    Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Novastart better than Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)?

It depends on your workflow. Novastart is built for keeping many apps and projects organized in saved workspaces, watching AI agents work step by step, sharing a live workspace with teammates. Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) is built for managing multiple coding agents.

What are the key feature differences between Novastart and Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)?

Novastart: Infinite canvas desktop where your apps, teammates and AI agents share one workspace. Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf): Agent-first IDE for running local and cloud coding agents in one place.

Does Novastart or Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Novastart is freemium and Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Novastart or Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.