Claude Code vs Devin: How They Actually Differ
Claude Code fits a solo developer who works in the terminal, wants Claude-native tooling, and can start at $0. Devin fits a small team that wants to hand whole tasks to a managed cloud agent and can absorb pay-per-ACU costs. Pricing is documented for Claude Code, not for Devin.
Compiled 2026-08-26 from our catalogue entries for Claude Code and Devin.
The short answer
- Pick Claude Code if
- You live in the terminal, want a $0 Free tier, and are happy staying on Anthropic's Claude Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku models.
- Pick Devin if
- You want to delegate long-horizon work — research, planning, code, test, and PR in one run — to a managed cloud sandbox, and you already file work through Slack or Linear.
- Cheapest way in
- Claude Code has a documented Free tier at $0; Devin's starting price is not recorded in the sheet.
- What we could not compare
- Devin has no verified plans on file, so a direct monthly cost matchup against Claude Code's Pro ($17 annual / $20 monthly) and Max (from $100/month) tiers isn't possible from the sheet.
Claude Code and Devin both sit in the AI Coding Agents category, but they take different approaches. Claude Code is Anthropic's official command-line agent for Claude — it runs in the terminal, edits files, executes commands, and ships pull requests. Devin is Cognition's autonomous software engineer that runs tasks in a managed cloud sandbox with its own browser, terminal, and editor.
The trade-off is between local control and hands-off delegation. Claude Code offers first-class Claude Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku support, native MCP extensibility, and a $0 starting point, but the sheet flags a learning curve for terminal-first work and no out-of-the-box GPT or Gemini. Devin handles research, planning, code, test, and PR in a single run and lets non-engineers file work via Slack and Linear, but the sheet calls it the highest-cost option in the category on pay-per-ACU pricing, and notes it is closed source and entirely cloud-hosted.
Side by side
Every cell is a field on our catalogue entry for that tool, copied as recorded. Rows where the two differ come first; blank fields say so rather than being filled in.
| Claude Code | Devin | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | Free — $0 | Not recorded |
| Runs on | web, mac, win, linux, cli, vscode-ext, jetbrains-plugin | web |
| Category | AI Coding Agents | AI Coding Agents |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Public source code | No public repo listed | No public repo listed |
| Public docs | Not listed | Not listed |
- Public source code: From the repository link on each catalogue entry, not a licence audit.
Where Claude Code is the better fit
- First-class support for Anthropic Claude Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku.
- MCP server protocol is natively supported as both client and server.
- Skills, hooks, and slash commands let teams encode workflow primitives.
Where Devin is the better fit
- Fully managed cloud environment — no local setup required.
- Long-horizon tasks: research, planning, code, test, and PR in a single run.
- Slack and Linear integrations let non-engineers file tasks.
Which one should you pick?
Free $0 entry, native Claude model support, and availability across mac, win, linux, cli, vscode-ext, and jetbrains-plugin.
The managed cloud sandbox takes research-to-PR in one run, and Slack and Linear integrations let non-engineers submit work.
Verified plans are on file — Free $0, Pro $17/month on annual or $20/month billed monthly, Max from $100/month. Devin's verified plans are not on file.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I use GPT or Gemini with Claude Code?
- No. The sheet says it's locked to Anthropic models, with no GPT or Gemini support out of the box.
- Does Devin work offline or in air-gapped environments?
- No. The sheet describes it as closed source and entirely cloud-hosted, and not suitable for air-gapped work.
- What does Claude Code cost?
- Free $0, Pro $17/month with annual subscription discount or $20 if billed monthly, and Max (5x or 20x) from $100/month, per the verified plans on file.
- Do I need to install anything for Devin?
- No. The sheet says it's a fully managed cloud environment with no local setup required, and web is the only platform listed.
- Can non-engineers file work in either tool?
- Devin's Slack and Linear integrations let non-engineers file tasks per the sheet. The sheet doesn't list an equivalent for Claude Code.
What we compared
This page states nothing that is not in the two catalogue entries below. The exact text used to write it is reproduced here so you can check our reading, and both tools link through to their own pages and to the vendor.
- /tools/claude-code — checked 2026-05-25 · official site
- /tools/devin — checked 2026-08-21 · official site
Show the source text
## Claude Code (/tools/claude-code) Tagline: Anthropic's official CLI agent for Claude — runs in the terminal, edits files, executes commands, and ships PRs. Category: AI Coding Agents Pricing model: paid Starts at: Free — $0 Platforms: web, mac, win, linux, cli, vscode-ext, jetbrains-plugin Public repo: none listed Docs: none listed Verified plans (read 2026-08-24): Free $0 | Pro $17 / month with annual subscription discount, or $20 if billed monthly | Max (5x or 20x) From $100 / month Strengths on file: First-class support for Anthropic Claude Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku.; MCP server protocol is natively supported as both client and server.; Skills, hooks, and slash commands let teams encode workflow primitives. Limits on file: Locked to Anthropic models — no GPT or Gemini support out of the box.; Terminal-first UX has a learning curve for developers expecting an IDE. Claude Code is Anthropic's official command-line agent for Claude — it runs in the terminal, edits files, executes commands, and ships pull requests. Its strength is depth on Claude and extensibility: first-class support for Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku, native MCP as both client and server, and skills, hooks, and slash commands that let teams encode their own workflow primitives. It's for developers comfortable in the terminal who want an agent that acts, not just autocompletes. Two trade-offs: it's locked to Anthropic models — no GPT or Gemini out of the box — and the terminal-first UX has a learning curve if you're expecting an IDE. In the stack it's the terminal-first agent next to IDE-native Cursor and the open, model-agnostic Aider. ## Devin (/tools/devin) Tagline: Cognition's autonomous software engineer — runs tasks in a managed cloud sandbox with browser, terminal, and editor. Category: AI Coding Agents Pricing model: paid Starts at: Not recorded Platforms: web Public repo: none listed Docs: none listed Verified plans: none on file Strengths on file: Fully managed cloud environment — no local setup required.; Long-horizon tasks: research, planning, code, test, and PR in a single run.; Slack and Linear integrations let non-engineers file tasks. Limits on file: Highest-cost option in the category — pay-per-ACU pricing.; Closed source and entirely cloud-hosted; not suitable for air-gapped work. Devin is Cognition's autonomous software engineer — it runs tasks in a managed cloud sandbox with its own browser, terminal, and editor. Its pitch is autonomy at length: a fully managed cloud environment with no local setup that takes long-horizon tasks — research, planning, code, test, and PR — in a single run, with Slack and Linear integrations so non-engineers can file work. It suits teams that want to hand off whole tasks rather than drive an editor. The trade-offs are real: it's the highest-cost option in the category, priced pay-per-ACU, and it's closed source and entirely cloud-hosted — not an option for air-gapped work. It's the managed, hands-off end of the spectrum, where OpenHands offers a self-hostable open alternative.
Change log
- 2026-08-26 — First published, compiled from the catalogue entries for Claude Code and Devin.