Devin vs Factory Droid
Two autonomous coding agents compared across surfaces, model choice, pricing, and extensibility.
Updated August 28, 2026 · Independent comparison — Devin, Factory Droid are separate products.
Devin
Cognition's autonomous cloud software engineer
Devin is Cognition's autonomous software engineer. It runs in its own cloud environment with a shell, editor, and browser, taking a task and working end to end — planning, editing across files, running tests, and opening pull requests. In June 2026 Cognition folded the former Windsurf IDE into Devin Desktop, an agent command center with a full IDE, multi-agent management, and shared Spaces. Pricing is usage-based on Agent Compute Units (ACUs, roughly 15 minutes of work each), with a usage-metered plan plus Team and Enterprise tiers; exact rates are set by Cognition. Devin's CLI lets you pick a model (an Adaptive router by default, or specific Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and open models like DeepSeek, Kimi, and GLM) and connect MCP servers.
Factory Droid
Factory's model-agnostic autonomous coding agents
Factory's Droids are autonomous coding agents that run wherever you work — a full-screen Droid CLI in any terminal, a desktop app, an SDK, headless droid exec runs in CI, cloud and local background agents, and Factory-managed 'Droid Computers' from the Plus tier — and can be triggered from Slack and Linear. Droid is deliberately model-agnostic: you can use Factory's managed plans or point it at your own Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Groq, or Ollama keys via BYOK, though Factory does not publish a managed model list. It supports MCP servers (managed with /mcp), specialized droids for different workflows, and ranked #1 on Terminal-Bench at 58.75%. Managed plans run Pro $20, Plus $100, and Max $200 per month with rolling rate limits, and Teams and Enterprise above.
Bottom line
Two autonomous coding agents compared across surfaces, model choice, pricing, and extensibility. Choose Devin if you want a cloud software engineer that owns a task end to end and opens the PR; choose Factory Droid if you want a model-agnostic agent you can point at your own model keys (BYOK) or Factory's managed plans.
What It Is
| Feature | Devin | Factory Droid |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Cognition | Factory |
| Type | Autonomous cloud software engineer | Autonomous coding agents (Droids) |
| Primary surface | Cloud + Devin Desktop (IDE) + CLI | Droid CLI (TUI) + desktop + cloud/CI |
| Runs autonomously end to end | ✓ | ✓ |
Where It Runs
| Feature | Devin | Factory Droid |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal CLI | ✓ | Droid CLI (full-screen TUI) |
| Desktop / IDE app | Devin Desktop (ex-Windsurf IDE) | Factory desktop app |
| Headless / CI / SDK | Not stated | droid exec + SDK |
| Background agents | Cloud (own VM per task) | Cloud + local; Droid Computers (Plus+) |
| Slack / issue-tracker triggers | Slack | Slack, Linear, web |
Models & Pricing
| Feature | Devin | Factory Droid |
|---|---|---|
| Model selection | Adaptive router + Anthropic/OpenAI/Google/OSS | Model-agnostic; managed model list not published |
| Bring-your-own key | Not stated | BYOK (Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Groq, Ollama…) |
| Managed pricing | Usage-based (ACUs); exact rates not published here | Pro $20; Plus $100; Max $200 |
| Billing unit | Agent Compute Units (≈15 min each) | Subscription tiers, rolling rate limits |
| Enterprise / teams | Team + Enterprise (custom) | Teams + Enterprise (custom) |
Agent Workflow
| Feature | Devin | Factory Droid |
|---|---|---|
| Plans before editing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-file changes & tests | ✓ | ✓ |
| Opens pull requests | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-agent management | Devin Desktop multi-agent + Spaces | Specialized droids |
| Benchmark standout | Not stated | #1 Terminal-Bench (58.75%) |
Integration & Extensibility
| Feature | Devin | Factory Droid |
|---|---|---|
| MCP support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public API | Devin API | Not stated |
| Third-party agent support | ACP-compatible agents (Devin Desktop) | Not stated |
| Enterprise controls | VPC, SSO, teamspace isolation | Teams / Enterprise |
The Verdict
Choose Devin if...
- ✓You want a cloud software engineer that owns a task end to end and opens the PR.
- ✓You want Devin Desktop's full IDE plus multi-agent management and Spaces.
- ✓You want an Adaptive model router that tracks the newest Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google models.
- ✓You want usage-metered ACU billing rather than fixed subscription tiers.
- ✓You need enterprise controls — VPC deployment, SSO, and teamspace isolation.
Choose Factory Droid if...
- ✓You want a model-agnostic agent you can point at your own model keys (BYOK) or Factory's managed plans.
- ✓You want one Droid across the terminal, desktop, CI (droid exec), Slack, and Linear.
- ✓You want the current #1 Terminal-Bench harness and specialized droids.
- ✓You want MCP servers managed straight from the CLI with /mcp.
- ✓You'd rather pick your own model and provider than accept a managed default.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Devin and Factory Droid?
Devin is Cognition's autonomous software engineer. Factory's Droids are autonomous coding agents that run wherever you work — a full-screen Droid CLI in any terminal, a desktop app, an SDK, headless droid exec runs in CI, cloud and local background agents, and Factory-managed 'Droid Computers' from the Plus tier — and can be triggered from Slack and Linear.
How much do Devin and Factory Droid cost?
Devin: Adaptive router + Anthropic/OpenAI/Google/OSS. Factory Droid: Model-agnostic; managed model list not published. See the pricing table above for full plan details.
Should I choose Devin or Factory Droid?
Choose Devin if you want a cloud software engineer that owns a task end to end and opens the PR. Choose Factory Droid if you want a model-agnostic agent you can point at your own model keys (BYOK) or Factory's managed plans.
1DevToolDirect your agents from one desk
Devin and Factory's Droid both aim to work autonomously and hand back a pull request. 1DevTool sits closer to the keyboard: it runs interactive agents like Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Cline, and OpenCode side by side in persistent terminals (Droid's CLI runs there too), so you can steer, review, and iterate in real time. Bring your own keys or subscriptions, no lock-in, plus a built-in HTTP client, 13-engine database client, and embedded browser wired into Send-to-AI. One-time $29, no subscription.