Devin
: How to use it, features, and the business problems it solves

What is Devin

Devin is an autonomous AI software engineer developed by the AI startup Cognition. Tell it "build X" or "fix this bug" in natural language, and Devin — inside its own workspace (shell, editor, browser, planner) — autonomously handles planning, coding, testing, and even opening a Pull Request. Unlike traditional tools that assist your typing inside an IDE, its defining trait is that you hand off a whole task and let it work asynchronously. The current generation is Devin 2, and in 2025 a low-cost plan was added that individuals and small teams can use.

Source: Devin official site

Hand it a task, and it works autonomously

Rather than being instructed line by line, Devin is a coding agent that decides its own steps and runs to completion once you give it a goal. Work happens in a dedicated cloud environment, and when done, a Pull Request and a report come back.

Since you can run multiple sessions in parallel, you can use Devin like an asynchronous team member. It can also be triggered from Slack or GitHub.

How to use

1. Create an account

   Create an account on the official site (devin.ai) and connect repositories such as GitHub.

2. Give it a task

   In the Sessions input, write the feature to build or bug to fix in natural language (e.g., "fix the X bug and open a PR").

3. Wait for autonomous execution

   Devin autonomously plans, implements, and tests. You can watch progress in real time and give feedback along the way.

4. Review the PR

   When done, a Pull Request and test report are submitted. Review, request changes if needed, and merge.

5. Scale it out

   Fold it into your daily flow via Slack integration, Playbooks (standardised steps), and triggering through the API/MCP.

Features

Pricing

Pricing is calculated in ACUs (Agent Compute Units). An ACU is a measure of the compute Devin actually used, and 1 ACU ≈ 15 minutes of autonomous work.

Prices are a guide as of August 2026 (USD). They may change, so check the official pricing page for the latest.

Reputation

• Being able to work asynchronously is praised: "I can hand off whole refactors and test additions," and "results come back as PRs, which are easy to review."
• Some note it "excels at automating simple, repetitive tasks," while shared know-how says "for overly complex tasks, splitting the instructions is more stable."
• A common point: "estimating ACU consumption takes some getting used to."

How it differs from other AI coding tools

AI coding tools split into IDE-type (help you write) and agent-type (hand off a task). Devin represents the latter — an autonomous agent that works in an independent environment to completion, rather than assisting alongside you.

For editor completion and interactive development, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and Windsurf; for terminal-based agents, Claude Code and Codex are comparison points. If you want to hand off whole tasks and receive them as PRs, Devin is a strong choice.

FAQ

Q. How much does Devin cost?

The Core plan starts at pay-as-you-go from $20/mo (~$2.25/ACU). For heavier use, the Team plan ($500/mo, 250 ACUs included), and for large organisations, Enterprise.

Q. What is an ACU?

Agent Compute Unit — a unit of the compute Devin actually used. One ACU ≈ 15 minutes of autonomous work, so longer and more complex tasks consume more.

Q. What can it do?

From a natural-language instruction, it autonomously plans, implements, tests, and opens a Pull Request. It also answers codebase questions (Ask), generates docs (Wiki), and reviews PRs (Review).

Q. Can I fold it into my existing dev flow?

Yes. It integrates with GitHub, Slack, and IDEs, and can be triggered via API/MCP — for example, assigning Devin a task from Slack.

Q. How is it different from Cursor or Copilot?

Cursor and Copilot assist your writing in your local editor. Devin is an autonomous agent that takes on a whole task in an independent environment and returns results as PRs.

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Information on this page is based on the official site and various public figures as of August 2026. Features and pricing may change, so check the official site for the latest.