Cognition, the AI startup behind the much-hyped coding assistant Devin, has introduced a new pay-as-you-go pricing plan to make its autonomous programming tool more accessible to developers and teams. This strategic move follows a period of viral success, tempered by growing scrutiny over Devin’s actual capabilities in handling complex software tasks.
A Shift from Premium to Entry-Level Pricing
Originally priced at $500/month, Devin AI was positioned as a premium solution for AI-assisted software development. Now, with the new $20 entry-level plan, Cognition is targeting individual developers and smaller teams who were previously priced out.
➡ For $20, users receive around 9 ACUs (AI Compute Units) — Devin’s internal credit system.
➡ One ACU equals roughly 15 minutes of active work, giving users just over 2 hours of usage on the starter plan.
➡ Additional usage is charged at a higher rate of $2.25 per ACU, compared to $2 for subscribers on the $500 plan.
While this model lowers the barrier to entry, costs could still climb quickly depending on the scale and frequency of usage — especially for users dealing with large codebases or complex tasks.
What’s New in Devin 2.0?
Alongside the new pricing structure, Cognition is marketing Devin 2.0 as a major upgrade. According to the company:
- Devin now generates project plans, similar to GitHub Copilot.
- It answers code-related questions with citations, helping developers trace logic.
- Devin can now build code wikis and auto-generate documentation.
- The tool reportedly gets twice as much work done as the earlier version, per developer Silas Alberti.
These additions suggest a shift toward a more holistic developer assistant — not just a code generator but a planning and documentation tool as well.
Performance Still in Question
Despite these improvements, recent independent evaluations show that Devin’s success rate remains limited. In one study, the AI agent completed only 3 out of 20 tasks successfully, raising concerns about its coding logic and reliability.
Additionally, as with many code-generating AIs, security risks and buggy outputs remain an issue. Studies have repeatedly shown that even the most advanced coding AIs can inadvertently introduce vulnerabilities, particularly when logic and context are misinterpreted.
Bottom Line: Promising, But Not Perfect
The Devin AI pay-as-you-go plan is a compelling way to explore the tool’s capabilities without a high upfront cost. It also serves as a smart acquisition strategy for Cognition as it scales up post-funding. However, developers should temper expectations:
✔ Devin is a powerful coding assistant, especially for routine tasks.
❌ But it’s not yet reliable enough to replace skilled engineers or handle complex projects independently.
As Cognition continues refining Devin, its latest version offers a glimpse into the future of AI-assisted software development — one where automation, documentation, and code generation blend into a streamlined workflow. For now, the tool is best seen as a supportive co-pilot, not a fully autonomous coder.
Get the Latest AI News on AI Content Minds Blog