Cognition, the company behind the buzzworthy AI coding assistant Devin, is shaking things up with a brand-new pricing model aimed at attracting more users. After making headlines last year for building an AI tool that could autonomously complete certain software development tasks. The startup is now rolling out a much cheaper entry-level plan — just $20 to start. But while the new tier lowers the barrier to entry, there are still significant trade-offs for users to consider.
When Devin first launched, it captured attention across the tech world for its promise of AI-driven programming. The tool gained viral popularity, particularly for how it handled basic dev tasks without human intervention. Praise from notable AI figures like Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas only added fuel to the fire. Pushing Cognition into the spotlight. However, that early hype soon gave way to reality. While Devin showed promise, it stumbled with more complex projects, raising questions about its real-world value for seasoned developers.
Despite the tool’s mixed early performance, Cognition charged a steep $500 per month when it opened up Devin to team access. Now, just weeks after reportedly securing a hefty new funding round in the hundreds of millions. The company has launched a more accessible plan. For $20, users get a starter package. But it quickly shifts into a pay-as-you-go model that could turn expensive fast, depending on how much you rely on Devin.
Under this plan, $20 buys around 9 “ACUs,” or AI Compute Units, the internal currency Cognition uses to measure usage. Each ACU is pegged at $2.25 under the new model, slightly higher than the $2-per-unit cost with the premium subscription. According to Cognition, one ACU translates to about 15 minutes of active AI work. Which means that initial $20 only buys about two and a quarter hours of use. If you’re working on larger codebases or more complex tasks, that time won’t stretch far.
Still, the company insists that the latest version — Devin 2.0 — delivers a much more capable experience. According to Silas Alberti, a developer on the Cognition team, the upgraded AI “gets twice as much work done as before.” The tool now mirrors GitHub’s Copilot in some respects, offering features like project planning, code explanations with references, and autogenerated documentation in wiki form.
But even with these upgrades, skepticism remains. AI tools like Devin often struggle with understanding deeper programming logic. And they’re known to introduce bugs or even security flaws. One recent evaluation painted a less-than-flattering picture, showing Devin only completed three out of 20 tasks successfully.
While Cognition’s move to lower its pricing may widen access to its AI developer, it also raises the stakes for transparency and performance. As more developers try out Devin at a lower cost, the real test will be whether the tool can deliver meaningful productivity gains — without ballooning costs or risking faulty code.
