Cognition, the startup behind the viral AI-powered coding assistant Devin, has launched a new affordable plan aimed at attracting more users.
Devin gained traction on social media last year for its ability to handle certain software development tasks autonomously. While the tool initially struggled with complex coding jobs, it still received endorsements from high-profile figures, including Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, giving Cognition a significant visibility boost.
Initially, Devin was priced at a steep $500 per month for team access. But on Thursday — shortly after Cognition reportedly raised hundreds of millions in fresh capital — the company unveiled a more accessible plan: a $20 starting fee that transitions into a pay-as-you-go model.
The plan grants around 9 ACUs (Active Compute Units), Cognition’s credit system. At this rate, $20 buys roughly 2.25 hours of Devin’s active coding work, as 1 ACU equates to about 15 minutes of usage. Notably, the per-unit cost on the $20 plan is $2.25 — slightly higher than the $2/ACU rate under the $500 subscription.
Cognition insists that the new version, Devin 2.0, offers significant improvements over its predecessor released in December. Much like GitHub Copilot, Devin now assists in project planning, generates code explanations with citations, and builds structured code documentation or wikis.
Silas Alberti, part of the Devin development team, shared that the tool “gets twice as much work done as before.”
However, these claims should be taken cautiously. Despite enhancements, AI coding assistants are still known to introduce bugs and security risks due to limited programming logic understanding. A recent evaluation showed Devin successfully completing only 3 out of 20 test tasks.
Also Read : Roam Secures $11.5M Series A Led by Keith Rabois, Aims to Transform U.S. Housing Market
