Stoat › Compare

Stoat vs Cursor, Claude Code and Devin Desktop

Stoat is small next to these tools, and some things (a custom-trained autocomplete model, cloud agents that run while you sleep) need money and infrastructure that a small open project doesn't have. What Stoat can offer is different: free and open, any model including local ones, predictable cost, and the safest way to let an agent touch your code. Here is how they compare, as honestly as we can.

Checked in September 2026. Prices and features change often; follow the sources at the bottom for the current details. Windsurf was renamed Devin Desktop by Cognition on June 2, 2026.

What developers struggle with, and Stoat's answer

66%

say their biggest frustration is AI output that is "almost right, but not quite".

45%

say debugging AI-generated code takes more time.

46%

actively distrust the accuracy of AI tools; only 3% highly trust it.

Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025.

Problem	What Stoat does about it
"Almost right" code	Verify loop: after the agent edits, it runs your build and tests automatically. If they fail, the agent sees the output and fixes it before it hands back. The review bar shows the result: "✓ Build passed · 12/12 tests passed".
Low trust	You Keep or Undo every change (undo never overwrites your later edits). Commands wait for approval, run without a shell from an allow-list, secrets are redacted, and there's an audit log. The source is open, so you can read exactly what it does.
Surprise bills	No subscription: you pay your model provider directly. Cost is shown on every reply, and a budget per task stops the agent before it spends more than you allowed.
Lock-in	Any provider with your own key: Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral, Grok, OpenRouter, Azure, any OpenAI-compatible API. Switch model per message.
Privacy	No account, no telemetry, no Stoat server. Run fully local with Ollama or LM Studio, including offline autocomplete on a normal laptop.

Side by side

	Stoat	Cursor	Claude Code	Devin Desktop (Windsurf)
Form	VS Code extension (also Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium)	Own editor (VS Code fork)	Terminal CLI + IDE extensions	Own editor (VS Code fork)
Price	Free; you pay your provider per use (or nothing, locally)	Free tier; $20 Pro, $60 Pro+, $200 Ultra per month; usage beyond the plan billed extra	Claude Pro $20, Max $100–$200 per month (shared 5-hour and weekly limits), or API	Free tier; $20 Pro, $200 Max per month, with quotas
Models	Any provider, your key	Their selection of frontier models + own models	Claude	Own models + others
Local / offline	✓ Ollama, LM Studio, any local server	✗	Unofficial workarounds	✗
Open source	✓ MIT	✗	✗	✗
Account / telemetry	None	Account required	Account required	Account required
Tab autocomplete	✓ ghost text from your model, or offline with a small local model	✓ best in class (next-edit prediction)	✗	✓
MCP servers	✓ presets + import from Cursor / Claude / VS Code	✓	✓	✓
Web search / fetch	✓ fetch with local-network protection; search via Brave, Tavily or SearXNG	✓	✓	✓
Checks its own work	✓ Automatic build + tests after every change; failures fixed; result in the review	Agent can run tests when it decides to	Agent can run tests; hooks can automate	Agent can run tests when it decides to
Reviewing changes	Keep / Undo per edit, per file or all; exact undo	Review and checkpoints	Permission prompts, diffs	Review and approvals
Cost control	Cost per reply + budget per task	Plan credits, spend limits	Plan limits	Plan quotas
Background / parallel agents	✗	✓	✓ subagents	✓ local and cloud agents
Safety model	Workspace-only files, no shell, allow-listed commands, secret redaction, audit log	Approvals, checkpoints	Permission prompts, hooks	Approvals
Codebase understanding	Code map + optional semantic search	Indexing	Reads on demand	Indexing, Codemaps
Quality measured	Public eval gate: 26 real tasks, 3 runs each	Internal	Internal	Internal

Where the big tools are ahead

Cursor's Tab predicts your next edit anywhere in the file with its own trained models; Stoat's autocomplete is classic ghost text.
Background and cloud agents that keep working on several tasks in parallel, or while your laptop is closed.
Their own models, tuned for their product, and a polished, funded team behind them.

Choose Stoat if…

you want to keep VS Code and use the model you choose, including local ones;
you want the agent to prove its changes build and pass tests before it says "done";
you want no subscription, no account and predictable cost;
your code must stay on your machine;
you want to read the source of the tool that edits your code.

Small agent. Takes on the big ones. Free and open source.

Install for VS Code Open VSX GitHub

Sources

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