Head to head · Agent harnesses · October 2026 research run
Devin vs Verdent
Devin scores 57.3 (C) on agent readiness against Verdent's 39.7 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Verdent leads on reliability. Both do agent harnesses.
Best agent harnesses and coding agents · All 1500 harnesses comparisons
Which one, for what
Devin C
Best for A team that wants to hand whole tasks to a cloud agent and collect pull requests, driven from a pipeline or another agent.
Ahead on
- Schema & documentation, 80 against 55
- Agent ergonomics, 62 against 35
- Security & auth, 72 against 33
- Transparency & trust, 75 against 55
Also in its favour
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
Watch for
www.devinstatus.com lists two outages on 13 August and the web app down for about two hours on 24 September 2026
Verdent E
Best for A person who wants a desktop app to plan and run several coding tasks at once, possibly on their own Claude Code or Codex.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 43 against 35
Watch for
No CLI, print mode, API or SDK, so a pipeline can't start or read a run except through a paired chat bot
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Security & auth Devin +39
Devin 72
Hosted reading. Service-user keys with roles and named permissions per endpoint, revocable, with rotation endpoints in beta for Enterprise and expiring personal tokens. Custom roles are an Enterprise option, and Teams has Admin and Member only (25). Security profiles restrict network, MCP servers, git and the Devin MCP to read-only, and read-only API permissions exist. They are opt-in, and session creation accepts bypass_approval (16). AI Guardrails screen user messages and pull request comments for prompt injection, on Enterprise only, and they don't cover web pages or repository content Devin reads (8). Audit logs through the API need an enterprise-level permission. Session events and insights are available on all plans (10). SOC 2 Type II and ISO/IEC 27001:2022, a disclosure address at security@cognition.ai, no security.txt, and the trust centre answers No to having a bug bounty (13).
Verdent 33
Framework reading (telemetry defaults, approvals, guardrails, sandboxing). Conversation history and tool results go to Verdent's US servers and on to Azure, Bedrock or Vertex, with zero data retention stated for Vertex and Bedrock only. Event logging to log.verdent.ai has no documented opt-out. BYOA keys stay on the machine (10). Plan Mode is read-only, Agent Mode asks before destructive commands and edits outside scope, and workers are isolated by git worktree, but there is no sandbox or network control and the approval list isn't enumerated (9). No prompt-injection guidance found, while web search and fetch results enter the context (2). Usage history in the dashboard, no audit log found (5). A security page with a disclosure address and a five-day acknowledgement, SOC 2 and ISO/IEC 42001 being pursued rather than held, no security.txt and no bug bounty (7). 10+9+2+5+7 = 33.
Agent ergonomics Devin +27
Devin 62
API and MCP reading. The MCP server documents 13 tools, several of them consolidated manage tools, and list endpoints take first to size a page (17). Cursor pagination on every v3 list endpoint and filters on session search by tag, playbook, origin, user and time (18). problem+json with error_code, field-level errors on 422 and a 400 that lists valid platform names, but no published code list (15). No idempotency key on v3 session creation. max_acu_limit caps what a session can spend, and the MCP tool annotations couldn't be read without a key (4). Only prompt is required to start a session. No official SDK found, only a Terraform provider (8).
Verdent 35
Harness reading. MCP servers per project or globally, subagents, skills and rules, but no per-tool disabling or deferred loading found (10). No output-size, turn-limit or budget controls for a run were found beyond credit balances (5). No exit codes or error format, since there is no headless mode (3). Parallel workers in git worktrees and a review column make runs reviewable and reversible, with no resume by ID documented (10). No CLI, API or SDK. A pipeline can only reach Manager through a paired Telegram, Slack or Feishu bot (7). 10+5+3+10+7 = 35.
Schema & documentation Devin +25
Devin 80
API reading. Public OpenAPI 3.1 spec for v3 with 182 paths and 274 operations on 4 November 2026, and separate v1 and v2 specs (25). llms.txt with 393 lines and a Markdown twin of every page (10). Each endpoint page names its required permission, but 63 of 274 operations have no description and the MCP tool descriptions are one line each (10). Enums on fields such as devin_mode, origin and category, with most strings unconstrained and nullable (9). curl examples in the quick starts, and 401, 403, 404, 409, 422 and 429 declared on all 274 operations, without a catalogue of error_code values (11). Versioned paths (v1, v2, v3, v3beta1) and an API release notes page dated by month, newest November 2026 (15).
Verdent 55
Framework reading for a harness. No schema for settings or output, only mcp.json examples in the standard mcpServers shape (5). Every current docs page has a Markdown twin at the same path with .md, though no llms.txt (10). The docs say when to use Agent Mode or Plan Mode and what Plan Mode can't do, but the Agent Mode page lists the actions that need approval only as "certain tool executions" and "destructive operations" (12). Modes and BYOA agent types are enumerated, permissions are not (5). Examples on the MCP, BYOA and messaging pages, and a recovery page, with no error codes (8). Version numbers and a dated public changelog (15). The archived 1.0 docs are still served beside the current ones. 5+10+12+5+8+15 = 55.
Transparency & trust Devin +20
Devin 75
Editorial half. Closed source with clear terms from Cognition AI, Inc. (15). Terms (30 June 2026), privacy policy, security page and data processing agreement agree with each other. Customer data may be used for model training by default on self-serve plans, with an opt-out on paid plans that also turns on zero data retention at model providers, and Enterprise data isn't trained on without written consent. Retention is stated as the length of the customer relationship, with no periods (18). The API versioning policy on the release notes page says breaking changes are announced at least 7 days in advance and a deprecated endpoint stays available through a deprecation period. Dated notices followed it for the schedules endpoints (announced 10 September, creation refused from 24 September 2026), and others cover the v2 clone endpoint and Playbooks moving to Skills (23 October). v1 and v2 are marked legacy with no end date (20). Sub-processors listed with purpose and country, and 15 days' notice of additions, per the 8 October check (18).
Verdent 55
Proprietary, under terms from Verdent AI, Inc. that are clear on use and ownership (15). The privacy policy and security page agree that data stays in the US and that input isn't trained on without consent, and the security page lists subprocessors. The privacy policy gives no retention periods, names MiniMax as a provider the security list leaves out, and deletion is by email request (14). The credit bonus carries a promise of 15 days' notice, but Free Mode was retired on the day v2.18.0 shipped and no deprecation policy was found (6). Subprocessors and their locations are listed, and the domains the app calls are named, with event logging undescribed (12). 15+14+6+12 = 47.
Reliability Verdent +8
Devin 35
Hosted reading. Status page at www.devinstatus.com (Atlassian Statuspage) with 14 components, among them Cloud Agent and Cloud Web Client, read from the page itself on 4 November 2026 (20). Its history feed for the 90 days from 6 August 2026 lists Devin unavailable on 13 August (20 minutes), Devin Cloud unavailable on 13 August (2 hours 40 minutes) and the web app down on 24 September (about 2 hours), with minor session and Ask Devin incidents on 10 and 11 August, 3 and 17 September and 26 October. Both 13 August entries report the service unavailable. The 24 September entry names only the web app, not the API or the MCP server, so it is read as partial, as dashboard outages are on other listings. Two majors (5). Two scheduled maintenance entries (7 and 17 August) are read as maintenance. 429 is a documented response, but no rate limit figures were found (0). No Retry-After or backoff guidance found, and v3 session creation has no idempotency key (0). The platform terms give no guarantee of availability, and enterprise terms weren't read (0). The v3 API is the current, recommended surface, with 27 of 274 operations under /v3beta1 (10).
Verdent 43
Local-package reading, as for the other closed-source harnesses. The desktop app installs from verdent.ai with macOS 11 or later and 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 stated, and the extension from the editor marketplaces, but not from a package registry (15). No public CI or test suite, since the source isn't published (0). No public issue tracker, every task runs through Verdent's servers, and no status page was found, so there is no readable record (5). A dated changelog by version, with the end of Free Mode called out in v2.18.0, but no breaking-change sections (8). 2.18.0, generally available (15). 15+0+5+8+15 = 43.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Devin | Verdent | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 35 | 43 | Verdent +8 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 80 | 55 | Devin +25 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 62 | 35 | Devin +27 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 72 | 33 | Devin +39 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 20 | 20 | even |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 63 | 61 | Devin +2 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 75 | 55 | Devin +20 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |
| Total | C 57.3/100 | E 39.7/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Devin | Verdent |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Cognition AI, Inc. | Verdent AI, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | https://mcp.devin.ai/mcp | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Cognition's Platform Terms of Service | Proprietary. The terms of use from Verdent AI, Inc. forbid reverse engineering or copying any component, and no source is published |
| Tools exposed | 13 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-29 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-06-30 | 2026-05-25 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-03-09 | 2026-05-26 |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
How the scores have moved
Verdent
No score change since it was listed.
Verdicts
Devin
The v3 API is well specified, with a public OpenAPI 3.1 file covering 274 operations, problem+json errors, cursor pagination and service-user keys tied to roles. The status page records two outages on 13 August and a two-hour web app outage on 24 September 2026, and no rate limit figures or retry guidance were found in the reviewed documentation.
Verdent
A desktop and editor coding agent that splits a goal into parallel workers in git worktrees, with a read-only Plan Mode, MCP servers and the option to run workers on Claude Code or Codex. It has no CLI, API or sandbox, sends context through Verdent's servers, and has had no free tier since 29 October 2026.
Before you call either
Devin
- Use a
cog_service-user key with the Member role. Legacyapk_keys fail against v3 and the MCP server with 401 or 403 - Set
max_acu_limiton every session you create. Usage is metered by the work done and has no published unit rate - Session creation is not idempotent in v3. After a timeout, list sessions by tag before creating again
- Enterprise keys and personal access tokens must send
X-Org-Idto the MCP server. Organisation-scoped keys resolve it automatically - Create scheduled work as an automation. POST to the schedules endpoint returns 403 for migrated organisations since 24 September 2026
Verdent
- Don't plan to drive Verdent headless. Hand the task to the person using the desktop app, or use a harness with a print mode
- Start large changes in Plan Mode and review plan.md before switching to Agent Mode
- Add MCP servers in the project's .mcp.json or ~/.verdent/mcp.json in the mcpServers shape
- Keep work under git, since rollback relies on git and there is no sandbox
- Budget in credits at about $0.059 each, because there is no free allowance since 29 October 2026
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Devin or Verdent?
Devin scores 57.3 (C) on agent readiness against Verdent's 39.7 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Verdent leads on reliability.
Other comparisons with Devin or Verdent
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- Cline vs Devin
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- Cursor CLI vs Devin
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- Devin vs Droid CLI
- Devin vs Pi
- Devin vs Emdash
- Devin vs Gemini CLI
- Devin vs GitHub Copilot CLI
- Devin vs goose
- Devin vs Harness²
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- Devin vs Jules
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- Devin vs mini-swe-agent
- Devin vs MiniMax Code
- Devin vs Mistral Vibe CLI
- Devin vs Muse Code
- Devin vs OpenAI Agents API
- Devin vs OpenAI Codex
- Devin vs OpenCode
- Devin vs OpenHands
- Devin vs OpenMausBot
- Devin vs Orca
- Devin vs Paseo
- Devin vs Prime Agent
- Devin vs Qoder CLI
- Devin vs Qwen Code
- Devin vs Mirror CLI
- Devin vs Rovo Dev CLI
- Devin vs Sculptor
- Devin vs T3 Code
- Devin vs Traycer
- Devin vs Unstoppable
- Devin vs Vibe-Trading
- Devin vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)
- Droid CLI vs Verdent
- Pi vs Verdent
- Emdash vs Verdent
- Gemini CLI vs Verdent
- GitHub Copilot CLI vs Verdent
- goose vs Verdent
- Harness² vs Verdent
- HarnessRouter vs Verdent
- Jules vs Verdent
- Junie CLI vs Verdent
- Kilo Code CLI vs Verdent
- Kimi Code CLI vs Verdent
- Kiro CLI vs Verdent
- Letta vs Verdent
- mini-swe-agent vs Verdent
- MiniMax Code vs Verdent
- Mistral Vibe CLI vs Verdent
- Muse Code vs Verdent
- OpenAI Agents API vs Verdent
- OpenAI Codex vs Verdent
- OpenCode vs Verdent
- OpenHands vs Verdent
- Orca vs Verdent
- Paseo vs Verdent
- Prime Agent vs Verdent
- Qoder CLI vs Verdent
- Qwen Code vs Verdent
- Mirror CLI vs Verdent
- Rovo Dev CLI vs Verdent
- Sculptor vs Verdent
- T3 Code vs Verdent
- Traycer vs Verdent
- Verdent vs Vibe-Trading
- Verdent vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)
- Clawboo vs Devin
- Clawboo vs Verdent
- CLI Manager vs Devin
- CLI Manager vs Verdent
- Devin vs Harness
- Devin vs Paperclip
- Devin vs Parallax
- Harness vs Verdent
- OpenMausBot vs Verdent
- Paperclip vs Verdent
- Parallax vs Verdent
- Unstoppable vs Verdent
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/devin-vs-verdent.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/devin.json·/api/v1/tools/verdent.json - From a terminal
anchor compare devin verdent(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "devin", "b": "verdent"}at/mcp, no key