Devin AI: An Honest Review After 3 Months of Daily Use
We used Cognition's AI software engineer for 3 months on real projects. Here's what worked, what didn't, and whether it's worth $500/month.
Devin promised to be the first AI software engineer. After 3 months of daily use, we have a nuanced take.
What Devin Does Well
Devin excels at well-defined, bounded tasks: writing tests, creating CRUD endpoints, implementing designs from Figma, and fixing simple bugs.
Where It Struggles
Complex architectural decisions, ambiguous requirements, and multi-system integrations still require human oversight.
Productivity Impact
Our team estimates Devin saves about 10 hours per developer per week on routine tasks. That's significant.
Cost Analysis
At $500/month, Devin pays for itself if it saves just 3 hours of developer time per week at typical rates.
Verdict
Devin is a powerful tool for augmenting development teams, but it's not replacing developers anytime soon. Think of it as a very capable junior developer that never sleeps.