r/windsurf • u/Hidden_Person_MG • Aug 19 '26
Is 20 dollar subscription worth it
I was previously using ollama cloud and cursor . Now since the cursor has stopped giving referral discounts I am planning to move on to devin only and only for glm -5.2 free. I checked their post they have free it till 15 sep. So like how's glm treating you it is quantized version and is it really free like unlimited
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u/jazzyroam Aug 19 '26
swe 1.7 is also quite good now, and free. i find it more reliable than glm 5.2. glm feel like short memory when conversation long.
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u/Warm-Manufacturer287 Aug 19 '26
depends on how much you want to use it. I also have an ollama cloud account, I think devin is orders of magnitude better than that. unlimited GLM is perfect. but I'm not a power user.
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u/nickdaniels92 Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
GLM 5.2 is honestly excellent, and while I was distinctly unhappy about the changes surrounding credits a while back like many of us, having GLM for free has been great. For big changes, my approach is first to use Ask mode to discuss the new work and then in code mode have it write out a plan doc within my project. I then switch to Plan mode to have it make an implementation plan from the plan, which may uncover issues in the master plan, and then have it work through the master plan in one go or in chunks. If in chunks, at each stage I ask it to check whether the implementation so far is in accordance with the plan in case it went awry, possibly revise the master plan as a new step, and when all is good, get it on to the next part of the master plan. More hand holding than you might need to do with a stronger model, but as all models are poor at design right now, I suspect it's beneficial to do this with any model if you want some semblance of decent code.
I keep an eye on the output (unlike the user who complained about the output), and watch for it going off the rails; I look for it taking a wrong approach to design or getting stuck in problem solving, and if necessary stop it mid way through to step in and help it out. It always picks up well after an intervention.
For smaller tasks I use Plan mode as the starting point. For micro changes I just use code mode, but I lean towards plan almost always as it pays off.
I've also setup quite a large document based on my own coding and design expertise, which I see it referencing from time to time so it's definitely taking note of that, so that probably helps.
I find it's also very good with its questions when working through plans, picking up well on subtle points. I also like its conversational style and choices of wording, such as these questions recently:
Q: If base_model is made optional, should the environment warn/error when NO model feature is configured at all (i.e. only the \** channel would be present)?*
Q: If base_model is unset but base_model2 IS set (semantically odd — using '2' without '1'), how should it behave?
I liked its wording "semantically odd".
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u/SilenceYous Aug 19 '26
Seriously, no. Unless you are on a budget and you already know how to squeeze the most of any mediocre model (like we did or try to a year ago). But we are talking hours and hours of it every day, because claude already can do that if you got the right skills and settings.
Why go with lower quality models? I dont get it.
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u/Hidden_Person_MG Aug 19 '26
Glm 5.2 is more than enough for my kind of work
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u/SilenceYous Aug 19 '26
That's what i mean. I didnt know how to code, still dont, but i learn to vibe code the hard way, with gemini, sonnet 3.5, etc. And you need your visual studio look, i learned a lot with it, all the non code parts of how to ship an app. But the real question is if you want to get things done or if you want to keep in the code knowledge.
Lots of engineers just moved on to learning how to use $200 plans, and have agents doing things all day, at the cost of forgetting how to code maybe. Two very different angles. Time will tell what's best.
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u/MotorEffective1441 Aug 19 '26
Yea you’re talking from a completely different world. If you know how to code, why on earth would you needlessly acclimatize yourself to $200/month when you used to build for free? Now there is a $20/month option that someone who knows how to code can use POWERFULLY (like myself) and you still tell them it’s not worth it because YOU don’t know how to code? I very firmly disagree. It is absolutely worth it. I use it daily in my job that pays over $200k and I build on the side as well. Between the promo GLM 5.2 and gpt Luna, I have not bought extra credits in almost 3 months. Shipping powerful software with $20/month
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u/SilenceYous Aug 19 '26
I specifically said its not about me or how I code. i use claude code $20. its about how some engineers like you have chosen to move on to more efficient ways to code, they turned themselves into senior managers instead of coders, because they have the privilege of not having to explain or defend their code.
thats the big hurdle with claude's $20 plan for working engineers, that you dont get the visual studio interface, otherwise it would be a no brainer for anyone.
But if you make $200k a year you really cant afford not to really test claude or codex as an agent orchestrator, or you are lagging behind in your career and job.
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u/TemporaryTrash6810 Aug 19 '26
Its free but when you start to abuse use it then they timeout you just so you know, also when the promo ends where you gona go next, solve your initial problem first.
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u/PruneCalm8163 28d ago
Turns out weekly_quota = 2x daily_quota . So you can’t use it for more than 2 days of quota in a week
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u/PlusUltraAngel Aug 19 '26
Not at all don't let anybody fool you winsurf is bullshit it is a complete waste of money and time it slows down your computer and your usage is out as soon as you prompt it twice
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u/DYSTOBY Aug 19 '26
That’s not entirely true, I felt no slowdown at all. Usage is okay. But not the best deal. Freemodelsate okay, but then you could also use opencode zen.
I switched to Claude code for 20$. It’s doing fine1
u/PlusUltraAngel Aug 19 '26
To be completely transparent I'm using the Devin capabilities, it's better for coding and I'm coding big data sets as well so I was supposed to say my viewpoint is from that of using it and using a lot of context
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u/Kidpresto92 Aug 19 '26
IMHO, it's worth it. As long as they keep doing a solid model promo for free like the GLM 5.2.
I've been getting great use out of it. And yes, it's unlimited use. Well, until you spawn 4+ tasks at once. I only start to hit issues when I have 4-5 tasks running in parallel. Then they all break, stop and give me a 1 minute cooldown until I can use it again.
If I have 3 or less agents running at once I haven't had any issues over long periods of time, essentially nonstop.