Cursor vs Windsurf
Side-by-side comparison of Cursor and Windsurf — features, pricing, and trade-offs.
| Cursor | Windsurf | |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | The AI code editor built on VS Code. | Codeium's agentic IDE — Cursor's main rival. |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Lowest paid tier | $20/mo | $15/mo |
| Launched | 2023 | 2024 |
| Best for | full-stack devs, agent-driven coding, VS Code users | full-stack devs, Cursor switchers, agentic coding |
| Top features | Composer (agent), Tab autocomplete, Background agents | Cascade agent, Multi-file edit, Inline chat |
Cursor
The AI code editor built on VS Code.
- + Most polished agentic coding UX
- + Active development
- + Strong agent loop
- − Expensive at scale
- − Subscription burns fast
Windsurf
Codeium's agentic IDE — Cursor's main rival.
- + Strongest Cursor alternative
- + Cheaper Pro tier
- + Good free tier
- − Younger ecosystem
- − Fewer extensions