Cursor vs Windsurf

A 2026 side-by-side comparison of Cursor and Windsurf — pricing, key features, platforms, API access, and the trade-offs of each, based on data collected from their official sites.

Tagline

The AI-first code editor built for pair-programming

The world's most advanced AI coding assistant for developers and enterprises.

Category

Pricing

Freemium
Freemium

Rating

0.0 (0)
0.0 (0)

Platforms

MacWindowsLinux
JetBrains

API

Yes
No

Open source

No
No

Description

Cursor is a VS Code fork with deep AI integration for autocomplete, chat, and multi-file edits.

Windsurf Editor is an AI-native IDE designed to keep developers in flow. It functions as a powerful AI coding assistant equipped with Cascade and offers JetBrains integration to support developers, enterprises, and government agencies.

Key features

  • Contract inference
  • Snapshot & property tests
  • CI PR bot
  • Coverage deltas
  • AI-native IDE
  • Cascade coding assistant
  • Jetbrains IDE integration plugin
  • Individual free tier
  • Enterprise specialized solutions
  • Windsurf for Government edition

Pros

  • Deep GPT-4 and Claude integration
  • VS Code compatibility and extensions
  • Multi-file edits with Composer
  • Codebase-wide chat and context
  • Predictive Cursor Tab autocomplete
  • Per-project custom rules
  • Fast iteration on refactors
  • Frequent product updates
  • Offers a completely free tier of service for individual developers.
  • Integrates an AI-native IDE designed to optimize developer workflow and keep them in flow.
  • Provides a specialized JetBrains plugin to work directly within preferred developer environments.
  • Includes 'Cascade', a feature tailored to assist in advanced AI development functions.
  • Provides customizable enterprise-grade offerings upon reaching out to their sales team.
  • Supports a dedicated edition tailored specifically for governmental security and deployment regulations.
  • Maintains a transparent and accessible product updates log through their official Changelog.
  • Features an active blog that provides product insights, changelogs, and competitive benchmarks.

Cons

  • Subscription cost adds up fast
  • Context window can hit limits
  • Requires internet connectivity
  • Code is sent to third-party LLMs
  • Autocomplete can be over-eager
  • Slower than a plain local IDE
  • Only VS Code ecosystem
  • Rate limits on free plan
  • Multiple subscription and plan detail pages returned 'This page does not exist' during our analysis.
  • No public developer API or documentation details were explicitly mentioned on the main pages.
  • The site does not reference open-source licenses or public repository access for the IDE core.
  • Specific transparent pricing structures for non-enterprise teams are not explicitly disclosed on the plan pages.
  • No explicit support listings or downloads for localized mobile applications are mentioned in the active links.

Pricing plans

  • HobbyUSD0
    • No credit card required
    • Limited Agent requests
    • Limited Tab completions
  • IndividualUSD20/month
    • Everything in Hobby, plus:
    • Access to frontier models
    • MCPs, skills, and hooks
    • Cloud agents
  • TeamsUSD40/month
    • Everything on Individual, plus:
    • Centralized team billing and administration
    • Team marketplace for internal rules, skills, and plugins
    • Team-wide privacy mode
  • Enterprise
    • Everything on Teams, plus:
    • SAML/OIDC SSO
    • Pooled usage
Not disclosed

Which one should you pick?

  • Choose Cursor if you need Contract inference and API access.
  • Choose Windsurf if you need AI-native IDE.
  • On budget: Cursor is freemium, Windsurf is freemium.