Windsurf vs Cursor

Tagline

The first AI-native IDE that keeps developers in flow.

The AI-first code editor built for pair-programming

Category

Pricing

Rating

Platforms

API

Open source

Description

Windsurf is an advanced AI-native IDE and coding assistant developed by Cognition AI. It provides developers and enterprises with powerful autonomy features, deep codebase context tools, and seamless integrations, including a dedicated JetBrains plugin and secure government-compliant architecture.

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

Key features

• AI-Native IDE
• JetBrains Plugin Integration
• Cascade AI Tool
• Syntax Highlighting
• Autocomplete
• Debugging Tools
• FedRAMP High Authorized Government Solutions
• VPC Deployments for Enterprise

• Contract inference
• Snapshot & property tests
• CI PR bot
• Coverage deltas

Pros

• Windsurf is free to use for individual developers.
• Integrates directly with preferred JetBrains IDEs using the Windsurf Plugin.
• Compliant with strict federal security standards including FedRAMP High, DoW IL4, IL5, IL6, and ITAR.
• Includes a built-in full IDE with syntax highlighting, autocomplete, and debugging tools.
• Provides enterprise-grade security where user data is saved within a controlled environment and never used for training.
• Offers dedicated support and Cognition expertise specifically for enterprise teams.
• Supports event-driven automation and VPC deployment for enterprise workloads.
• Backed by Cognition AI, which has raised over $400M from prominent venture funds such as Founders Fund and Lux Capital.

• 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

Cons

• Pricing details for enterprise and teams are not publicly disclosed on the plans page.
• No direct macOS or Linux desktop platform installations are explicitly listed in the main navigation pages.
• Advanced capabilities like Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) deployments are restricted only to Enterprise tier users.
• Technical support for non-enterprise clients requires going through standard community or web forms rather than direct lines.
• No public developer API details or documentation links are present in the core site layouts.

• 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

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

Website