Cline vs Windsurf
A detailed side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right AI coding agent for your needs.
Cline
Cline is the leading open-source autonomous coding agent, distributed as a VS Code extension that turns your editor into a Devin-style autonomous engineer. Where Devin runs in its own cloud sandbox, C...
- Open-source VS Code extension (free forever)
- Plan & Act mode (review before execution)
- Auto-approve mode for trusted workflows
- BYO LLM (Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, local)
- MCP (Model Context Protocol) server support
- Most-starred autonomous coding agent on GitHub — strong community + frequent updates
- BYO LLM = full cost + privacy control (no Cline lock-in)
- Plan & Act mode keeps human in the loop on every action
- LLM API costs flow through user — needs token budget awareness
- OSS + BYO model means setup is more involved than Cursor's polished UX
Windsurf
Windsurf, acquired by Cognition AI and now operating as a credit-based AI IDE, features Cascade, a sophisticated multi-file agent that indexes your entire project to build a deep understanding of arch...
- Cascade multi-file agent with full project indexing
- Auto-loads relevant context from entire codebase
- Iterative debugging via terminal integration
- Multi-step edit planning with safe incremental changes
- Auto-fix for linting errors and style issues
- Project indexing provides superior context awareness
- Iterative debugging loop saves significant time
- Wide IDE and language support out of the box
- Credit-based system can be costly for heavy users
- Teams tier required for enterprise management features
Verdict: Cline vs Windsurf
Pick Cline if you need open-source autonomous coding agent — runs in vs code, byo llm. Pick Windsurf if you need ai ide with cascade agent.
Windsurf supports 4 models.
Cline integrates with 7 platforms.
Who should buy this
Cline
- Engineer wanting Devin-style autonomy with full BYO-LLM cost + privacy control
- Open-source advocate preferring MIT-licensed tools over closed-source SaaS
- Privacy-conscious developer running local models (Ollama / LM Studio) with autonomous agent
- Team using MCP servers for custom tool integrations
- Devs preferring polished, set-and-forget SaaS (Cursor / Copilot fit better)
- Buyers needing managed enterprise contract + dedicated support (Devin / Codex Enterprise)
Extension: free. LLM API costs (BYO): typically $5-50/mo for solo developer use. Heavy users: $100-300/mo on premium models.
Verified 2026-05-06
Windsurf
- Mid-market and enterprise org needing on-prem or hybrid deployment
- Federal/regulated team requiring FedRAMP High
- Healthcare org needing HIPAA compliance with BAA
- Team that wants Cascade-style codebase indexing across many languages
- Solo developers on tight budgets (Pro now $20 vs prior $15)
Solo: $20/mo Pro. Power user: $200/mo Max. Team of 5: ~$200/mo Teams. Enterprise: custom contract.
Verified 2026-05-02
Capabilities at a glance
| Capability | Cline | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Open-source VS Code extension | — | |
| Plan & Act review mode | — | |
| Auto-approve trusted workflows | — | |
| BYO LLM (any provider) | — | |
| MCP server integration | — | |
| Browser Use for web tasks | — | |
| On-prem / self-hosted | Runs locally | Enterprise hybrid + self-hosted on Docker/K8s |
| Multi-file refactor | — | Cascade with full project indexing |
| Parallel agents | — | |
| Terminal execution | — | |
| Browser automation | — | |
| Code review / PR | — | |
| JetBrains support | — | |
| API access | — | |
| FedRAMP High | — | AWS GovCloud |
Security & compliance
| Standard / control | Cline | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 | — | Type II |
| ISO 27001 | — | |
| HIPAA | — | |
| GDPR | ||
| Self-hosted option | ||
| SSO / SAML | — | |
| RBAC | — | |
| Audit logs | — | |
| Trains on customer data | No | opt-out |
| Data residency | — | US, EU (Frankfurt), AWS GovCloud |
What users say
Cline
Engineering teams self-hosting agents, Open-source community, Privacy-focused developers
Frequently asked questions
What AI models do Cline and Windsurf use?+
Cline runs on Any LLM via OpenAI / Anthropic / Google / Ollama, MCP server integrations. Windsurf runs on SWE-1.5, Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5.2-Codex, Gemini 3.1 Pro.
What is the main difference between Cline and Windsurf?+
Cline is positioned as best open-source autonomous coding agent — runs in vs code, byo llm, while Windsurf is positioned as best credit-based ai ide with cascade agent. Pick the one whose strength aligns with your primary use case.
Which has better integrations, Cline or Windsurf?+
Cline integrates with VS Code, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Vertex and 3 more. Windsurf integrates with VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Vim, Neovim and 2 more.
What are the main weaknesses of Cline and Windsurf?+
Cline's main drawback: llm api costs flow through user — needs token budget awareness. Windsurf's main drawback: credit-based system can be costly for heavy users.
Are Cline and Windsurf worth it in 2026?+
Both remain competitive coding options in 2026. Cline stands out for most-starred autonomous coding agent on github — strong community + frequent updates. Windsurf stands out for project indexing provides superior context awareness. Choose based on which trade-offs fit your workflow and budget.