Cursor vs Windsurf
A detailed side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right AI coding agent for your needs.
Best overall for flow and speed
Cursor
Cursor is an AI-native code editor built as a fork of VS Code, designed from the ground up for AI-powered development. Its standout feature is Composer, an agentic system that can edit multiple files ...
AI Models
Claude Sonnet 4.5GPT-5.3Gemini 3 ProCustom models
Key Features
- Composer agent for multi-file editing with full project context
- Up to 8 parallel agents in isolated git worktrees
- 10+ specialized tools: semantic search, file operations, terminal, browser
- Multi-file refactoring across 12+ files in single operation
- Full VS Code compatibility with extensions support
Pricing
Hobby — $0/month
Pro — $20/month
Business — $40/user/month
Pro+ — $60/month
Ultra — $200/month
Pros
- Fastest multi-file editing with parallel agents
- VS Code compatibility means zero learning curve
- Isolated worktrees prevent conflicts during experimentation
Cons
- Premium tiers required for advanced features
- Resource-intensive with multiple agents running
Best credit-based AI IDE with Cascade agent
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...
AI Models
SWE-1.5Claude Sonnet 4.6GPT-5.2-CodexGemini 3.1 Pro
Key Features
- 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
Pricing
Free — $0/month
Pro — $15/month
Teams — $30/user/month
Enterprise — $60/user/month
Pros
- Affordable Pro tier at $15/month with 500 credits
- Project indexing provides superior context awareness
- Iterative debugging loop saves significant time
Cons
- Credit-based system can be costly for heavy users
- Teams tier required for enterprise management features