Cursor vs Windsurf
A side-by-side comparison of Cursor and Windsurf across pricing and capabilities. Pricing and feature data sourced from each vendor; first-hand testing notes appear when verified.
Cursor
Free + $20VS Code fork with the best Tab completion in the business and a competent Composer agent.
Windsurf
Free + $15VS Code fork with the Cascade agent and an unusually generous free tier.
Capability matrix
| Capability | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Agentic | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Terminal access | Yes | Yes |
| MCP support | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | No |
| Runs locally | No | No |
| IDEs | vscode, standalone | vscode, jetbrains, standalone |
| Models | Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5, Gemini 2.5 Pro | Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5, Windsurf SWE-1 |
| Context | 200K (model-dependent) | Model-dependent |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Choose Cursor if…
- Engineers already in VS Code who want a single tool covering completion, chat, and agentic edits
- Fast, low-latency Tab completion across the whole repo
- Quick "edit this function across files" multi-file refactors
Choose Windsurf if…
- Engineers who want a Cursor-style experience but need a free tier that's actually usable
- Cascade-style "follow me around the codebase" agentic flows
- Mixed VS Code and JetBrains shops
The short answer
Cursor: Strong default for VS Code users; pairs best with Claude or GPT-5 for non-trivial work. Tab is the moat — Composer is solid but not class-leading for long agentic tasks.
Windsurf: Best free tier in the category. A credible Cursor alternative if you don't want to pay yet, or if you split time between VS Code and JetBrains. Watch for direction changes after the recent acquisition.