Windsurf vs Cursor — which AI editor actually wins in 2026?
Two VS Code forks that run the same frontier models. Windsurf now ships as Devin Desktop under Cognition, and it wins on cost mechanics — unlimited Tab on every plan, house SWE-1.7 free of quota — plus JetBrains and VPC deploys. Cursor has the deeper agent stack: Bugbot reviews, a $60 middle tier, cheaper team seats, stronger privacy defaults. Choose Windsurf for breadth and cost; choose Cursor for tooling and governance.
| Category | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price · cheapest paid tier | ·Tie | Both $20/mo — Windsurf Pro vs Cursor Pro; Cursor discounts to $16/mo annually |
| Free tier · what $0 buys | AWindsurf | Windsurf gives unlimited Tab and unlimited inline edits at $0; Cursor Hobby caps agent requests |
| Plan ladder · granularity between tiers | BCursor | Cursor rungs at $20 / $60 / $200; Windsurf jumps straight from $20 to $200 |
| Team pricing · per seat, 8 full devs | BCursor | Cursor $40/user = $320/mo; Windsurf $80 team fee + $40/full seat = $400/mo |
| Usage economics · what burns your allowance | AWindsurf | Windsurf's SWE-1.5/1.6/1.7 don't count against quota at all; Cursor meters everything |
| Model breadth · models you can pick | AWindsurf | Windsurf adds DeepSeek V4, Kimi K2.7, GLM and Minimax on top of the big three |
| Agent interoperability · third-party agents in-editor | AWindsurf | Windsurf's ACP hosts Codex, Claude Agent and OpenCode; Cursor runs only its own agent |
| Agent tooling depth · review, hooks, mobile | BCursor | Cursor ships Bugbot code review, hooks, a team marketplace and an iOS app |
| JetBrains support · IntelliJ / PyCharm / WebStorm | AWindsurf | Windsurf ships a native JetBrains plugin (v2.12.24, Jun 2026); Cursor only bridges in over ACP on a paid plan |
| Privacy defaults · training on your code | BCursor | Cursor Privacy Mode is open to free users; Cognition trains by default and gates opt-out to paid plans |
| Enterprise deployment · self-host / VPC | AWindsurf | Windsurf Enterprise deploys into your own VPC; Cursor documents no self-hosted option |
| Extensions & reach · marketplace, platforms | BCursor | Cursor ships an in-app Open VSX marketplace with a scanning proxy, plus an iOS app |
| Best overall | ·Depends | See the decision tree below |
CHOOSE A · WINDSURF
If you want breadth — more models, more IDEs, more control.
- Free house models — SWE-1.7, SWE-1.6 and SWE-1.5 run without touching your quota, so routine work is effectively unmetered
- Unlimited Tab — autocomplete and inline edits are uncapped on every plan including the $0 tier
- JetBrains — the Windsurf plugin still ships natively for IntelliJ, PyCharm and WebStorm; Cursor reaches JetBrains only through an ACP bridge on a paid plan
- Agent Client Protocol — run Codex, Claude Agent or OpenCode inside the editor instead of being locked to one vendor's agent
- VPC deployment — Enterprise can deploy into your own virtual private cloud, which Cursor doesn't offer
- Widest model list — DeepSeek V4, Kimi K2.7, GLM and Minimax alongside Claude, GPT and Gemini
CHOOSE B · CURSOR
If you want the deeper agent stack and cleaner billing.
- Cheaper teams — $40/user flat with no base fee; Windsurf adds an $80/mo team charge on top of $40 per full seat
- A middle rung — Pro+ at $60/mo for 3× agent limits, where Windsurf jumps from $20 straight to $200
- Published multiples — 3× and 20× agent limits are stated on the pricing page; Windsurf Max says only "significantly higher quotas"
- Bugbot — agentic code review on pull requests, included with Teams
- Privacy Mode for everyone — free users can turn off training; Cognition restricts its opt-out to paid plans
- Reach — an in-app Open VSX marketplace with malware scanning, plus an iOS app for driving agents away from the desk
| Aspect | Windsurf | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Free tierWhat $0 gets you | $0 · Free Unlimited Tab completions and unlimited inline edits, plus a light agent quota on a limited model list A wins | $0 · Hobby Limited Agent requests and access to Composer; no credit card required |
| Entry subscriptionCheapest paid path | $20/mo · Pro Full model availability including OpenAI, Claude and Gemini frontier models, free SWE 1.7, and Devin Cloud agents | $20/mo · Pro $16/mo billed annually; extended Agent limits, MCPs, skills and hooks, cloud agents, Bugbot on usage-based billing |
| Mid tierThe step between entry and power user | ✗ No middle tier The ladder goes $20 Pro straight to $200 Max with nothing in between | $60/mo · Pro+ 3× Pro limits on Agent; annual billing runs 20% below monthly across Cursor's tiers B wins |
| Top individual tierHeaviest single-user usage | $200/mo · Max "Significantly higher quotas" than Pro — Cognition doesn't publish a multiple | $200/mo · Ultra 20× Pro limits on Agent plus priority access to new features; $160/mo billed annually B wins |
| Team seatCost for eight full-time devs | $80/mo + $40 per full seat Unlimited flex members, but each full dev seat is $40 on top of the base fee — eight seats is $400/mo | $40/user/mo $32/user billed annually, no base fee — eight seats is $320/mo; Premium seats are $120/user for 5× agent limits B wins |
| Usage modelHow your allowance is spent | Daily + weekly token quota Spend is token-based and resets on both cycles; free models cost nothing against quota; overage is purchasable at API list prices A wins | Bundled pool + on-demand Each tier bundles model usage at a stated multiple, with "generous limits" for Grok and Composer and usage-based billing beyond |
| Model accessWhich models the editor exposes | Frontier + open-weight + 7 SWE models Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek V4, Kimi K2.7, GLM and Minimax, plus the Adaptive router and the in-house SWE line A wins | Frontier + Composer 2.5 + Grok 4.5 Claude, GPT and Gemini families plus GLM 5.2 and Kimi K2.7 Code, and two in-house models — Grok 4.5 co-trained with SpaceXAI (formerly xAI) |
| Capability | Windsurf | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Editor base | VS Code fork | VS Code fork |
| Product name today | Ships as Devin Desktop since Jun 2026 | Cursor |
| Primary agent | Cascade (Devin Local in preview) | Agent / Composer |
| Third-party agents in-editor | ✓ ACP — Codex, Claude Agent, OpenCode | ✗ Own agent only |
| Tab autocomplete | ✓ Unlimited on every plan | ✓ Tab model |
| Multi-file edits | ✓ Native | ✓ Native |
| Codebase indexing / retrieval | ✓ Fast Context + Codemaps + DeepWiki | ✓ Repo embeddings index |
| MCP support | ✓ Native | ✓ Native |
| Terminal integration | ✓ Native | ✓ Native |
| In-house model | ✓ SWE-1.7 (+ Lightning) — free of quota | ✓ Composer 2.5 + Grok 4.5 |
| Model choice | ✓ Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Kimi, GLM, Minimax | ✓ Claude, GPT, Gemini, GLM, Kimi |
| Automatic model router | ✓ Adaptive | ✓ Cursor Router |
| Checkpoints / rewind | ~ Revert to step — irreversible | ✓ Preview then restore |
| Rules / memory files | ✓ Memories, rules, AGENTS.md, workflows | ✓ Rules, skills, hooks |
| Cloud agents | ✓ Devin Cloud | ✓ Cloud agents |
| Agent fleet dashboard | ✓ Agent Command Center + Spaces | ~ Parallel agents in-app |
| Automated code review | ~ Quick Review subagent | ✓ Bugbot on pull requests |
| JetBrains support | ✓ Windsurf JetBrains plugin | ~ ACP bridge, paid plan |
| Command-line agent | ✓ Devin CLI | ✓ Cursor CLI |
| Mobile app | ✗ | ✓ iOS |
| Extension marketplace | ~ Configurable marketplace URL | ✓ In-app Open VSX + scanning proxy |
| Enterprise SSO | ✓ SAML/OIDC | ✓ SAML/OIDC + SCIM |
| Self-host / VPC deploy | ✓ Enterprise VPC deployment | ✗ Not documented |
| No-training mode | ~ Opt-out, paid plans only | ✓ Privacy Mode, all plans |
| SOC 2 Type II | ✓ | ✓ |
| Platforms | macOS / Windows / Linux | macOS / Windows / Linux |
§ 04 / BENCHMARKS
Why there's no chart here.
No neutral benchmark covers this pair. Both products are wrappers: each runs whichever frontier model you point it at — Claude, GPT, Gemini — plus a house model (SWE-1.7 for Windsurf, Composer 2.5 for Cursor). Neutral leaderboards score models and CLI agents, not editors: Artificial Analysis's Coding Agent Index carries Cursor's CLI but no Windsurf entry, and Terminal-Bench 2 carries neither. Pin both editors to the same model and results converge, because the model does the work — so a chart here would measure the model, not the editor. The only Windsurf coding scores in circulation are vendor-published.
A · COGNITION
Windsurf
The VS Code fork that became an agent console — widest model list, JetBrains reach, and a house model that doesn't bill against your quota.
Strengths
- Free house models — SWE-1.7, SWE-1.6 and SWE-1.5 don't count against quota, so high-volume routine work costs nothing beyond the subscription
- Unlimited Tab — autocomplete and inline edits are uncapped on every tier, free included
- Widest model list — Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok alongside DeepSeek V4, Kimi K2.7, GLM and Minimax, with an Adaptive router on top
- Agent Client Protocol — Codex, Claude Agent and OpenCode run as first-class agents inside the editor, so you aren't locked to one vendor's harness
- JetBrains — the Windsurf plugin still ships natively for IntelliJ, PyCharm and WebStorm, where Cursor only bridges in over ACP
- VPC deployment — Enterprise deploys into your own virtual private cloud with teamspace isolation
Weaknesses
- Trains on your data by default, and the opt-out that enables Zero Data Retention is restricted to paid plans
- No tier between $20 and $200, so moderate power users overpay or throttle
- Max quotas are unquantified — "significantly higher" is the only published figure
- Teams costs an $80/mo base fee on top of $40 per full dev seat, making it pricier than Cursor at the same headcount
- The brand is now split: the editor is Devin Desktop, only the JetBrains plugin still carries the Windsurf name
- Devin Local, the successor agent, is still in preview and can't do Memories, Workflows, Codemaps or app deploys
Best for
- JetBrains shops that want an agent without changing IDE
- Heavy routine coding where free house models keep quota intact
- Teams that want to run Codex or Claude Agent inside one editor
- Regulated orgs that need a VPC deployment
- Anyone who wants DeepSeek, Kimi or GLM in the model picker
B · ANYSPHERE
Cursor
The AI-native IDE with the deeper agent stack — published usage multiples, Bugbot review, and privacy controls that reach free users.
Strengths
- Cheaper teams — $40/user with no base fee, $32/user annually, against Windsurf's $80 + $40 per full seat
- A real middle tier — Pro+ at $60/mo for 3× agent limits fills the gap Windsurf leaves between $20 and $200
- Published multiples — 3× on Pro+, 20× on Ultra and 5× on Premium seats are stated, not described
- Bugbot — agentic code review that runs on pull requests, bundled into Teams
- Privacy Mode for all — free users can disable training and admins can enforce it team-wide, backed by a SOC 2 Type II report
- Reach — an in-app Open VSX marketplace with a malware-scanning proxy, plus an iOS app for steering agents off-desk
Weaknesses
- No native JetBrains plugin — only an ACP bridge that needs a paid plan and JetBrains AI Assistant 2025.1+
- Narrower model list, with no DeepSeek, Minimax or the free-of-quota house tier Windsurf offers
- Everything meters: there's no equivalent of Windsurf's quota-free house models for routine work
- No documented self-hosted or VPC deployment, which rules it out of some regulated environments
- Runs only its own agent — no protocol for hosting Codex or Claude Agent in-editor
Best for
- Teams optimising per-seat cost at eight or more full devs
- Anyone who wants a $60 rung rather than a $180 jump
- Shops that need automated pull-request review out of the box
- Free-tier users who need training disabled today
- Developers who lean on VS Code extensions
01
Eight-person team where per-seat cost decides it
You're standardising one AI editor across eight full-time engineers and finance wants the monthly number before anything else.
Reasoning: Cursor Teams is $40/user with no base charge, so eight seats is $320/mo, or $256 billed annually. Windsurf Teams charges an $80/mo team fee plus $40 per full dev seat, so the same headcount is $400/mo. That $80 buys unlimited flex members, which only pays off if most of your org needs light access rather than full seats.
Picked
Cursor
Runner-up: Windsurf Teams if you have many occasional users and few full devs
02
Java team living in IntelliJ
Your codebase is Spring and Gradle, your debugger and profiler are JetBrains, and nobody is migrating to a VS Code fork this quarter.
Reasoning: Windsurf still ships a native JetBrains plugin for IntelliJ, PyCharm and WebStorm, updated as recently as June 2026. Cursor does reach JetBrains, but only as an ACP bridge that needs a paid plan and the JetBrains AI Assistant plugin — agent access, no Tab completion. For a JetBrains-first team the native plugin is the stronger fit.
Picked
Windsurf
Runner-up: Cursor only if you're willing to move out of JetBrains
03
Regulated org that can't send code to a vendor cloud
Compliance requires the inference path to sit inside infrastructure you control, with isolation between internal teams.
Reasoning: Windsurf Enterprise offers deployment into your own virtual private cloud plus teamspace isolation. Cursor documents SOC 2, SSO, SCIM and audit logs but no self-hosted or VPC option. If VPC is a hard requirement, only one of these clears procurement.
Picked
Windsurf
Runner-up: Cursor Enterprise if VPC is a preference rather than a rule
04
Student on $0 who autocompletes all day
You can't pay for a subscription, and most of what you need is fast inline completion rather than long agent runs.
Reasoning: Windsurf's free plan carries unlimited Tab completions and unlimited inline edits, with agent runs on a light quota. Cursor Hobby leads with limited Agent requests and Composer access. For completion-heavy work at $0 the uncapped Tab is the difference.
Picked
Windsurf
Runner-up: Cursor Hobby if you mostly want agent runs rather than completions
05
Freelancer whose $20 plan keeps running dry
You hit the entry-tier ceiling most weeks but $200/mo is more than the work justifies.
Reasoning: Cursor Pro+ is $60/mo for 3× the agent limits, an intermediate rung Windsurf simply doesn't have — its ladder goes $20 to $200. Cursor also publishes the multiple, so you can predict what you're buying instead of reading "significantly higher quotas".
Picked
Cursor
Runner-up: Windsurf Pro plus purchased overage at API list prices
06
Contractor on a free plan with a strict client NDA
You're evaluating tools before billing starts, and the client's contract forbids their source being used to train anyone's model.
Reasoning: Cursor's Privacy Mode is available to free and paid users alike and can be enforced by an admin. Cognition says it may use your data for training by default and gates the opt-out — which then enables Zero Data Retention with model providers — behind a paid plan. On $0, only Cursor lets you satisfy the clause.
Picked
Cursor
Runner-up: Windsurf Pro with the Data Controls opt-out switched on
Frequently asked.
Common questions about this comparison, with sources where they matter.
Q · 01 Is Windsurf or Cursor better — is one faster or smarter? +
Nobody can honestly answer that with a number, and it's worth understanding why. Both are VS Code forks that run whichever frontier model you select — Claude, GPT, Gemini — so the intelligence you experience is mostly the model's, not the editor's. Neutral leaderboards reflect that: they score models and command-line agents, not IDEs. Artificial Analysis's Coding Agent Index lists Cursor's CLI but has no Windsurf entry, and Terminal-Bench 2 lists neither product. Pin both editors to the same model and the outputs converge. The only Windsurf coding scores in circulation come from Windsurf itself, which fails our neutral-source rule, so we publish no chart rather than a misleading one. Choose on workflow, price and ecosystem — those genuinely differ.
Q · 02 Is Windsurf still called Windsurf? +
Partly. Cognition rebranded the editor to Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026 and shipped it as an over-the-air update;
windsurf.com now redirects to devin.ai. Cognition stated that plans, pricing, extensions and settings carried over unchanged. The name survives in two places: the JetBrains plugin is still "Windsurf JetBrains", and the local config folder is still ~/.codeium/windsurf. We keep the Windsurf name on this page because that's what people still search for.Q · 03 Which is cheaper? +
It depends where you sit. They tie at entry — both $20/mo, though Cursor drops to $16 annually. Cursor is cheaper for teams: $40/user flat versus Windsurf's $80/mo base plus $40 per full dev seat, so eight engineers cost $320 against $400. Cursor also owns the middle at $60 (Pro+), where Windsurf has nothing between $20 and $200. Windsurf wins on usage: its in-house SWE-1.5, SWE-1.6 and SWE-1.7 don't count against quota at all, so heavy routine work stays inside the subscription. Model your own token spend with our LLM API cost calculator.
Q · 04 Do they run the same models? +
Mostly, with Windsurf carrying the longer list. Both expose the Anthropic, OpenAI and Google frontier families plus an automatic router — Windsurf's is
Adaptive, Cursor's is Cursor Router. Windsurf additionally offers DeepSeek V4, Kimi K2.7, GLM, Minimax and its seven-model SWE line. Cursor counters with two in-house models: Composer 2.5 and Grok 4.5, which it co-trained with SpaceXAI. If your reason for switching is access to open-weight or Chinese models, Windsurf is the one that has them.Q · 05 Does either train on my code? +
This is the sharpest difference between them. Cursor's Privacy Mode guarantees it won't train on your data, is available on every plan including free, and can be enforced team-wide by an admin; a SOC 2 Type II report is available on request. Cognition states it may use your data for model training by default, and the opt-out — which also enables Zero Data Retention with its model providers — is restricted to paid plans. If you're evaluating on a free tier under an NDA, that gap matters. Confirm current terms on each vendor's trust page before rollout; these policies change.
Q · 06 Can I use either one inside JetBrains IDEs? +
Both, but not equally. The Windsurf JetBrains plugin brings the agent and Tab completion natively to IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm and the rest of the suite, and it was still being updated in June 2026 — though the newer Devin Local agent isn't supported there yet. Cursor reaches JetBrains through the Agent Client Protocol: the agent reads files and runs terminal commands inside your JetBrains IDE, but it needs a paid Cursor plan plus the JetBrains AI Assistant plugin (2025.1+), and Tab completion stays in the Cursor app.