Cursor vs Windsurf
Two AI-native code editors built on the same familiar foundation, differing in how much the agent drives.
How they compare
| Criteria | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Editor feel | VS Code-like with deep inline AI | VS Code-like with agent-first surfaces |
| Codebase awareness | Strong repo indexing and context selection | Automatic context gathering across the repo |
| Agent workflows | Composer and agent runs you steer | Cascade agent runs multi-step tasks |
| Model choice | Several frontier models selectable | Several frontier models selectable |
| Learning curve | Familiar if you know VS Code | Familiar, with more automatic behaviour |
| Free plan | Free tier with limited requests | Free tier with limited requests |
Pricing
Both offer a limited free plan and a paid individual tier in a similar price range, with team plans billed per seat.
Which should you pick?
Choose Cursor if you want to stay in control of context and prompts while writing most code yourself. Choose Windsurf if you prefer handing whole tasks to an agent that gathers its own context and reports back.
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