Cursor vs Windsurf

Detailed comparison across 10 dimensions

Winner: Cursor

Cursor clearly comes out ahead of Windsurf on Staquest's weighted six-dimension score. Both offer a free tier. Paid plans start at $20/mo for Cursor and $15/mo for Windsurf.

Quick Overview

Overview	CursorAI-first code editor	WindsurfAI-native IDE with agentic coding capabilities.
Type	ai tool	ai tool
Company	-	Codeium
Free Tier
Has API
Open Source
Learning Curve	easy	-
Integration	low	-
Trending	Hot	Stable
GitHub Stars	-	-
Industries	Development	DevelopmentAI & Machine Learning
Categories	developer-tools	ai-codingdeveloper-tools
Website	Visit	Visit

Dimension Scores

Winners by Dimension

Overall Winner

Cursor

Cursor: 4.5Windsurf: 4.0(+5.7 pts)

Pricing Value

Windsurf15% weight

Cursor

1.0

Windsurf

5.0

Features

Tie15% weight

Cursor

3.0

Windsurf

3.0

Free Tier

Windsurf10% weight

Cursor

6.0

Windsurf

7.0

Ease of Use

Cursor10% weight

Cursor

10.0

Windsurf

5.0

Scalability

Cursor10% weight

Cursor

5.6

Windsurf

4.0

Integrations

Cursor10% weight

Cursor

6.0

Windsurf

4.0

API Quality

Tie10% weight

Cursor

2.0

Windsurf

2.0

Momentum

Cursor10% weight

Cursor

7.0

Windsurf

3.0

Community

Tie5% weight

Cursor

3.1

Windsurf

3.0

Open Source

Tie5% weight

Cursor

2.0

Windsurf

2.0

Pricing Comparison

Cursor

Ultra

~$200/mo

View pricing

flat

20x usage on all OpenAI, Claude, Gemini models
Priority access to new features

Teams

~$40/mo

View pricing

per user

Shared chats, commands, and rules
Centralized team billing
Usage analytics and reporting
Org-wide privacy mode controls
Role-based access control
SAML/OIDC SSO

Hobby

Free

View pricing

freemium

No credit card required
Limited Agent requests
Limited Tab completions

Pro

~$20/mo

View pricing

flat

Extended limits on Agent
Access to frontier models
MCPs, skills, and hooks
Cloud agents

Pro+

~$60/mo

View pricing

flat

3x usage on all OpenAI, Claude, Gemini models

Enterprise

Contact sales

View pricing

custom

Pooled usage
Invoice/PO billing
SCIM seat management
AI code tracking API and audit logs
Granular admin and model controls
Priority support and account management

Windsurf

Enterprise

Contact sales

View pricing

custom

Designed for large organizations
Advanced security
SSO
Custom billing agreements

Free

View pricing

freemium

Base usage allowance that refreshes automatically on a daily and weekly basis

Pro

~$15/mo

View pricing

flat

Designed for solo developers
Higher usage allowance than the Free plan

Teams

~$30/mo

View pricing

per user

Designed for small to mid-size teams
Centralized billing
Team management features

Max

View pricing

custom

Power users requiring higher usage limits

Frequently asked questions

Is Cursor or Windsurf better?

On Staquest's weighted six-dimension scoring, Cursor comes out ahead overall, though Windsurf can be the better fit depending on your priorities — see the dimension-by-dimension breakdown above.

Which is cheaper, Cursor or Windsurf?

Cursor's paid plans start at $20/mo and Windsurf's start at $15/mo, so Windsurf is the lower entry price. Check the pricing comparison for higher tiers and per-seat costs.

Does Cursor or Windsurf have a free tier?

Both Cursor and Windsurf offer a free tier.

Which is better for pricing value, Cursor or Windsurf?

Windsurf scores higher on pricing value in Staquest's analysis. It is the highest-weighted dimension in this comparison.

View Cursor View Windsurf