TL;DR
Cursor wins for most developers today: better multi-file editing, a mature model roster
(GPT-5.5, Claude Opus 4.7), and a tab-completion engine that stays out of your way.
Windsurf fights back with a generous free tier and the Cascade agent that plans tasks end
to end. If you live in your editor all day, pay for Cursor; if you want strong agent features
for $0, start with Windsurf. Both editors are VS Code forks that bolt AI onto the editor core. The difference is philosophy:
Pricing as of October 2026:
| Plan | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Hobby: limited Agent requests and Tab completions | Unlimited completions, limited Cascade credits |
| Pro | $20/mo | $15/mo |
| Power | Pro+ $60/mo, Ultra $200/mo | — |
| Team | Teams $40/user/mo | Business $30/user/mo |
We ran the same five tasks in both editors on the same TypeScript repository:
Each task timed from first prompt to passing CI. We recorded first-attempt edit acceptance
(accepted unchanged vs. manually adjusted vs. rejected).
| Metric | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Tasks completed without human fixups | 4 / 5 | 3 / 5 |
| Median time to passing CI | 11m 20s | 14m 05s |
| First-attempt edit acceptance | 78% | 65% |
| Tab completion accept rate | 71% | 64% |
Verdict: Cursor — for daily driver work
Cursor's edits landed cleaner and its model routing (Opus 4.7 for refactors, GPT-5.5 for
quick edits) shaved real minutes off every task. Windsurf's Cascade planned better on the
migration task — it was the only tool that finished #4 unattended — but it needed more
hand-holding elsewhere.
Do not count it out:
Both editors are excellent — the floor for AI IDEs is high in 2026. Cursor is the safer
pick for professionals who measure tooling in shipping speed; Windsurf is the smart pick
if you are budget-constrained or agent-first. Try Windsurf free, and if its limited Cascade credits leave you wanting, Cursor Pro is one click away.