Cline vs Windsurf

Detailed side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right tool

Cline

🔴Developer

AI Coding Assistant

Open-source autonomous coding agent for VS Code

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Starting Price

Custom
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Windsurf

🔴Developer

AI Coding Assistant

AI coding environment

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Starting Price

Free
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Feature Comparison

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FeatureClineWindsurf
CategoryAI Coding AssistantAI Coding Assistant
Pricing Plans111 tiers97 tiers
Starting PriceFree
Key Features
  • • Open-source coding agent runtime for VS Code, CLI, and SDK embedding
  • • Bring-your-own-key support for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and other model providers
  • • MCP Marketplace for connecting agent tools and context
  • • Cascade agentic coding workflow inside an AI-native IDE
  • • First-class support for major model providers and premium models
  • • SWE-1.6/SWE model positioning, Fast Context, tab completions, and plan-based Cascade allowances

Cline - Pros & Cons

Pros

  • ✓Open-source and free to install for individual developers
  • ✓No subscription required for the open-source version; pay for inference or use your own keys
  • ✓MCP support is a major differentiator for extending tool access
  • ✓Useful for real implementation work, not only autocomplete

Cons

  • ✗Powerful file and terminal access demands disciplined review
  • ✗Inference costs depend on model choice and task size
  • ✗Teams needing SSO, SLA, billing, and RBAC must evaluate Enterprise

Windsurf - Pros & Cons

Pros

  • ✓Strong all-in-one IDE experience rather than a thin chat sidebar
  • ✓Clear public pricing for Free, Pro, Max, Teams, and Enterprise tiers
  • ✓Useful for multi-file refactors, implementation planning, and codebase navigation
  • ✓Team controls are available for organizations that need centralized billing and access management

Cons

  • ✗Heavy users may need Max or Teams pricing instead of the cheaper Pro plan
  • ✗Enterprise data controls and hybrid deployment require higher-tier review
  • ✗Best experience requires adopting the Windsurf editor rather than only adding a small plugin

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🔒 Security & Compliance Comparison

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Security FeatureClineWindsurf
SOC2—✅ Yes
GDPR—✅ Yes
HIPAA——
SSO—✅ Yes
Self-Hosted—✅ Yes
On-Prem—✅ Yes
RBAC—✅ Yes
Audit Log—✅ Yes
Open Source—❌ No
API Key Auth—✅ Yes
Encryption at Rest—✅ Yes
Encryption in Transit—✅ Yes
Data Residency—US, EU
Data Retention—configurable
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Review ClineReview Windsurf