Cursor vs Windsurf

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

Cursor

🔴Developer

AI coding assistant

Cursor review covering codebase-aware agents, completions, cloud agents, MCP tools, verified pricing, privacy controls, practical use cases, pros, and cons.

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Starting Price

$0

Windsurf

🔴Developer

AI coding assistant

An agentic coding environment for editing, understanding, and generating software.

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Starting Price

Free

Feature Comparison

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FeatureCursorWindsurf
CategoryAI coding assistantAI coding assistant
Pricing Plans6 listed plans1 listed plan
Starting Price$0Free
Key Features
  • • AI code editor with agent requests and Tab completions
  • • Cloud agents plus terminal, Slack, and GitHub workflows
  • • MCPs, skills, hooks, and frontier model access on paid plans
  • • Repository-aware code explanation and generation
  • • Agentic multi-file editing inside a developer IDE
  • • Natural-language implementation and refactoring requests

Cursor - Pros & Cons

Pros

  • ✓Unifies chat, edits, completions, and agents
  • ✓Repository context supports multi-file work
  • ✓MCP connects approved development tools
  • ✓Several tiers support different usage levels

Cons

  • ✗Usage limits and on-demand charges require monitoring
  • ✗Broad generated diffs need careful review
  • ✗Cloud agents expand the source and credential trust boundary
  • ✗Editor adoption may conflict with IDE standards

Windsurf - Pros & Cons

Pros

  • ✓Keeps code generation and repository exploration inside the editor
  • ✓Coordinates changes across multiple files instead of returning isolated snippets
  • ✓MCP client support expands the tools an agent can use
  • ✓Strong fit for feature work, refactoring, and unfamiliar repositories

Cons

  • ✗Homepage and pricing page returned HTTP 429, so current prices need manual verification
  • ✗Large generated diffs can increase review burden and hide regressions
  • ✗MCP servers expand the permission and security surface
  • ✗Generated code still requires tests, security review, and human approval

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🔒 Security & Compliance Comparison

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Security FeatureCursorWindsurf
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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