Cursor vs Windsurf

The two best-known AI editors both changed hands and names in 2026: Cursor is now sold inside The X Subscription, and Windsurf became Devin Desktop.

Side by side

	Cursor	Windsurf (now Devin Desktop)
Starting price	Free; paid from $8/mo	Free; paid from $20/mo
Plans	Free: $0 · Plus: $8/mo · Premium: $30/mo · Super: $100/mo · Ultra: $200/mo · Teams: $30, $100 or $200 per seat/mo	Free: $0 · Pro: $20/mo · Max: $200/mo · Teams: $80/mo + $40/mo per full dev seat · Enterprise: Custom
Type	AI code editors, Cloud agents, Terminal agents	AI code editors
Open source	No	No
Vendor	Cursor (SpaceXSI)	Cognition

Pick Cursor if…

You want the cheapest paid entry ($8/mo Plus) or already pay for X Premium / SuperGrok
You want Bugbot code review and cloud automations in the same plan (Premium, $30/mo)

Full Cursor breakdown →

Pick Windsurf if…

You want frontier third-party models included in a $20/mo plan rather than billed at API price
You want to manage agents from several vendors in one IDE via ACP
You want unlimited Tab completions for free

Full Windsurf breakdown →

Cursor limits

Third-party models (Claude, GPT, Gemini) are not in the included pool; on Premium and above they are billed at API list price from prepaid credit, and Plus/Free can't use them
Usage pool is shared with Grok and refreshes weekly, so heavy Grok chat use reduces coding headroom
Existing subscribers on legacy plans (Pro $20, Pro+ $60, Ultra $200) can keep them, which makes plan comparisons confusing

Windsurf limits

The Windsurf brand is gone; docs, downloads and pricing now live under devin.ai
Enterprises had to allowlist the renamed app (Devin.app / Devin.exe) in device management
Usage quotas refresh daily and weekly; exact numbers aren't published

FAQ

Which is cheaper, Cursor or Windsurf?

Cursor: Free; paid from $8/mo. Windsurf: Free; paid from $20/mo. See the plan table for full pricing, verified 2026-10-17.

Should I choose Cursor or Windsurf?

Choose Cursor if: You want the cheapest paid entry ($8/mo Plus) or already pay for X Premium / SuperGrok; You want Bugbot code review and cloud automations in the same plan (Premium, $30/mo). Choose Windsurf if: You want frontier third-party models included in a $20/mo plan rather than billed at API price; You want to manage agents from several vendors in one IDE via ACP; You want unlimited Tab completions for free.

Sources

Verified 2026-10-17.