Claude Code vs Windsurf: pricing, quotas & features (2025)
Anthropic's terminal-native coding agent — built for deep codebase work
vs. Agentic IDE (formerly Codeium) — Cascade AI flow + SWE-1.5 model
Data sourced from vendor documentation · Last updated May 2026
Summary
Claude Code and Windsurf are both ai-coding platforms, addressing the same core use case with different implementation philosophies and trade-offs. Both offer a free tier, making it easy to prototype without a credit card. Both platforms start their paid tiers at $20/month. Claude Code has a broader documented feature set (16 vs 13 features). The right choice depends on your existing stack, team experience, and feature requirements. All pricing and quota data below is sourced from Claude Code and Windsurf's official documentation — not generated by AI or estimated.
Claude Code vs Windsurf: Comparativa de precios, cuotas y características (2025)
En esta comparativa analizamos Claude Code y Windsurf lado a lado — incluyendo precios mensuales, límites del tier gratuito, características técnicas, cuotas de uso (almacenamiento, transferencia, usuarios activos mensuales) y los interfaces de desarrollo disponibles. Todos los datos proceden de la documentación oficial de cada proveedor, no de respuestas generadas por IA.
Claude Code es una plataforma de la categoría ai-coding — Anthropic's terminal-native coding agent — built for deep codebase work. Ofrece 5 tiers de precio: API (pay-per-token) gratuito, Claude Pro desde $20/mes, Claude Team desde $30/mes, Claude Max desde $200/mes. Su catálogo en Staxly documenta 16 características y 9 interfazes para desarrolladores.
Windsurf pertenece a la categoría ai-coding — Agentic IDE (formerly Codeium) — Cascade AI flow + SWE-1.5 model. Ofrece 6 tiers de precio: Free gratuito, Light gratuito, Pro desde $20/mes, Teams desde $40/mes. Su catálogo documenta 13 características y 5 interfazes para desarrolladores.
A continuación encontrarás los tiers de precio completos de ambas plataformas, una matriz de cuotas del tier gratuito (transferencia, almacenamiento, MAU, llamadas a la API y otros límites), el listado completo de características y los interfaces (CLI, SDKs, REST, GraphQL, MCP) disponibles para integrar cada servicio.
¿Necesitas estos datos en tu agente de IA (Claude Code, Cursor, Zed)? Instala gratis el servidor MCP de Staxly y tendrás acceso estructurado a Claude Code, Windsurf y más de 130 plataformas para desarrolladores.
Pricing tiers
Claude Code
Windsurf
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing api-pay-per-use on Claude Code vs free on Windsurf.
| Metric | Claude Code | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Claude Code · 16 features
- Background Tasks — Long-running processes.
- Claude Agent SDK — Build custom agents on same primitives.
- Git Worktrees — Isolated worktree per session.
- Hooks — Lifecycle shell commands.
- IDE Extensions — VS Code + JetBrains + Zed.
- MCP Client — Connect any MCP server.
- Memory (CLAUDE.md) — Persistent per-project instructions.
- Native Tools — Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, WebFetch.
- Plan Mode — Dry-run — Claude shows plan without executing.
- Prompt Caching — 90% discount on repeated context.
- Sandbox Modes — Safe execution of risky commands.
- Slash Commands — User-defined workflows.
- Task Tool (subagents) — Spawn parallel Claude subagents.
- TodoWrite Tool — Internal task tracking.
- WebSearch + WebFetch — Live internet access.
- claude CLI — Terminal command.
Windsurf · 13 features
- .windsurfrules — Project-level system prompts.
- Bring Your Own Key — Use your OpenAI/Anthropic/Azure keys to bypass quotas.
- Cascade — AI agent flow with read/write tool use across files.
- Chat Panel — Sidebar chat with codebase context.
- Command (inline edit) — Ctrl/Cmd+I → natural language edits.
- Deploys — One-click deployment to Netlify + custom targets.
- Fast Context — Optimized context retrieval engine for codebase queries.
- Image Input — Drag screenshots into chat for context.
- MCP Support — Hook MCP servers for extended tools.
- Memories — Persistent notes Cascade can refer to.
- Previews — Live preview pane inside IDE for web apps.
- Tab Completions — Next-edit + inline completions, multi-cursor aware.
- Terminal Integration — Cascade reads + writes terminal. Confirms risky ops.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Claude Code | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | claude CLI | Windsurf CLI |
| SDK | Claude Agent SDK | — |
| MCP | MCP Client (built-in) | MCP Support |
| OTHER | Claude Code Web, GitHub/PR Bridge, Hooks System, JetBrains Plugin, Slash Commands, VS Code Extension | .windsurfrules, JetBrains / Xcode / Eclipse / Neovim Plugins, Windsurf Desktop App |
Key takeaways
- Both Claude Code and Windsurf offer a free tier — Claude Code ("API (pay-per-token)") and Windsurf ("Free") — with no credit card required to start.
- The entry-level paid plan is $20/month for Claude Code (Claude Pro) vs. $20/month for Windsurf (Pro).
- Claude Code has a broader documented feature set (16 features) vs. Windsurf (13 features) in Staxly's catalog.
- Developer integrations differ: only Claude Code offers SDK.
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