Cursor vs Windsurf: pricing, quotas & features (2026)
AI-native code editor — VS Code fork with deep AI integration
vs. Agentic IDE (formerly Codeium) — Cascade AI flow + SWE-1.5 model
Data sourced from vendor documentation · Last updated June 2026
Summary
Cursor 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. Cursor has a broader documented feature set (15 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 Cursor and Windsurf's official documentation — not generated by AI or estimated.
Cursor vs Windsurf: Comparativa de precios, cuotas y características (2026)
En esta comparativa analizamos Cursor 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.
Cursor es una plataforma de la categoría ai-coding — AI-native code editor — VS Code fork with deep AI integration. Ofrece 6 tiers de precio: Hobby (Free) gratuito, Pro desde $20/mes, Teams desde $40/mes, Pro+ (Recommended) desde $60/mes. Su catálogo en Staxly documenta 15 características y 5 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 Cursor, Windsurf y más de 130 plataformas para desarrolladores.
Pricing tiers
Cursor
Windsurf
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing hobby on Cursor vs free on Windsurf.
| Metric | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Cursor · 15 features
- .cursorrules / Project Rules — Custom system prompts per project to steer the AI.
- Agent Mode — Autonomous multi-file editing + tool use. Runs terminal commands with confirmati…
- Background Agents — Run agents in the cloud to tackle longer tasks async.
- BugBot (PR reviews) — AI reviewer on GitHub PRs.
- Chat (⌘L) — Conversational chat with codebase context.
- Cmd-K Inline Edit — Highlight code + ⌘K → natural language edit instruction.
- Codebase Indexing — Embedding-based semantic search over your codebase.
- Composer — Multi-file edit sessions with full context.
- MCP Support — Add Model Context Protocol servers to extend agent capabilities.
- Privacy Mode — Data never used for training; zero-retention routing.
- Skills & Hooks — User-defined skills library + lifecycle hooks.
- Tab (multi-line completion) — Predictive completions including next-edit suggestions.
- Team Shared Context — Share chats, commands, rules across team.
- VS Code Extension Compat — Most VS Code extensions work via the marketplace.
- YOLO Mode — Auto-approve all agent actions (for trusted workflows).
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 | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | Cursor CLI | Windsurf CLI |
| MCP | Cursor MCP support | MCP Support |
| OTHER | Cursor Desktop App, Cursor Rules (.cursorrules), Privacy Mode | .windsurfrules, JetBrains / Xcode / Eclipse / Neovim Plugins, Windsurf Desktop App |
Key takeaways
- Both Cursor and Windsurf offer a free tier — Cursor ("Hobby (Free)") and Windsurf ("Free") — with no credit card required to start.
- The entry-level paid plan is $20/month for Cursor (Pro) vs. $20/month for Windsurf (Pro).
- Cursor has a broader documented feature set (15 features) vs. Windsurf (13 features) in Staxly's catalog.
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