Windsurf
Agentic IDE built around one continuous multi-file flow
Our verdict
A serious Cursor alternative with a real free tier — the caveat is how often the product has been reshuffled since Cognition took over.
Windsurf, formerly Codeium, is a VS Code-based editor whose Cascade agent keeps context across files, runs terminal steps and keeps working until the task is done. It now sits inside Cognition alongside Devin and shares its plan sheet.
How we scored it
What we liked
- ✓Capable agent with strong file context
- ✓Simple three-tier pricing
- ✓Free tier that really works
What to watch
- ✕Published quotas are ranges, not firm numbers
- ✕Roadmap has shifted repeatedly since the Cognition acquisition
Key features
- ◆Cascade agent
- ◆Inline edits
- ◆Terminal execution
- ◆MCP support
- ◆Supercomplete
Best for
Appears in
Alternatives to Windsurf
Cursor
The AI-first code editor most developers are switching to
Cursor is a VS Code fork rebuilt around AI: tab completion that predicts your next edit, chat with the whole repository in context, and an agent that plans and applies multi-file changes. Familiar enough to open without relearning, capable enough to change how you work.
Claude Code
Anthropic's terminal agent for long, multi-step coding work
Claude Code works in your terminal the way a careful engineer does: read the repo, plan the change, edit files, run tests and commands, then report back. It is the strongest of the current crop at long, multi-step work, and it burns through Claude plan limits quickly.
GitHub Copilot
Autocomplete, chat and agents inside the editors you already use
Copilot is the most widely deployed AI pair programmer: completion and inline chat in your editor, agent mode that works through a task, and review against your pull requests. It is the lowest-friction upgrade for teams already living in GitHub.
v0 by Vercel
Prompt to a polished React interface you can actually ship
v0 generates full-stack Next.js apps and components from a prompt, previews them live, and lets you refine by chat or by editing the result directly. The code is clean enough to drop into a Vercel project, and its API gives you the same agent headlessly.