Windsurf

AI IDE with an agent mode (Cascade) that plans and executes multi-step coding tasks across your project

Visit Website Free tier, Pro from $15/mo

Windsurf (formerly Codeium’s editor) combines regular code completion with Cascade, an agent mode that can plan out multi-step tasks and execute them across your project. Tell it “add user authentication to this app” and it will create files, install packages, and wire things up.

The $15/mo price is its biggest selling point over Cursor. The product is solid, but the company had a turbulent 2025 — a $3B acquisition by OpenAI fell apart, and talent ended up split between Google and Cognition. If you are price-sensitive and want a capable AI IDE, it is worth trying. Just be aware that the company’s future direction is less certain than competitors.

What's good

  • Cascade agent mode handles multi-file changes without hand-holding
  • $15/mo Pro undercuts Cursor by $5 for similar features
  • Generous free tier to actually evaluate before paying

Watch out for

  • Had a messy 2025 — acquisition talks with OpenAI fell through, talent split between Google and Cognition
  • Smaller community means fewer tutorials and troubleshooting resources
  • Context window can hit limits on larger projects

Alternatives

Cursor

AI code editor (VS Code fork) that lets you talk to your codebase, autocomplete across files, and refactor with a prompt

GitHub Copilot

GitHub's AI coding assistant — inline suggestions, chat, and agent mode right in your editor

Cline

Open-source VS Code extension that acts as an autonomous coding agent — bring your own AI model

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