AWS Cloud9 vs Windsurf comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Windsurf are both solutions in the IDE category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.5, while Windsurf is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.8. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 8.7% mindshare in IDE, compared to Windsurf’s 8.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Windsurf users who would recommend it.

AWS Cloud9

Read 2 AWS Cloud9 reviews

1,292 Views
1,292 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Windsurf

Read 4 Windsurf reviews

3,157 Views
758 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

AWS Cloud9

Windsurf

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

AWS Cloud9 and Windsurf are competing products offering cloud development environments. AWS Cloud9 seems to have the upper hand with its extensive feature integration, appealing to developers focused on scalability and productivity.

Features: AWS Cloud9 offers collaborative coding capabilities, an integrated terminal, and debugging tools ideal for teams emphasizing efficiency and speed. Windsurf provides robust design tools and a streamlined workflow for an intuitive user experience. The primary distinction is AWS Cloud9's coding support against Windsurf's design focus.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Cloud9's deployment leverages AWS infrastructure services, which can be complex yet powerful. Windsurf focuses on quick setup with straightforward deployment. While AWS Cloud9 needs deeper technical understanding with rigorous support options, Windsurf offers simpler customer service with favorable communication channels.

Pricing and ROI: AWS Cloud9's pricing scheme is competitive, with potential additional costs based on usage levels, affecting ROI but providing an extensive feature set. Windsurf offers a predictable cost structure with fewer variable charges, potentially yielding quicker ROI due to its streamlined design focus. AWS Cloud9's variable pricing compares to Windsurf's predictable cost strategy, each meeting different business needs.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Cloud9 vs. Windsurf Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Cloud9 vs. Windsurf

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

AWS Cloud9

Ranking in IDE

3rd

Average Rating

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Windsurf

Ranking in IDE

4th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

AI Code Assistants (4th), AI Software Development (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the IDE category, the mindshare of AWS Cloud9 is 8.7%, down from 23.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windsurf is 8.6%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IDE Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
AWS Cloud9	8.7%
Windsurf	8.6%
Other	82.7%

IDE

Featured Reviews

reviewer2746791

Cloud Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Provides secure access for remote teams but could benefit from continued support and development

Some of the best features with AWS Cloud9 are that it is a cloud-based DE, so you do not have to have an IDE locally or set up the IDE every time when using different computers. It is just there. It exists in the same VPC, or you can put it in the same VPC as your other resources. The integration with AWS services in AWS Cloud9 has made the development process more secure because you transition from having one jump box that everyone uses to everyone having their own individual jump boxes. It is advantageous to have something that is in the same VPC as your other resources that you can use as a jump box.

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reviewer2748786

Founding BackEnd Engineer

Enhancing productivity with advanced code generation and low-cost accessibility

What they can do further and venture into next is to provide a CLI environment, similar to the command-line interface environment that Cursor offers. It allows for running a cursor agent from the command line to make changes, review pull requests, or access certain other capabilities. These capabilities are currently not in Windsurf. Windsurf focuses on the productivity and the ID/editor part. I would rather look for the inclusion of pull request reviews or a kind of a TRD or technical requirement general documentation generation, or system diagram generation directly from the codebase in Windsurf itself. These should be the next obvious features they launch for developers. In our team, there are certain people who use Windsurf regularly and appreciate using it. However, it is not a collaborative tool where someone is going to use the same tool and interact in the same IDE. Everyone does their local development, pushes it to different Git branches, someone reviews the PR, and then merges the branch. It is very localized in that sense.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with AWS Cloud9?

One point of improvement for AWS Cloud9 would be to make the interface have a dark mode.

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What is your primary use case for AWS Cloud9?

I would use AWS Cloud9 if I had a business that needed a lot of users with different types of access, since it is all in one place to manage easily.

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What advice do you have for others considering AWS Cloud9?

Regarding the learning curve of AWS Cloud9, I would say for an average person, it will take at least three weeks to a month of consistently using it to finally get out of that learning curve. Maint...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windsurf?

My experience with Windsurf's pricing, setup cost, and licensing was positive. I received a discount because I joined early, so the license cost or monthly rental of Windsurf has been reasonably pr...

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What needs improvement with Windsurf?

I have no suggestions at the moment for how Windsurf can be improved. I would not add more about the needed improvements, even small things that could make my experience better.

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What is your primary use case for Windsurf?

I have been using Windsurf off and on for the last year. My main use case for Windsurf is for software development. Currently, we're working on an API, and Windsurf will help us develop a particula...

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Comparisons

Codespaces vs AWS Cloud9

Compared 52% of the time

Replit vs AWS Cloud9

Compared 28% of the time

SonarQube for IDE (formerly SonarLint) vs AWS Cloud9

Compared 11% of the time

Oracle SQL Developer vs AWS Cloud9

Compared 4% of the time

JetBrains IDEs vs AWS Cloud9

Compared 4% of the time

More AWS Cloud9 Competitors

Cursor vs Windsurf

Compared 23% of the time

Amazon Q vs Windsurf

Compared 14% of the time

Claude for Enterprise vs Windsurf

Compared 12% of the time

Qodo Gen vs Windsurf

Compared 6% of the time

Tabnine vs Windsurf

Compared 6% of the time

More Windsurf Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IDE

December 2025

Download AWS Cloud9 product report

Buyer's Guide

IDE

December 2025

Download Windsurf product report

Also Known As

AWS Cloud9 IDE, Cloud9 IDE

No data available

Overview

AWS Cloud9 is a cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you to write, run, and debug code from any machine with just a browser. The Cloud9 IDE provides the software and tooling needed for dynamic programming languages including JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, and C++. This means you no longer have to spend the time to install programs or configure your development machine. You get full sudo privileges and a pre-authenticated AWS CLI when you run your Cloud9 development environment on a managed EC2 instance. Cloud9 also integrates with AWS CodeStar, providing you the tools you need to successfully deploy applications to AWS.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Windsurf offers a strategic approach to digital transformation, providing tools for optimizing processes. It's aimed at businesses looking to enhance efficiency and adapt to changing market demands through technology-driven solutions.

Targeted at enterprises, Windsurf integrates seamlessly with existing systems to improve workflow and data management. By offering customizable options, it meets diverse business requirements, enabling companies to stay competitive in a fast-paced environment. Its user-focused design ensures accessibility and ease of use, helping teams achieve their goals swiftly.

What are the key features of Windsurf?

Integration Capability: Connects with numerous software platforms, ensuring smooth data flow.
Customizable Options: Offers flexibility to tailor functionalities to specific business needs.
User-Friendly Interface: Designed for ease of adoption with minimal training requirements.
Real-Time Data Analysis: Provides immediate insights to support decision-making.

What benefits and ROI does Windsurf offer?

Increased Productivity: Streamlines operations leading to time and resource savings.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces overhead by optimizing processes and systems.
Improved Decision-Making: Real-time insights aid in strategic planning.
Scalability: Easily adapts as business grows without significant additional investment.

In areas like manufacturing and retail, Windsurf improves supply chain management and customer engagement. In healthcare, it optimizes patient data management, while in finance, it enhances compliance and reporting processes, each tailored to meet industry-specific challenges.

Windsurf

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Dell, Anduril, MongoDB, Zillow, Atlassian

Buyer's Guide

AWS Cloud9 vs. Windsurf

December 2025

Free Report: AWS Cloud9 vs. Windsurf

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