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AWS Cloud9 vs Windsurf comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

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
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windsurf
Ranking in IDE
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
AI Code Assistants (1st), AI Software Development (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the IDE category, the mindshare of AWS Cloud9 is 4.9%, down from 15.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windsurf is 5.6%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IDE Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Windsurf5.6%
AWS Cloud94.9%
Other89.5%
IDE
 

Featured Reviews

RituRaj - PeerSpot reviewer
SDE 2 at Virtusa
Cloud-based workflows have boosted team productivity but still need richer features and faster performance
AWS Cloud9 is powerful, but it can be improved in terms of performance, modern IDE features, limited updates, and dependency on AWS infrastructure, which sometimes slows productivity. Since it runs in the browser and depends on Amazon EC2 instances, performance can lag compared to local IDEs, especially for larger projects or lower specs instances. It also has limited modern IDE features compared to tools like Visual Studio Code, lacking a rich extension ecosystem, advanced UI customizations, and some modern developer productivity features. Improvements can include better performance optimization, a plugin ecosystem, faster startup times, and more frequent feature updates, as well as an improved collaboration experience. AWS Cloud9 is great for AWS native development but still lags behind modern IDEs in performance, flexibility, and the pace of innovation. In terms of improvements, richer extension ecosystems, faster startup, better performance for large projects, and triggering CI/CD pipeline integration would make the workflow much smoother. A stronger extension and customization capability would significantly enhance day-to-day work with AWS Cloud9. Offline or hybrid mode, including limited offline capabilities or local sync, would reduce the dependency on consistent internet connectivity. Better debugging and monitoring integration, with deeper integration into logging and monitoring tools like Amazon CloudWatch, would simplify troubleshooting without switching context. If AWS Cloud9 evolves with better performance, extensibility, and deeper DevOps integrations, it would become a much more complete modern development platform.
DHARMA-TEJA - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Enginner at Sera AI
Feature workflows have become faster and context-aware development is now system-focused
Windsurf has become less of a tool and more of a core part of how I build. I do not think in terms of writing code line by line anymore; I think in terms of features, flows, and systems, and Windsurf helped me translate that into actual implementation across the codebase. It fits especially well when I am doing rapid prototyping, exploring new ideas or architectures, or iterating on existing features quickly. At the same time, one thing I have noticed in my workflow is around model switching. When I switch between models, the GPT generating agent models sometimes the deeper context regarding decision reasoning or intermediate steps does not fully carry over, so I end up re-establishing context manually every time. It is so much painfully manual; that is not a blocker, but since I work on fairly complex multi-step systems, having strong cross-model memory consistency would make it even more powerful. One thing I would really appreciate is stronger cross-model memory and context continuity. Right now, when I switch between models, the surface-level context is there, but the deeper reasoning regarding why certain decisions were made or how a flow evolved does not always carry over fully. Since I work on complex and multi-step agents, I end up re-establishing the context manually. If Windsurf could maintain a kind of shared memory layer across models where intent, decisions, and intermediate steps persist, it would make the whole experience much more seamless. Improving the memory continuity and control would take it from powerful to extremely reliable at scale. Overall, Windsurf is already a strong tool, but there are a few areas where improvements would make a big difference, especially for advanced workflows. The first is cross-model memory and context continuity. The second is better control over agent execution. Right now, when switching between models—for instance, if I am using a tier of models and then I reach a limit, and then I need to switch to a lesser limit model—the high-level context is there, but deeper reasoning is lost. A shared memory layer across models would make the experience much more seamless. Furthermore, while Cascade is powerful, for larger changes, it would help to have more visibility or control, such as previewing the execution plan and guiding steps before it runs. The UI and documentation provided are pretty good, though I think there is room for true visibility and feedback during agent execution. While the amount of time put into the design and documentation is great, figuring out things with the documentation can often be done without any third-party help. Some advanced use cases are not fully explored in the documentation, but the best practices for using agents effectively are very clear, such as how to structure prompts for multi-file changes and how to guide Cascade for better outputs. Real-world advanced examples are already implemented in there; that could be very helpful for us. The main advice I would give to others looking into using Windsurf is to not use it as a traditional code assistant. Windsurf really shines when you treat it as a feature-level or system-level tool, not just something for autocomplete or small snippets. So instead of thinking "write this function," think more toward "build this flow." Learn how to guide it properly. That is the main thing I would advise: learn how to guide it properly, how to prompt it properly, and start with real use cases, not toy examples.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One thing I like the most about AWS Cloud9 is how easy it is to access different things and to look for what you are searching for."
"AWS Cloud9 saves me two to three days per week in my work at Probus Insurance."
"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."
"Overall, AWS Cloud9 is a solid choice for working within the Amazon Web Services ecosystem, with its biggest strengths being zero setup, seamless AWS integration, scalability, and accessibility from anywhere, making development faster and more consistent."
"Since adopting Windsurf, I have been able to downsize my staff and increase my output by 5x."
"I think Windsurf is the one that offers the most consistent experience."
"Windsurf's best feature is that it is agentic."
"Earlier we were handling two projects, but now we can handle 14 projects."
"In summary, with the help of all these features that Windsurf provides, what is happening is the time consumption has been reduced drastically."
"Windsurf has positively impacted my organization by increasing productivity, because during a one-week hackathon we were able to build a product from scratch that would have taken at least two to three weeks, making the time savings substantial."
"Money and time have both been saved because we were utilizing a lot of time for bug fixing and solving troubleshooting issues, and that time has now been reduced, which has saved a lot of money."
"Windsurf has positively impacted my organization in that writing code is very fast and easy."
 

Cons

"AWS Cloud9 is being discontinued, so preventing its discontinuation would address the main pain point."
"AWS Cloud9 is great for AWS native development but still lags behind modern IDEs in performance, flexibility, and the pace of innovation."
"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."
"I would prefer to see changes in the pricing structure of AWS Cloud9 because it is too high."
"I think Windsurf could be improved."
"The main improvements I would suggest for Windsurf are stronger context handling for bigger projects and a bit more control over the code it generates."
"Windsurf's stability is a good question. I do not know if it is due to my computer configuration or Windsurf itself, but Windsurf CASCADE agent pane on the right side does not open most of the time."
"Most of the context tokens are consumed by documentation. We need a good structure for the agent to be optimized with this. Most of the time, our developers are wasting money because the agent does not save the context properly."
"From a usability perspective, Windsurf should be more user-friendly."
"Since using Windsurf, I notice more errors, but we deliver approximately twice as fast."
"Sometimes, Windsurf is not able to develop the feature that we want and hallucinates a lot."
"It is so much painfully manual; that is not a blocker, but since I work on fairly complex multi-step systems, having strong cross-model memory consistency would make it even more powerful."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Insurance Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with AWS Cloud9?
One area where AWS Cloud9 could improve is performance when working on larger projects or with limited internet connectivity, since it is heavily browser and cloud-dependent. The interface could al...
What is your primary use case for AWS Cloud9?
I have been using AWS Cloud9 for several months and throughout my entire two years in college for research purposes, mainly for cloud-based development, testing AWS services, and collaborative codi...
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Cloud9?
If someone is considering AWS Cloud9, my main advice would be to match it carefully to your use case rather than adapting it as a default IDE replacement. It works best when you are already using A...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windsurf?
Regarding pricing, I am a developer, and the pricing is handled by my management team and the platform team. As a developer, I was mainly focused on using the product rather than the procurement side.
What needs improvement with Windsurf?
Room for improvement is actually associated with every AI that exists. One thing is that if there is a very large codebase, such as a legacy codebase, sometimes the context window is a hindrance. T...
What is your primary use case for Windsurf?
I am a software developer with over two years of experience. I have been using Windsurf for approximately one to one and a half years since its introduction into my organization. I primarily work i...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

AWS Cloud9 IDE, Cloud9 IDE
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Dell, Anduril, MongoDB, Zillow, Atlassian
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Cloud9 vs. Windsurf and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.