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Cursor 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

Cursor
Ranking in AI Code Assistants
4th
Ranking in AI Software Development
8th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windsurf
Ranking in AI Code Assistants
1st
Ranking in AI Software Development
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
IDE (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the AI Code Assistants category, the mindshare of Cursor is 13.2%, down from 30.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windsurf is 7.7%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
AI Code Assistants Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Windsurf7.7%
Cursor13.2%
Other79.1%
AI Code Assistants
 

Featured Reviews

Rusira Sathnindu - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
AI coding has accelerated our feature delivery and has transformed how our team builds services
I have been noticing recently that Cursor introduced their own model, which is pretty limited; it is very fast, but it is not smart. They might have to improve that, along with the agent selection methodology. When you select auto, you expect it to use the best agent possible and think of the money savings, but it does not always work as expected, sometimes providing bad code or code that has bugs. I think the auto mode selection can improve. Another concern is the pricing; we have been paying a lot for Cursor recently, which I feel has increased within the last few months, possibly due to our usage going up. We are paying an amount similar to a developer's salary for Cursor now. I believe all the needed improvements are primarily around the auto agent selection mode and pricing. If they could be more transparent about it, that would be appreciated. We only see the bill at the end of the month, and it is often a high amount, so transparency in the pricing would be very helpful for us as developers.
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

"Cursor positively impacts my organization by providing great feasibility and better reliability, enabling faster development processes."
"Previously, tasks that would take weeks or months can now be completed within days because of these AI tools."
"As we're experimenting with different AI IDEs, Windsurf has positively impacted my organization by providing options."
"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."
"Earlier we were handling two projects, but now we can handle 14 projects."
"Windsurf has positively impacted my work and has allowed me to work much faster and create higher-quality tests, cover more backend areas with automated tests, meet deadlines, and be more efficient compared to other IDEs."
"I think Windsurf is the one that offers the most consistent experience."
"Windsurf has positively impacted my organization by increasing the speed of development, which allowed us to prototype much faster and lowered the barrier of entry for developers."
"Windsurf offers many AI options, feels intelligent, is stable, and appears to be growing as a company in a positive direction."
"Windsurf is a good tool that everyone can use, as it has many features that reduce the time required for coding."
 

Cons

"Another concern is the pricing; we have been paying a lot for Cursor recently, which I feel has increased within the last few months, possibly due to our usage going up."
"Sometimes Cursor does get stuck, which should be addressed, though the UI remains very good."
"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."
"I wish Windsurf would improve the free trial, as it is slow."
"Windsurf should definitely improve on the retrieval coverage side and multi-agent side, which Cloud Code and others have."
"It is not a collaborative tool where someone is going to use the same tool and interact in the same IDE."
"Windsurf is stable approximately 95% of the time, but there are occasional latency issues that occur."
"I chose 7 out of 10 because I've used Cursor as well, and sometimes I feel Cursor hallucinates less compared to Windsurf."
"From a usability perspective, Windsurf should be more user-friendly."
"Windsurf could be improved as it is lagging now compared to a competitor platform like Claude."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
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 Cursor?
Sometimes Cursor does get stuck, which should be addressed, though the UI remains very good. The terminal can get stuck when there are many backend Docker processes running or when I need to check ...
What is your primary use case for Cursor?
I primarily use Cursor primarily to build applications, including front end and back end, as well as React Native apps. When using Cursor for front end and back end systems, I utilize technologies ...
What advice do you have for others considering Cursor?
My advice to others considering Cursor is that it is very good to use. I would recommend a context strategy to help them work effectively with the IDE.
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

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Dell, Anduril, MongoDB, Zillow, Atlassian
Find out what your peers are saying about Cursor vs. Windsurf and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.