Cursor vs Windsurf vs Claude Code
Prices checked on official pricing pages Oct 13, 2026.
| Cursor | Windsurf | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; Plus $8, Premium $30, Super $100, Ultra $200/mo (plans just changed, check site) | Free; Pro $20, Max $200/mo; Teams $80 (now sold under Devin) | Included in Claude Pro $20/mo ($17/mo yearly); Max from $100/mo |
| Free option | Cursor Free / GitHub Copilot Free | Windsurf Free (unlimited Tab, daily agent quota) | Gemini CLI / Aider (open source) |
| Interface | Editor (VS Code fork) | Editor (agentic IDE) | Terminal / IDE extensions |
| Best for | Daily coding in an IDE | Budget-friendly IDE agent | Big multi-file refactors |
| Learning curve | Low | Low | Medium |
| Try Cursor | Try Windsurf | Try Claude Code |
Verdict
Want an IDE: Cursor. Want the best free tier: Windsurf. Comfortable in a terminal and doing big changes: Claude Code.
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