Cursor vs Windsurf (formerly Codeium) — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Cursor and Windsurf (formerly Codeium) both start at $20/mo on their entry tier.
See price history: Cursor · Windsurf (formerly Codeium)
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Cursor (Hybrid) — Cursor is hybrid: a fixed subscription from $20/mo plus metered usage on top (Pro). Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
- Windsurf (formerly Codeium) (Per Seat) — Windsurf (formerly Codeium) bills on a fixed plan from $20/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
AI-first code editor built on VS Code, and the reference product in the AI-coding category. Every paid plan includes a credit pool equal to the subscription price, consumed by AI operations at underlying LLM token cost. Pricing: Hobby free, Pro $20/mo, Pro+ $60/mo, Ultra $200/mo, Teams $40/user/mo, Enterprise custom. Annual billing ~20% off. Powers Anysphere's growth to $500M+ ARR.
AI code completion and chat assistant from the Windsurf company. Free tier is unusually generous — unlimited autocomplete for individuals with no card required. Pricing: Free (unlimited individual), Teams $12/user/mo (adds team admin + more advanced models), Enterprise $35/user/mo (SSO, dedicated support, on-prem option). Positioned as the free-tier alternative to GitHub Copilot; the paid tiers are for teams that need governance.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Cursor monthly | Cursor annual | Windsurf (formerly Codeium) monthly | Windsurf (formerly Codeium) annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Hobby / Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Pro | $20 | $16 | $20 | $20 |
| Mid tier | Pro+ / — | $60 | $48 | — | — |
| Pro / power | Ultra / Max | $200 | $160 | $200 | $200 |
| Teams | Teams | $40 | $32 | $40 | $40 |
| Enterprise | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Cursor is worth it if… developers who want an AI-native editor where autocomplete, chat, and agent-mode Composer feel like extensions of the IDE — not bolted on. The credit-pool model is the interesting pricing innovation: your $20 subscription IS your $20 of AI usage, so heavy Claude Opus users burn faster than lighter GPT-5 mini users.
Windsurf (formerly Codeium) is worth it if… Codeium is worth it for individual developers who want a fully free AI autocomplete without hitting message caps. Teams ($12/user/mo) is the cheapest true multi-user AI coding tool in market.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Cursor is hybrid, Windsurf (formerly Codeium) is per seat.
Choose Cursor over Windsurf (formerly Codeium) if…
Choose Cursor if…
- You want the most mature agentic editor with the deepest model line-up.
- You're a developer who lives in the editor and wants long-context, multi-file edits.
- You want predictable seat pricing with usage-based headroom when you need it.
Choose Windsurf (formerly Codeium) if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $20/mo).
- You match the profile Windsurf (formerly Codeium) is built for: Codeium is worth it for individual developers who want a fully free AI autocomplete without hitting message caps.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Cursor | Windsurf (formerly Codeium) | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $20/mo | $20/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Hybrid | Per Seat |
| Last verified | September 10, 2026 | September 20, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 20, 2026. Tracked daily.