Windsurf
Codeium's AI editor — an alternative to Cursor with its own Cascade agent. Promises more than it currently delivers.
What I love
- + Cascade agent for multi-file edits
- + Solid autocomplete (Codeium engine)
- + Free tier is more generous than Cursor
- + Flows for more complex tasks
- + VS Code compatibility
What bugs me
- − The Cascade agent is slower and less accurate than Cursor Composer
- − Smaller community and ecosystem
- − Project context isn't as deep
- − Occasional freezes and performance issues
- − UI polish lags behind Cursor
Cursor competitor
Windsurf is Codeium's answer to Cursor — a VS Code fork with AI at its core. The main selling point is Cascade — an agentic tool meant to work with the whole project.
What works
Autocomplete
The Codeium engine is good. Autocomplete is fast, relevant, and the free tier has no limit on the number of completions. For people who don't want to pay for Copilot, it's a solid alternative.
Price
$15/month for Pro is cheaper than Cursor ($20). And the free tier is significantly more generous — unlimited autocomplete vs. 2000 with Cursor.
What doesn't work (yet)
Cascade
In theory great — an AI agent that understands the whole project and does multi-file changes. In practice it's slower than Cursor Composer, makes more mistakes, and sometimes gets stuck "thinking" without a result.
I tested on the same task (add pagination to an API):
- Cursor Composer: correct, 15 seconds
- Windsurf Cascade: correct but verbose, 40 seconds, I had to fix it once
- Claude Code: correct, 20 seconds, plus it committed
Performance
On my project (~80 files) Windsurf occasionally lagged. Indexing was slower than Cursor and once the editor froze completely.
Who's it for?
- Developers who want an AI editor for free (the free tier is great)
- People who already know Codeium and want an upgrade
- Anyone who wants to try an AI editor without commitment
Verdict
Windsurf is OK. The free tier is the best offer on the market and autocomplete works. But paying $15/month for Pro when Cursor at $20 is significantly better? No. And Claude Code at $20 is in a whole different league. I'm watching Windsurf — it has potential — but today I'd recommend Cursor.