Windsurf vs Cline
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Windsurf and Cline.
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Verdict: Cline wins
Cline scores 4.2/5, edging out Windsurf at 4.0/5. Developers who want an inspectable, model-agnostic coding agent inside their editor and are comfortable paying their own model provider per token.
Windsurf AI-powered code editor by Codeium | Cline Open-source AI coding agent extension | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.0 (1 review) | 4.2 (1 review) |
| Pricing Model | freemium | free |
| Starting Price | Free tier available | Free |
| Best For | Developers who want a fast AI-native editor with a strong free tier and per-task model choice, and who are comfortable with a product still settling its brand. | Developers who want an inspectable, model-agnostic coding agent inside their editor and are comfortable paying their own model provider per token. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | free tierbyok | free tieropen sourcebyok |
| Visit Windsurf → | Visit Cline → |
Windsurf
Pros
- + Fastest completion latency I have measured in an AI editor; roughly 40% of suggestions landed in my week of tracking
- + Unlimited inline edits and tab completions on the $0 plan make the free tier genuinely usable, not a demo
- + Cascade migrated an 18-file API layer and fixed the three test failures it introduced in a single session
- + Multi-provider model choice per task (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini and others) after the Cognition acquisition
Cons
- - Two rebrands in twelve months — Codeium to Windsurf to Devin Desktop — leaves documentation and reviews describing obsolete states
- - Usage quotas are published only in relative terms ('increased', 'significantly higher'), so monthly cost is hard to predict
- - Extension ecosystem is smaller than the true VS Code marketplace despite VS Code compatibility
- - Vague, long-horizon prompts need heavy steering before the agent produces useful work
Cline
Pros
- + Apache-2.0 licensed agent core with roughly 70,700 GitHub stars - auditable and forkable
- + Free for individuals; you pay only your model provider for inference, so I can run cheap models for mechanical edits
- + Plan mode plus diff-per-edit approval kept my interventions to two on a 12-file TypeScript refactor in my test
- + Real terminal integration: it ran my test suite, read raw compiler output, and fixed a missing import unprompted
- + Checkpoints restore files without killing the conversation - one rollback in my session saved an hour of re-prompting
Cons
- - JetBrains plugin is explicitly not open-sourced, which undercuts the fully-auditable pitch
- - Metered inference means long watch sessions on noisy dev-server logs inflate your provider bill quickly
- - No hosted team features: no seat management, spend dashboards, or SSO out of the box
- - Requires bringing your own API keys - newcomers face provider setup before their first edit
- - Depth of polish still lives in VS Code; CLI and desktop are capable but younger surfaces
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Windsurf or Cline?▼
Cline scores higher at 4.2/5 vs 4.0/5 for Windsurf, making it the better-rated option in our comparison.
What is the difference between Windsurf and Cline?▼
Windsurf: Windsurf (formerly Codeium) is an AI-powered code editor that provides intelligent code completion, chat, and search. Built for speed with a native IDE experience. Cline: Open-source VS Code extension that acts as an autonomous AI coding agent with file editing, terminal access, and browser control.
Is Windsurf or Cline more affordable?▼
Windsurf starts at €0/mo, Cline starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
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