Cline vs Windsurf
On the evidence we track, Cline leads this comparison with a composite score of 66/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for ai coding agents. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
Cline
LeaderA conversational coding agent that integrates into development environments and terminals to automate code generation, file management, and command execution, with all actions requiring explicit user approval
Windsurf
A desktop IDE that orchestrates local and cloud-based AI agents, enabling developers to coordinate multiple tasks, review code changes, and ship projects from a single integrated workspace.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
Cline
Leader$9.99/month with free model options. Bring Your Own Key alternative available.
- Cline (usage-billing)$9.99/month
- 2-5x usage on popular open models vs. standard API rate
- built-in billing
- one sign-in
- free model options
Windsurf
From $0/month with free tier. Paid plans from $20/month.
- FreeFree
- Light quota to code with agents
- Limited model availability
- Unlimited inline edits
- Unlimited Tab completions
- Pro$20/month
- Increased quotas with frontier models (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, SpaceXAI, open source)
- Full model availability
- Free use of SWE-2
- Access to cloud agents (Devin Cloud)
- Purchase extra usage at API pricing
- Max$200/month
- Everything in Pro, plus significantly higher quotas
- TeamsContact sales
- Up to 200 users
- Share and collaborate
- Centralized billing and admin dashboard
- Priority support and dedicated account management
- SAML/OIDC SSO
- +2 more
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
- Slack
- Linear
Cline
Leader- Telegram
- Discord
- Google Chat
- GitHub Actions
- OpenTelemetry
- Datadog
- Grafana
- Splunk
Windsurf
- GitHub
- Jetbrains IDEs
- Teams
- Jira
- GitLab
- Bitbucket
Cline or Windsurf: which one depends on you
A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.