Cursor vs Windsurf (now Devin Desktop)

Cursor and Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) are both developer tools options. Cursor lists 8 features across 3 platforms; Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) lists 7 features across 3 platforms — see the full breakdown below, sourced from each vendor's own site rather than ratings or reviews.

Side-by-side summary

ComparingCursorWindsurf (now Devin Desktop)

CategoryDeveloper ToolsDeveloper Tools

Alternatives tracked23

PlatformsmacOS, Windows, LinuxmacOS, Windows, Linux

Pricing modelfreemiumfreemium

Best for Cursor

Individual developers and engineering teams who want an AI-native desktop editor capable of autonomous, multi-file coding tasks, with access to multiple frontier models rather than being locked to one provider.

Best for Windsurf (now Devin Desktop)

Developers and engineering teams that want an AI-first desktop coding environment with agentic code changes and a command center for coordinating multiple software-development agents.

Feature comparison

Every feature listed here comes directly from each vendor's own official site.

Cursor

Agent mode for autonomous, end-to-end coding tasks, including building, testing, and preparing changes for review, that can run in parallel across repositories
Tab, a predictive AI autocomplete that suggests multi-line edits rather than single completions
Composer, Cursor's own in-house frontier coding model, alongside access to third-party frontier models from Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), Google (Gemini), and xAI (Grok), with automatic model selection
Codebase indexing and semantic search so the AI can ground suggestions in a project's actual code
An 'autonomy slider' for controlling how independently the AI acts, from small targeted edits to fully autonomous runs
Cloud Agents for running coding tasks outside the local machine
Bugbot for automated code review on pull requests
CLI installation for terminal-based usage alongside the desktop editor

Windsurf (now Devin Desktop)

Full Windsurf IDE experience retained under the Devin Desktop name
Agent Command Center with Spaces, Kanban-style organization, and multi-agent management
Cascade agent with Code, Plan, and Ask modes for code changes, planning, questions, and tool use
Tool calling, checkpoints, linter integration, web search, memories, and rules within Cascade
Extension ecosystem and language-server support inherited from the editor workflow
MCP server integrations for external tools and services
Over-the-air migration from Windsurf with existing plans, pricing, extensions, settings, and in-progress work preserved

Pros and cons

Cursor

Pros

Agent mode for autonomous, end-to-end coding tasks, including building, testing, and preparing changes for review, that can run in parallel across repositories
Tab, a predictive AI autocomplete that suggests multi-line edits rather than single completions
Composer, Cursor's own in-house frontier coding model, alongside access to third-party frontier models from Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), Google (Gemini), and xAI (Grok), with automatic model selection
Codebase indexing and semantic search so the AI can ground suggestions in a project's actual code
An 'autonomy slider' for controlling how independently the AI acts, from small targeted edits to fully autonomous runs
Cloud Agents for running coding tasks outside the local machine
Bugbot for automated code review on pull requests
CLI installation for terminal-based usage alongside the desktop editor

Cons

We don't publish a "cons" list for either product. No vendor's official site documents its own product's weaknesses, so there's no sourced basis for one — and we'd rather say that plainly than invent one.

Windsurf (now Devin Desktop)

Pros

Full Windsurf IDE experience retained under the Devin Desktop name
Agent Command Center with Spaces, Kanban-style organization, and multi-agent management
Cascade agent with Code, Plan, and Ask modes for code changes, planning, questions, and tool use
Tool calling, checkpoints, linter integration, web search, memories, and rules within Cascade
Extension ecosystem and language-server support inherited from the editor workflow
MCP server integrations for external tools and services
Over-the-air migration from Windsurf with existing plans, pricing, extensions, settings, and in-progress work preserved

Cons

Key differences

Cursor lists Agent mode for autonomous, end-to-end coding tasks, including building, testing, and preparing changes for review, that can run in parallel across repositories, Tab, a predictive AI autocomplete that suggests multi-line edits rather than single completions, Composer, Cursor's own in-house frontier coding model, alongside access to third-party frontier models from Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), Google (Gemini), and xAI (Grok), with automatic model selection, Codebase indexing and semantic search so the AI can ground suggestions in a project's actual code, An 'autonomy slider' for controlling how independently the AI acts, from small targeted edits to fully autonomous runs, Cloud Agents for running coding tasks outside the local machine, Bugbot for automated code review on pull requests, CLI installation for terminal-based usage alongside the desktop editor that Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) doesn't list.
Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) lists Full Windsurf IDE experience retained under the Devin Desktop name, Agent Command Center with Spaces, Kanban-style organization, and multi-agent management, Cascade agent with Code, Plan, and Ask modes for code changes, planning, questions, and tool use, Tool calling, checkpoints, linter integration, web search, memories, and rules within Cascade, Extension ecosystem and language-server support inherited from the editor workflow, MCP server integrations for external tools and services, Over-the-air migration from Windsurf with existing plans, pricing, extensions, settings, and in-progress work preserved that Cursor doesn't list.

Choose Cursor if…

Choose Cursor if this fits: Individual developers and engineering teams who want an AI-native desktop editor capable of autonomous, multi-file coding tasks, with access to multiple frontier models rather than being locked to one provider.

Visit Cursor

Choose Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) if…

Choose Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) if this fits: Developers and engineering teams that want an AI-first desktop coding environment with agentic code changes and a command center for coordinating multiple software-development agents.

Visit Windsurf (now Devin Desktop)

Facts on this page are sourced from each vendor's official site (linked below), not from ratings or reviews. Products change — verify anything that matters to your decision directly on the vendor's own site before switching. See our Disclaimer and Sources Policy.