Comparisons
Cline vs Windsurf
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings
Cline vs Windsurf
| Feature | Cline | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Coding Agents | Coding Agents |
| Pricing | Open Source Best Value | Paid (Contact) |
| Rating | 8.6 /10 Top Rated | 7.6 /10 |
| Autonomous multi-file editing in VS Code | — | |
| Terminal command execution | — | |
| Headless browser control for testing changes | — | |
| Model Context Protocol (MCP) support | — | |
| Checkpoints to rewind to previous states | — | |
| Bring-your-own-key for Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, local models | — | |
| AI Tab completion with codebase context | — | |
| Cascade for multi-step, multi-file code edits | — | |
| Agentic workflow — describe goals, AI plans and executes | — | |
| Full Anthropic Claude model integration | — | |
| VS Code-based editor with extension compatibility | — | |
| Enterprise features (SSO, policy controls) | — |
Which is better: Cline or Windsurf?
Both are excellent tools — your choice depends on specific needs:
C
Cline
Choose Cline if you
- Summary: 8.6/10 vs 7.6/10
- Free / Open Source
- Self-Host ✓
- GitHub ★50,000
- Ease of Use 8.5
W
Windsurf
Choose Windsurf if you
- Existing Windsurf users and teams evaluating Cognition Labs' full AI engineering stack