Cursor vs Windsurf pricing
Both editors start around $15–20/month. They differ in how they meter agent work — Cursor uses "Premium requests," Windsurf uses "Flow Action credits." Same idea, different rates. Here's what each tier actually buys you.
Side-by-side plans
| Tier | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Hobby — limited; slow Premium calls | Cascade Base — generous free Flow Actions |
| Pro | $20/mo · 500 Premium requests | $15/mo · 500 Flow Action credits |
| Power user | Ultra $40/mo · 2,500 Premium requests | Pro Ultimate $60/mo · 3,000 Flow credits |
| Team | Business $40/seat/mo | Teams $35/seat/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | Enterprise — custom · on-prem option |
| Overage | API-equivalent rates | $0.04/credit pay-as-you-go |
Premium requests vs Flow Action credits
Both count agent-style work — multi-step edits, tool calls, and the expensive models. Tab completions and inline edits are free in both.
- Cursor's Premium request = one Composer or Agent turn using a Premium model (Claude Sonnet/Opus, GPT-5, Gemini 2.5 Pro).
- Windsurf's Flow Action credit = one Cascade "flow step." A Cascade task often uses 3–10 credits because it iterates autonomously.
This matters: Cascade tasks burn credits in the background. You don't always see them happening. People run out of Windsurf credits faster than they expect.
Which is cheaper at your usage
Light user — completions and occasional chat
Windsurf Free wins. The free Cascade Base tier is genuinely useful — you can build small projects without paying. Cursor Hobby is more restrictive.
Daily Pro user
Windsurf Pro $15 is $5 cheaper than Cursor Pro $20, and the credit pool is similar. But Cursor's per-action use tends to be less wasteful because you drive the actions manually.
Heavy multi-file work
Roughly a tie. Cursor Ultra $40 with Composer vs Windsurf Pro Ultimate $60 with Cascade. Cascade is more autonomous but burns more credits per task. If you're hands-on, Cursor is cheaper.
Async / background work
Windsurf Pro Ultimate wins. Cascade is designed to run in the background — you trigger a task, walk away, come back. Cursor's Agent mode does this too but is less mature.
Team of 10–50
Windsurf Teams $35/seat ($350/mo for 10) edges Cursor Business $40/seat ($400/mo) on price. Roughly comparable on features.
Hidden costs and gotchas
Windsurf's credit math is opaque
Cascade decides on the fly how many credits a task takes. You can't always predict it. Users frequently report bigger-than-expected burn after long Cascade runs.
Cursor's overage is API-priced
Once your Premium quota is gone, overage charges roughly match raw API token costs. A heavy month past quota easily adds $30–80.
Both bundle the expensive models — but throttle them
Claude Opus 4.7 is included on both Pro plans, but it counts as more than 1 Premium request / Flow credit per use. Plan accordingly if Opus is your default.
The honest pick
Cheapest entry to a real workflow: Windsurf Pro $15/mo.
Best $20: Cursor Pro — broader model picker, more predictable spend.
Best for delegated work: Windsurf Pro Ultimate $60 — Cascade is genuinely autonomous.
Best for hands-on power users: Cursor Ultra $40 — same money, less waste.
For features beyond pricing see Cursor vs Windsurf — full comparison.
Pricing is one piece — see the total stack cost including LLM, context, and agent layers.
Estimate your full stack cost →