Cline vs Windsurf: Side-by-Side Comparison 2026

Cline vs Windsurf comparison 2026. Side-by-side features, pricing & capabilities.

Cline is an AI agent from Cline (Open Source) — open-source ai agent for vs code. Windsurf is an AI IDE from Cognition — the agentic ai ide.

Cline

Cline — AI Coding Agent from Cline (Open Source). VS Code Agent.

  • ✓ AI chat
  • ✓ Agentic mode
  • ✓ Multi-file editing
  • ✓ Terminal commands
  • ✓ Test generation

Free / $20/mo · 3 plans

Windsurf

AI-first IDE with Cascade — an agentic assistant that understands your codebase and makes multi-file changes. Now owned by Cognition (makers of Devin). Also available as Windsurf Plugin for VS Code and JetBrains.

  • ✓ Cascade agentic AI
  • ✓ Code completions
  • ✓ Multi-file editing
  • ✓ Terminal integration
  • ✓ Codebase search

Free / $20/mo · 5 plans

Feature Cline Windsurf
Category AgentAI IDE
Starting Price Free Free
Model Family Multi-model (any)Multi-model
Open Source Yes (Apache 2.0)No

Pricing verified Mar 20, 2026. Cline pricing | Windsurf pricing

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Key Differences

  • Category: Cline is an AI agent; Windsurf is an AI IDE.
  • Model family: Cline uses Multi-model (any); Windsurf uses Multi-model.
  • Open source: Cline: Yes (Apache 2.0). Windsurf: No.
  • Platforms: Cline runs on Desktop; Windsurf runs on Linux, Windows, macOS.
  • Provider: Cline is built by Cline (Open Source); Windsurf is built by Cognition.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Cline if you want autonomous coding with full transparency into every action taken. Choose Windsurf if you want an agentic IDE with autonomous multi-step changes. Read our full reviews to see which fits your workflow.

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