Jules vs Windsurf: Side-by-Side Comparison 2026
Jules vs Windsurf comparison for 2026. Features, pricing, AI capabilities, and editor support analyzed side by side to help you choose the right coding tool for your workflow.
Jules is an AI agent from Google — asynchronous ai coding agent. Windsurf is an AI IDE from Cognition — the agentic ai ide.
Jules
Autonomous coding agent that integrates with GitHub to plan, execute, and verify code changes asynchronously. Runs tasks in isolated cloud VMs. start a task, close your laptop, and return to review the completed work.
- ✓ Async task execution in cloud VMs
- ✓ GitHub integration with PR creation
- ✓ Task planning and verification
- ✓ Jules CLI for terminal management
- ✓ Jules API for programmatic access
Free / $19.99/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 | Jules | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Agent | AI IDE |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| Model Family | Gemini | Multi-model |
| Documentation | — | ✓ |
| Open Source | No | No |
Pricing verified May 4, 2026. Jules pricing | Windsurf pricing
Key Differences
- Category: Jules is an AI agent; Windsurf is an AI IDE.
- Starting price: Jules starts at $19.99/mo; Windsurf starts at $20/mo.
- Model family: Jules uses Gemini; Windsurf uses Multi-model.
- Bring your own key: Windsurf supports BYOK; Jules does not.
- Platforms: Jules runs on Web; Windsurf runs on Linux, Windows, macOS.
- Provider: Jules is built by Google; Windsurf is built by Cognition.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Jules if you want to start coding tasks and return later to review completed work. Choose Windsurf if you want an agentic IDE with autonomous multi-step changes. Read our full reviews to see which fits your workflow.