Cline vs Windsurf
Where they differ
From the pricing tiers and capability tags we track. A capability missing on one side means we have not recorded it there, not that the tool cannot do it.
At a glance
Cline and Windsurf both appear in this directory's code listings. Prices below were read from the vendors' own pages, most recently on October 26, 2026. Windsurf starts at $20/mo; no paid figure is confirmed for Cline. We track code editor on Cline and ai agents on Windsurf; both cover agentic coding and codebase context. No score and no winner: the facts do the picking.
Capability tags are factual labels we assign when a tool is added; they describe what a tool does, not how well it does it.
Checked against the vendors. Written from each vendor's own site and last re-checked there: Cline on October 26, 2026 · Windsurf on October 12, 2026. Vendors change pricing and features without notice, so confirm anything that decides your purchase on the vendor's page.
Cline
Open source AI coding agent for IDEs and terminal
Cline is an Apache 2.0 open source AI coding agent that runs inside IDEs, command line interfaces, and embedded SDK applications. It features a Plan-and-Act paradigm to perform multi-file edits, handle linter fixes, and execute terminal commands. The platform supports model providers such as Claude, GPT, Gemini, and local Ollama instances.
Windsurf
Agent-first coding IDE, now shipping as Cognition's Devin Desktop
Windsurf is a standalone AI coding IDE from Cognition, the company behind Devin, and windsurf.com now redirects to it as Devin Desktop. It runs coding agents alongside a normal editor, with an Agent Command Center for supervising several at once. Plans start at a free tier, with Pro at $20 a month.
Also in code
A tool we have an affiliate relationship with. It is not part of the comparison above and we are not calling it the better pick.
- Automating end-to-end tests for pull requests
- Testing third-party web apps without source code access
- Validating desktop, web, and extension user interfaces
Key features
Cline
- Multi-file edits with linter-aware fixes, diffs, and one-click undo
- Plan-and-Act workflow modes for strategic alignment and execution
- Terminal command execution and real-time response monitoring
- Plugin support using Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers
Windsurf
- Agent Command Center for running several agents at once
- Kanban view for tracking agent tasks
- Fast Context codebase search
- Supercomplete predictive editing
- Multiple models via the Agent Client Protocol
What each one does well
Cline
- ✓ Executing multi-file codebase refactoring and edits
- ✓ Automating recurring developer tasks in terminal environments
- ✓ Connecting coding workflows to databases and external tools via MCP plugins
Windsurf
- ✓ Supervising several coding agents on one codebase
- ✓ Working in an editor built around agents rather than autocomplete
- ✓ Teams that want agent tasks tracked on a board
People also ask
What is the difference between Cline and Windsurf?
Cline and Windsurf are both tracked for agentic-coding, codebase-context, ide-integration. Of the capabilities they do not share, only Cline is tracked for code-editor, refactoring, workflow-automation, and only Windsurf is tracked for ai-agents, code-completion, code-review.
How much do Cline and Windsurf cost?
Cline: free. Windsurf: free plan, then $20/mo.
Answers are generated from the tracked plans and capability tags shown above, so they move when the vendors' pages do.
Full fact sheets, FAQs, and discussion links: Cline · Windsurf · all code tools