Cursor vs Windsurf Pricing in 2026: All Tiers, Credits vs Quota
Both Pro tiers are $20/month since March 2026. The cheaper one depends on how you use it.
Updated 17 April 2026
# All Tiers Side by Side
| Tier | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Hobby - limited credits | Free + SWE-1.5 (3mo promo) |
| Entry Pro | Pro $20/mo ($20 credits) | Pro $20/mo (quota-based) |
| Mid tier | Pro+ $60/mo ($60 credits) | Max $200/mo |
| Power tier | Ultra $200/mo ($200 credits) | Max $200/mo |
| Team | Business $40/seat | Teams $40/seat |
| Enterprise | Enterprise (custom) | Enterprise $60/seat |
# Credits vs Quota: The Critical Difference
Cursor: Credit-based Billing
Your $20/mo includes $20 of model credits. Each request burns credits based on which model you use and the size of the context.
Approximate cost per request
Windsurf: Quota-based Billing
Your $20/mo includes a fixed request quota per model. SWE-1.5 and Tab completion are unlimited during the promo.
Approx monthly quota (Pro $20)
Key insight
If you primarily use SWE-1.5 on Windsurf during the promo period, your effective AI cost beyond the $20 base is $0. If you do 200+ heavy Opus requests on Cursor, you will exceed your credit budget within the first week. Model choice determines actual cost more than tier does.
# Cost Calculator
Monthly Cost Estimator
Cursor credit billing vs Windsurf quota billing
$20.00/mo
Base $20 + $0.00 overage
660 reqs/mo @ ~2.5ยข/req
$33.80/mo
Base $20 + $13.80 overage
200 included, 460 overage
Estimates based on typical coding request token usage. Actual costs vary by request complexity. Windsurf SWE-1.5 free promo may end. Full pricing breakdown
# Free Tier Comparison
Cursor Hobby (Free)
- + Limited model credits per month
- + Access to Composer (limited)
- + Tab completion (limited)
- - No Composer 2
- - No BYOK on free tier
Windsurf Free
- + SWE-1.5 unlimited (3mo promo)
- + Tab completion (unlimited)
- + Limited Cascade agent sessions
- + Limited premium model quota
- - No enterprise features
# Annual Billing Savings
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (~20% off) | Annual savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor Pro | $20/mo | $16/mo | $48/yr |
| Cursor Pro+ | $60/mo | $48/mo | $144/yr |
| Cursor Ultra | $200/mo | $160/mo | $480/yr |
| Windsurf Pro | $20/mo | $16/mo | $48/yr |
| Windsurf Max | $200/mo | $160/mo | $480/yr |
# Team Economics
| Team size | Cursor Business ($40/seat) | Windsurf Teams ($40/seat) | Windsurf Enterprise ($60/seat) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 devs | $200/mo | $200/mo | $300/mo |
| 10 devs | $400/mo | $400/mo | $600/mo |
| 25 devs | $1,000/mo | $1,000/mo | $1,500/mo |
| 50 devs | $2,000/mo | $2,000/mo | $3,000/mo |
| 100 devs | $4,000/mo | $4,000/mo | $6,000/mo |
# Hidden Costs and Gotchas
Cursor gotchas
- ! Agent loops burn credits fast. A 20-iteration Composer 2 session can cost $0.20-$2+ depending on model
- ! Large codebase context = more input tokens = higher credit cost per request
- ! Switching to Opus 4.6 for complex tasks can exhaust monthly credits in days
Windsurf gotchas
- ! SWE-1.5 free promo ends - check current terms before committing long-term
- ! GPT-5 quota is tight (~50 requests/mo on Pro); heavy GPT-5 users hit the wall quickly
- ! No mid-tier between $20 Pro and $200 Max, unlike Cursor's Pro+ ($60) and Ultra ($200)
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