Cursor vs Windsurf: pricing and usage limits (Oct 2026)
Cursor starts at $8/mo, Windsurf at $20/mo. Both have a free plan. Every plan from both vendors, the limits each one actually publishes, and what changed recently, with a source on every line.
The short answer
- Cheaper to start
- Cursor. Cursor Plus is $8/mo; the cheapest Windsurf plan, Windsurf Pro, is $20/mo ($12 more).
- Free plan
- Both have one. What each includes is quoted under Free plans below.
- Top of the ladder
- Cursor Ultra at $200/mo vs Windsurf Max at $200/mo.
- Paying yearly
- Cursor takes up to 17% off (Plus); Windsurf shows no yearly discount on the plans we track.
- Hard numbers
- Neither vendor publishes exact allowances, so the limits below are quoted, not counted.
- Latest move
- Cursor, 12 Oct 2026: Cursor moves into The X Subscription: new Plus $8 / Premium $30 / Super $100 / Ultra $200 plans with a weekly pool.
Pick Cursor if you want the lowest monthly bill. Beyond price and free access, the deciding factor is which models and features you need; we track the money, not the model quality.
Head to head
| Fact | Cursor | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free tier | Free tier |
| Cheapest plan | Plus · $8/mo | Pro · $20/mo |
| Top plan | Ultra · $200/mo | Max · $200/mo |
| Plans tracked | 5 | 3 |
| Yearly discount | up to 17% | None shown |
| Allowance periods | Weekly | Not stated |
| Latest change | plan restructure | billing model |
| Last checked |
Closest price match: Cursor Ultra vs Windsurf Max
Max
Every plan side by side
| Tool | Plan | Price | Limits as stated & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Plus | $8/mo | Base weekly usage pool for Cursor models, shared across Grok and Cursor; refreshes weekly. Only Grok models; third-party models not available. Absolute pool size not published. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Premium | $30/mo | 4x Plus weekly usage. Third-party models at API list price from prepaid credit. Adds Cloud Agents, Bugbot, Origin hosting. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Super | $100/mo | 15x Plus weekly usage; priority model access at peak times. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Ultra | $200/mo | 50x Plus weekly usage; earliest access to new products/models. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Teams | $30/mo | Each seat matches the weekly usage of the matching individual tier; third-party models at API list price + $0.25/M token Cursor Token Rate. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Windsurf | Pro | $20/mo | 'Increased quotas' incl. frontier models (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, SpaceXAI); free SWE-2 (free in Devin Desktop and CLI through Oct 16, 2026); Devin Cloud access; extra usage at API pricing. Quota size not published. Source: devin.ai · checked 2026-10-17 |
| Windsurf | Max | $200/mo | 'Significantly higher quotas' than Pro. Not quantified. Source: devin.ai · checked 2026-10-17 |
| Windsurf | Teams | $80/mo | Up to 200 users; each full user gets their own quota. Up to 10 concurrent sessions. Source: devin.ai · checked 2026-10-17 |
Free plans
| Tool | Free? | What you get for $0 & source |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Free tier | Free plan $0/month: 'Limited agent requests', 'Limited Chat requests'. No third-party models (Claude/GPT/Gemini) on Free. Exact request counts not published. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Windsurf | Free tier | Free $0: 'Light quota to code with agents', limited model availability, unlimited inline edits and Tab completions. Quota size not published. Source: devin.ai · checked 2026-10-17 |
Recent price and limit changes
-
plan restructureCursor moves into The X Subscription: new Plus $8 / Premium $30 / Super $100 / Ultra $200 plans with a weekly pool
New customers now buy Cursor as part of The X Subscription (Grok + Cursor + X). Usage moves from two monthly pools to one weekly pool shared with Grok; third-party models (Claude, GPT, Gemini) are no longer included and bill at API list price on Premium and above. Legacy Pro ($20), Pro+ ($60), Ultra ($200) continue for existing subscribers.
-
billing modelWindsurf drops credits for daily/weekly quotas; adds $200 Max plan
Effective March 19, 2026 (announced March 18): Free/Pro/Teams get auto-refreshing daily and weekly quotas instead of credits; Pro $20, Teams $40/seat, new Max $200.
-
limit changeCursor Pro switches from 500 requests/month to $20 of frontier-model usage at API rates
Cursor later apologized (July 4, 2025) for the unclear rollout and offered refunds for unexpected charges between June 16 and July 4.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Cursor or Windsurf?
Cursor is cheaper to start: Cursor Plus costs $8/mo, against $20/mo for Windsurf Pro. At the top end, Cursor Ultra is $200/mo and Windsurf Max is $200/mo.
Is Cursor or Windsurf free?
Cursor: Yes. Free plan $0/month: 'Limited agent requests', 'Limited Chat requests'. No third-party models (Claude/GPT/Gemini) on Free. Exact request counts not published. Windsurf: Yes. Free $0: 'Light quota to code with agents', limited model availability, unlimited inline edits and Tab completions. Quota size not published.
How do the usage limits compare at the closest price?
Cursor Ultra ($200/mo): 50x Plus weekly usage; earliest access to new products/models. Windsurf Max ($200/mo): 'Significantly higher quotas' than Pro. Not quantified.
Is it cheaper to pay yearly?
Cursor: up to 17% off when billed yearly (Plus: $6.67/mo instead of $8). Windsurf: no yearly discount on the plans we track.
When did Cursor and Windsurf last change their pricing?
12 Oct 2026, Cursor: Cursor moves into The X Subscription: new Plus $8 / Premium $30 / Super $100 / Ultra $200 plans with a weekly pool. 19 Mar 2026, Windsurf: Windsurf drops credits for daily/weekly quotas; adds $200 Max plan. 16 Jun 2025, Cursor: Cursor Pro switches from 500 requests/month to $20 of frontier-model usage at API rates.