Windsurf ranked #1 in the LogRocket AI Dev Tool Power Rankings and was acquired by Cognition AI for $250M in December 2025. We review whether the acquisition changed anything — and whether it still beats Cursor.
Windsurf is an AI-native IDE originally built by Codeium and acquired by Cognition AI for approximately $250 million in December 2025 — the biggest AI dev tools M&A deal to date. Cognition makes Devin, the autonomous coding agent. Their plan is to merge Windsurf IDE capabilities with Devin for fully autonomous development workflows. At the time of acquisition Windsurf had $82M ARR with enterprise revenue doubling quarter-over-quarter and 350 enterprise customers. Google secured a separate licensing deal for Windsurf technology as part of the transaction and OpenAI was involved in the bidding process. As of February 2026 Windsurf ranks number one in the LogRocket AI Dev Tool Power Rankings ahead of both Cursor and GitHub Copilot. The acquisition raises legitimate questions about product direction that developers building workflows around Windsurf should factor in.
Cascade is Windsurf's AI agent system that understands your entire codebase automatically — without requiring explicit @codebase commands the way Cursor does. Cascade can suggest multi-file edits, run terminal commands and work as a continuous coding partner with persistent memory of your project state across sessions. The April 2026 power rankings highlight Arena Mode as a new standout feature — it enables side-by-side model comparison with hidden identities so developers can discover which AI model actually works best for their specific workflow rather than relying on marketing claims. Plan Mode adds smarter task planning before code generation begins. Parallel multi-agent sessions with Git worktrees and side-by-side Cascade panes enable true concurrent development — a capability no other IDE offers at this price point.
Windsurf ranks above Cursor in the LogRocket April 2026 power rankings. The key practical differences: Windsurf has better automatic codebase context — Cascade understands your project without manual @codebase commands. Cursor has better explicit context control — developers who prefer precise @file and @doc references find Cursor more predictable. Windsurf claims to be 13 times faster than Claude 3.5 Sonnet in certain configurations giving it a speed advantage on rapid iteration. Cursor has a more established plugin ecosystem and better documentation for edge cases. On pricing both are around $15-20 per month for individual pro plans. The uncertainty around the Cognition acquisition is a real consideration — Windsurf may be absorbed into the Devin product roadmap in ways that change the IDE experience significantly.
Windsurf Pro costs $15 per month with full IDE capabilities live preview collaborative editing and the Cascade AI agent. SOC 2 compliance is only available on the Pro plan — developers on the free tier should not paste proprietary or sensitive code. The free tier processes code without enterprise security guarantees. For individual developers and small teams Windsurf Pro at $15 per month versus Cursor Pro at $20 per month is a meaningful price difference. For teams prioritising automatic codebase context over explicit control Windsurf is the stronger choice. For teams that want maximum stability and certainty about product direction given the acquisition uncertainty Cursor remains the safer bet for building long-term workflows.