What is the Windsurf AI tool?
Windsurf AI is an emerging player in the field of AI-assisted software development tools. Built for developers and product teams, Windsurf software generates full-stack web applications using natural language prompts. Both Cursor and Windsurf have a free plan. As part of the free plan, you get several slow premium requests (this means you get to use premium models, but slower).Windsurf, the AI coding tool, has announced an update to its free plan, offering additional perks. The free tier of Windsurf will provide access to more premium credits, allowing users to experience a complete agentic experience. The premium prompt credits have been upped from five to 25 a month.Windsurf is built around a highly customizable and minimal setup, allowing users to set up the environment to fit specific workflows. IntelliJ IDEA provides a different experience by offering a ready-to-use environment out of the box.Windsurf Plugin: Originally launched as the Codeium Extension in 2022, Windsurf Plugin is designed to integrate seamlessly into developers’ existing coding environments, providing real-time AI-powered assistance directly within popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code, JetBrains, and others.On Thursday, Windsurf, a startup that develops popular AI tools for software engineers, announced the launch of its first family of AI software engineering models, or SWE-1 for short.
Can I use Windsurf AI for free?
Both Cursor and Windsurf have a free plan. As part of the free plan, you get several slow premium requests (this means you get to use premium models, but slower). Windsurf recently introduced a tiered credit system that works like this: Free Tier: A measly 5 User Prompt credits and 5 Flow Action credits per month for premium models. One-time Gift: 50 premium model User Prompt and 200 premium model Flow Action credits when you first download.Windsurf offers a limited free plan that includes a two-week Pro trial and five prompt credits/month. Windsurf’s pricing for Pro currently starts at $15/month, which includes 500 prompt credits. Per a recent pricing change, tool calls—like reading a file—no longer consume additional credits.
Is Windsurf editor free?
Windsurf AI had the potential to be the ultimate AI code editor—fast, free, and privacy-first. PearAI – The AI Code Editor For Your Next Project.Pro. Be the first to try Trae and enjoy the completely free option among powerful AI coding tools now.
Is OpenAI buying Windsurf?
OpenAI to acquire AI coding tool Windsurf for $3B The strategic acquisition signals a shift from model supremacy to ecosystem control in the AI coding market. OpenAI has agreed to buy Windsurf, an artificial intelligence-assisted coding tool formerly known as Codeium, for about $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, marking the ChatGPT maker’s largest acquisition to date.Varun Mohan, CEO of Windsurf, shares how building an AI-native IDE is reshaping software development—from optimizing LLM latency to enabling non-engineers to ship code.The News: On May 6th, 2025, OpenAI announced it reached an agreement to acquire AI IDE innovator Windsurf, formerly Codeium, at a substantial amount of $3 billion in the hotly contested AI development market.
Who owns Windsurf AI?
For those who don’t know, today it was announced that OpenAI bought WindSurf, the AI-assisted IDE, for 3 billion USD. Previously, they tried to buy Cursor, the leading company that offers AI-assisted IDE, but didn’t agree on the details (probably on the price). OpenAI agrees to buy Windsurf for about $3 billion, Bloomberg News reports | Reuters.OpenAI buys Windsurf, a VS Code fork, for $3B. VS Code is just one of the most popular IDEs right now – they all could easily bring their AI solution to other open development environments, such as Eclipse or Theia.
What is the alternative to Windsurf AI?
Other interesting open source alternatives to Windsurf are: Pythagora, Aider, Tabby and Continue. Windsurf alternatives are mainly AI Coding Assistants Tools but may also be AI-Powered Editors or General Purpose Editors. Windsurf AI is an emerging player in the field of AI-assisted software development tools. Built for developers and product teams, Windsurf software generates full-stack web applications using natural language prompts.VS Code is the battle-tested workhorse that powers millions of developers globally. In contrast, Windsurf is part of a new wave of AI-native code editors that blend large language models (LLMs) into the development process itself.Windsurf focuses on fast, accurate, single-function completions using your code context. It’s simple, effective, and great for quick edits or refactoring. Copilot goes further with next-edit predictions, multi-file support, and deep GitHub integration, making it feel like a collaborative coding partner.