Windsurf alternatives come down to which of three people you are. If you want to keep working in an IDE, Cursor is the closest replacement and VS Code with GitHub Copilot is the cheapest. If you have started handing whole tasks to agents, Claude Code in the terminal is the strongest pick. If you used Windsurf only to get an app built, an AI app builder such as VibeDream, Lovable or Bolt.new will get you further with less setup. Before any of that, know that Windsurf was not shut down: Cognition renamed it Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026, with prices and settings unchanged.
All prices are from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Oct 2026. AI editor pricing changes often, so confirm before you subscribe.
Do you need to leave at all?
Maybe not. The rename moved the agent dashboard to the front and swapped the Cascade agent for Devin Local, but your extensions, settings and rules files carried over, and the plans stayed at Free, Pro $20 a month, Max $200 and Teams $80 plus $40 per seat. The good reasons to move are specific: you are not on a Mac (the desktop download on devin.ai is macOS), you rely on the JetBrains plugin (now in maintenance mode), you dislike the agent-first layout, or you never wanted an editor in the first place. Our Windsurf review has the full timeline.
Developers who want to keep an IDE
Cursor, the closest swap
Cursor is the editor most Windsurf users already know, built on the same VS Code foundations, with an agent that works across the whole repository. Plans on cursor.com/pricing: Free with limited agent and chat use, Plus $8 a month (Grok models only), Premium $30 with 4 times Plus usage, Super $100 with 15 times, Ultra $200 with 50 times, and Teams from $30 per user. Pick Premium if you are coming from Windsurf Pro and want frontier models. The cheap Plus tier is a trap if you rely on a specific model, because it is limited to Grok.
VS Code with GitHub Copilot, the budget route
Copilot runs inside VS Code, JetBrains and other editors, which also makes it the natural landing spot for anyone on the Windsurf JetBrains plugin. From GitHub's plans page: Free with 2,000 inline suggestions a month, Pro $10 a month with $15 of AI credits ($10 base plus $5 flex), Pro+ $39, and Max $100. Code completions are unlimited on every paid plan and do not use credits. Agent and chat use draws on the credits, so heavy agent users should start on Pro+.
Developers moving to terminal or cloud agents
If your Windsurf sessions had turned into writing a task, letting the agent run and reviewing the diff, you may not need a graphical editor for that part at all.
- Claude Code: Anthropic's agent for the terminal and editors. It is included in Claude Pro at $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly, and in Max from $100 a month. If you already pay for Claude, this is the cheapest serious upgrade.
- Devin CLI and Devin Cloud: if you liked Cognition's agent but not the desktop app, the same company offers the agent in a terminal and as a long-running cloud worker.
- Replit: a cloud workspace with an agent, a shell and hosting in one tab. Core is $20 a month, or $18 billed yearly, with $20 of model usage included. Good when you also want somewhere to run the app. See Replit alternatives.
Many developers end up pairing one of these with a plain editor. That is a fine setup and often cheaper than a top-tier editor plan.
People who only wanted the app
Plenty of people installed Windsurf because it was the tool everyone mentioned, then found that the editor was the easy part. Running the project, reading error messages, choosing a host and keeping it online were the hard parts. An AI app builder handles those.
VibeDream is the one we make, so weigh this accordingly. You describe the app by typing, by voice note or with a screenshot. It builds a React front end and a FastAPI backend in Python, or a Phaser game, while a live preview fills in at phone or desktop size. Put it online costs 5 credits each time you publish or update, and paid plans include hosting, HTTPS and a your-app.vibedreams.ai address. You can still open every file in the built-in code editor, download a ZIP or sync to GitHub. It is not an IDE, it has no free plan, and its one-tap payments are coming soon. Its built-in login and database work with one tap. Plans start at $49 a month on VibeDream pricing.
- Lovable: chat-to-app with Lovable Cloud for data and sign-ins. Free with 5 build credits a day, Pro from $25 a month.
- Bolt.new: chat-to-app that runs in the browser, billed in tokens. Free with 1M tokens a month, Pro $18 a month billed yearly. Compared in Bolt.new alternatives.
What to carry over when you switch editors
Switching editors costs a day of friction if you plan it and a week if you do not. These are the pieces worth moving deliberately.
- Rules files. Devin Desktop reads .windsurfrules, a .devin/rules/ folder and AGENTS.md. Copy the content into whatever your new tool reads, such as Cursor's project rules or a CLAUDE.md file for Claude Code. Keeping one AGENTS.md as the source and pointing other tools at it saves duplicate edits.
- MCP servers. The Devin Desktop FAQ lists the MCP config at ~/.codeium/mcp_config.json. Copy each server's command and arguments into the new tool's MCP settings, and re-enter any API keys rather than pasting the old file wholesale.
- Settings and keybindings. Windsurf keeps a VS Code style user data folder, so a VS Code based editor like Cursor can usually take your settings.json and keybindings.json directly.
- Extensions. Make a list from the extensions panel and check each one exists in the new editor's marketplace before you commit.
- Team policy. If your company allowlists apps by name, the Windsurf app is now called Devin, and any replacement will need its own approval.
Picking one in a minute
- Happy with Windsurf and on a Mac: stay on Devin Desktop.
- Want the same kind of editor: Cursor Premium.
- Want the lowest bill and work in JetBrains or VS Code: GitHub Copilot Pro or Pro+.
- Already pay for Claude and like the terminal: Claude Code.
- Want to code and host in the browser: Replit.
- Do not code and want a working app online: VibeDream, Lovable or Bolt.new. The Cursor alternatives guide makes the same split for Cursor users.