Cursor vs GitHub Copilot vs Windsurf (2026)

Cursor

by Anysphere

GitHub Copilot

by GitHub (Microsoft)

Windsurf

by Cognition

Pros

• ✓Agent mode plans and implements features autonomously across multiple files, and cloud subagents run in parallel on their own VMs and branches.
• ✓One-click import brings over VS Code settings, keybindings, themes and extensions, and Cursor keeps VS Code's default shortcuts, so switching from VS Code is quick.
• ✓Privacy Mode is available on every plan including the free tier, and is on by default for Teams and Enterprise, where admins can enforce it.
• ✓Self-Hosted Machines runs Cloud Agent tool execution on hardware the team manages, keeping the codebase, build outputs and secrets on internal machines.

Limitations

• –Privacy Mode is off by default on the Hobby and Individual plans, where Cursor states it may store and use codebase data, prompts, editor actions and code snippets to improve the product.
• –Model inference always routes through Cursor's cloud, including when you supply your own API keys, and zero data retention does not apply to those keys. US-only data residency is Enterprise only.
• –Expensive model usage depletes included credits faster than standard models, and agentic code review with Bugbot runs on usage-based billing on Individual rather than being included as it is on Teams.

Pros

• ✓Available as a plugin across VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Xcode, Eclipse, Visual Studio, Raycast, Zed and SQL Server Management Studio, so teams keep their existing editor.
• ✓Free tier with 2,000 completions a month and no credit card, plus a free plan for eligible students, so the product can be trialed before any spend.
• ✓GitHub publishes an official open-source MCP server, hosted remotely or run locally, so Copilot both consumes external tools and exposes GitHub context to other AI clients.

Limitations

• –AI Credit metering means agent mode, code review and chat draw down a dollar-denominated allowance, and GitHub states the flex portion of that allowance may change over time, so the effective monthly budget is not fixed.
• –IP indemnity covers unmodified suggestions only and requires the duplicate detection filter to be switched on, so the protection depends on a setting an administrator has to enable.
• –Organization controls, pooled credits, usage metrics and SAML SSO require Business at $19 per user per month or above.

Pros

• ✓Bundles interactive IDE coding with asynchronous cloud agents under one subscription, so a developer can keep editing locally while delegating longer tasks to Devin Cloud sessions and reviewing the results in the same surface.
• ✓MCP works in both directions. Devin Desktop connects out to external MCP servers such as the Slack MCP Server, and Cognition publishes its own MCP server with documented setup instructions for streamable HTTP clients.
• ✓Pricing is public and self-serve up to the Teams tier, with a permanently free plan and a documented usage-quota model, so a team can evaluate and adopt the product without talking to sales.
• ✓Devin Desktop is FedRAMP High authorized and meets DoD IL4, IL5 and IL6 through Palantir FedStart, with ITAR and FIPS 140-2 and 140-3 coverage on the same scope.

Limitations

• –SAML and OIDC single sign-on, virtual private cloud deployment, teamspace isolation and centralized admin controls are all Enterprise-tier items, so the $20 Pro plan carries none of them and concurrent sessions are capped at ten.
• –Customer data may be used for model training by default under Cognition's platform terms, and the contractual opt-out is restricted to paid tiers, so free-plan users have no opt-out at all. On the Teams tier only an administrator can exercise it.
• –Cognition publishes no autonomous task-completion rate on any surface, so the product's autonomy rests on its own product descriptions and customer quotes rather than a measured rate. FedRAMP High and the DoD impact levels cover Devin Desktop today, while the Devin Cloud agents are slated for the second half of 2026.