G
GAI coding assistant and agents for editors, terminal, desktop and GitHub
Free, from $10/mo
Aider vs Windsurf
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
A
Choose Aider if…
- you want open source you can self-host or audit
- you're in its core audience: software developers, command-line users
W
Choose Windsurf if…
- you need an API to build on
- you work on macOS, JetBrains
- you're in its core audience: software engineers, engineering teams
Side by side
Feature Aider Windsurf
Pricing modelFreeFreemium
Starting priceFree$20/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Agent mode—
Tab completion—
CLI / terminal—
Cloud agents—
AI PR review—
Bring your own key—
Local / self-hosted models—
Platforms—macOS, JetBrains
CategoryCode AssistantsCode Assistants
Company—Cognition AI, Inc.
Based in——
Founded——
Part of——
Key features
A Aider
- Terminal-based AI pair programming
- Works with cloud and local LLMs
- Map of the whole codebase for larger projects
- Supports 100+ programming languages
- Auto-commits changes to git with descriptive messages
- Runs linters and tests, then fixes problems they find
- Uses images and web pages as context
- Voice requests and in-IDE code comments
W Windsurf
- Agent command center with Spaces and Kanban view
- Manage third-party agents via Agent Client Protocol
- Handoff sessions between local machine and Devin Cloud
- Subagent coordination with separate PRs per task
- Fast Context codebase search
- Built-in Devin Review for diffs
- Fusion pairing of lead and sidekick models
- Supercomplete tab predictions
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
Aider
Free. Plan details aren't published.
Windsurf
Free$0
Pro$20 per month
Max$200 per month
Teams$80/mo + $40/mo per full seat
EnterpriseCustom
Strengths and limitations
Aider
- Code is public on GitHub
- Works with many LLMs, including local models
- Every edit is committed to git, so changes are easy to review or undo
- Runs linters and tests automatically
- Terminal-only interface with no GUI app listed
- You supply your own model API key
- Installed through Python and pip
Windsurf
- Free plan includes unlimited Tab completions and inline edits
- Supports models from OpenAI, Claude, Gemini and open-source models
- Integrations with Slack, Linear, Jira, Sentry, Figma and more
- Existing Windsurf settings and plans carry over automatically
- Desktop download listed only for macOS on the page
- Free plan has a light quota and limited model access
- Usage beyond quota is charged at API pricing
- Concurrent sessions capped at 10 on Pro and Max
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Built from each vendor's public website; we haven't tested them hands-on. Editorial policy