App comparison · category peers
Cline vs Windsurf
Systematic comparison of Cline and Windsurf across deployment, access, interfaces, automation, and sourced product capabilities. Green highlights mark stronger normalized product-surface values; qualitative tradeoffs remain neutral.
Product surface
Side-by-side app facts
| Field | Cline | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Cline Bot Inc. | Windsurf |
| Category | Coding agent | Coding agent |
| Lifecycle | Active | Active |
| Access | Open source | Proprietary |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Unknown |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Local execution | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud execution | No | Yes |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Interfaces | CLI, IDE extension, SDK | IDE, CLI |
| Model access | Supports multiple model providers | Windsurf-managed and supported frontier models |
| Automation | Headless CLI for scripts and CI/CD | Cascade workflows, rules, memories, and tool calls |
| Multi-agent | Unknown | Unknown |
| Persistent memory | Unknown | Yes |
| MCP support | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | Open-source software; model-provider costs are separate | Free and paid individual and team plans |
13 comparable fields · 8 material differences · Editorially curated pair with developer-owned primary sources
Shared surface
Overlapping documented capabilities
Developer evidence