App comparison · category peers
Codex vs Windsurf
Systematic comparison of Codex 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 | Codex | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | OpenAI | Windsurf |
| Category | Coding agent | Coding agent |
| Lifecycle | Active | Active |
| Access | Mixed | Proprietary |
| License | Component-specific | Unknown |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Local execution | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud execution | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Interfaces | Desktop, CLI, IDE extension, Web, Cloud | IDE, CLI |
| Model access | OpenAI and supported enterprise model providers | Windsurf-managed and supported frontier models |
| Automation | Scheduled tasks, long-running work, hooks, and non-interactive runs | Cascade workflows, rules, memories, and tool calls |
| Multi-agent | Yes | Unknown |
| Persistent memory | Yes | Yes |
| MCP support | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | Included with eligible ChatGPT access; usage and limits vary | Free and paid individual and team plans |
14 comparable fields · 6 material differences · Editorially curated pair with developer-owned primary sources
Shared surface
Overlapping documented capabilities
Developer evidence