Windsurf is a lightweight, fast code editor with integrated AI features built-in, while GitHub Copilot is an AI code completion plugin that works across multiple editors. Windsurf prioritizes speed and simplicity, whereas Copilot offers broader IDE compatibility and enterprise features.
Windsurf vs GitHub Copilot — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
AI-native code editor with integrated Cascade AI model and agentic capabilities.
IDE extension providing AI-powered code completion and suggestions
Architecture. Startup Time. Pricing Model. IDE Support. AI Model. Language Support. Enterprise Features
Choose Windsurf if you value a lightweight, distraction-free editing experience with fast AI code completion and prefer a simpler, cheaper tool for individual development. Choose GitHub Copilot if you work within existing JetBrains or VS Code ecosystems, need enterprise features, support for 80+ languages, or require integration across multiple IDEs.
Windsurf: FedRAMP High, DoD IL5, ITA | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Native IDE | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 7 (novel) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Yes — generous free tier with limited premium credits | GitHub Copilot: Free tier with limited completions/chat, plus free for verified students, teachers, and OSS maintainers
Windsurf: Supercomplete (Codeium-tuned) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: VS Code fork | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Riptide retrieval indexing | GitHub Copilot: No, single-file awareness
Windsurf: Claude, GPT, Gemini families + Codeium models | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Enterprise tier with SSO + self-hosting heritage | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: macOS, Windows, Linux + JetBrains plugin | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Growing since the Windsurf rebrand | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: $15 | GitHub Copilot: $10 (Copilot Pro)
Windsurf: 10 agent tasks | GitHub Copilot: 180 code completions
Windsurf: Windsurf IDE only | GitHub Copilot: 15+ editors (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim, etc.)
Windsurf: Full multi-step autonomous execution with state tracking | GitHub Copilot: Suggestion-based only, no autonomous execution
Windsurf: Codeium (proprietary) | GitHub Copilot: OpenAI GPT-4 / Anthropic Claude
Windsurf: ~800ms average completion | GitHub Copilot: ~1200ms average completion
Windsurf: 8,000 tokens | GitHub Copilot: 128,000 tokens
Windsurf: Web-only (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: API subscription required (Claude API) | GitHub Copilot: $10/month individual, $19/month business
Windsurf: Claude 3.5 Sonnet only | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Early access/Beta (2024-2025) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Multi-step browser workflows (3-10+ steps) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Web files only (.html, .js, .css) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Closed/Proprietary | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 0.35 million | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 400-600 MB | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Automatic across entire codebase | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Freemium with credit system | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 30+ via built-in support | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: ~0.5 million (estimated) | GitHub Copilot: 27 million
Windsurf: <1 year (2024) | GitHub Copilot: 4+ years (2021)
Windsurf: Full standalone IDE included | GitHub Copilot: Plugin only (requires VS Code/JetBrains)
Windsurf: Native multi-file support | GitHub Copilot: Limited to referenced files
Windsurf: 1 (Windsurf proprietary IDE only) | GitHub Copilot: 15+ IDEs
Windsurf: 30 days unlimited | GitHub Copilot: 2 days for new accounts
Windsurf: ~200 MB | GitHub Copilot: ~15 MB extension
Windsurf: 200,000 tokens | GitHub Copilot: 32,000 tokens (Pro tier, estimate)
Windsurf: $20/month | GitHub Copilot: $20/month
Windsurf: 1 (Windsurf IDE only) | GitHub Copilot: 10+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim, etc.)
Windsurf: Claude 3.5 Sonnet (Anthropic) | GitHub Copilot: GPT-4o / o1 (OpenAI via Microsoft)
Windsurf: Yes, with rate limits | GitHub Copilot: Yes (GitHub Copilot Free)
Windsurf: $15/month | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 128,000 tokens | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 3 major models (Codeium, Claude, GPT-4o) | GitHub Copilot: GitHub Copilot (proprietary, Codex-based)
Windsurf: Yes (built-in) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: No (standalone) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 1,200+ (Windsurf ecosystem) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 15-25 minutes | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Yes (Flows) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Inherits all VS Code extensions | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: $120 (Pro tier) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 140% faster (40% improvement) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 12K stars | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 200+ (via VS Code compatibility) | GitHub Copilot: 90+ languages
Windsurf: ~75,000 estimated | GitHub Copilot: 5+ million
Windsurf: 32,000 tokens | GitHub Copilot: 8,000
Windsurf: Unlimited (with limits) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: 50+ languages | GitHub Copilot: 80+ languages
Windsurf: 1 (standalone editor) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: Limited (single-file focus) | GitHub Copilot: N/A
Windsurf: $20 | GitHub Copilot: $10 (limited) or $20 (full)
Windsurf: ~2 seconds | GitHub Copilot: ~3-5 seconds
Windsurf: 1 (native) | GitHub Copilot: 4+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Visual Studio)
Windsurf: Yes (Cascade Agent) | GitHub Copilot: No (chat-based only)
Windsurf: ~250 MB | GitHub Copilot: ~800 MB (with VS Code)
Windsurf: Unlimited (limited features) | GitHub Copilot: 2 million tokens/month
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2 minutes (extension marketplace install)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Very Large
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 3+ model choices
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Minimal (extension)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Copilot Pro $10/mo
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Business $19/user/mo (Enterprise $39)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Plugin/extension installed into your existing IDE
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini (model picker in chat/agent)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Agent mode + Copilot Workspace + coding agent (issue-to-PR); strong but tighter loop trails Cursor
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Repository context, @workspace search, and Enterprise knowledge bases; less aggressive auto-indexing
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Very fast, low-latency completions; category pioneer and still excellent inline
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Org policy management, SSO, audit logs, content exclusion, data residency, IP indemnification
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Unlimited completions
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Visual Studio, Sublime
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Copilot (GPT-based, Good)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited to current + adjacent files
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5 major IDEs
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Not available
Code Suggestion Accuracy (Python/JavaScript)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-4 seconds (inline)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 7 major IDEs (VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, etc.)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 6+ major IDEs
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: October 2023 (~27 months old)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~1,200,000
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Yes (OpenAI servers)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Deep (PR, commits, issues)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~5-10 visible files in editor
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Vim, Neovim)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No—suggestions only, manual edit required
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 1 (IDE-native, like autocomplete)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No (cloud-only)
Average Response Time for Code Suggestion
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 0.5-1 (inline suggestion)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 4+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Native PR reviews, CLI, GitHub.dev, Copilot X
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Data exclusion available (enterprise only)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $252/year
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $10/month
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $120 (monthly) or $100 (annual with 17% discount)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Up to 150 lines
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: April 2024
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 27% of developers
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-5 seconds per suggestion
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 5 IDE integrations
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 20-40% faster on routine tasks
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2 (GPT-4, Claude)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 4 major (VS Code, Visual Studio, GitHub.com, JetBrains Beta)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~13 million developers (GitHub Copilot, 2024)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Yes (GitHub Enterprise available)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2–5 min (GitHub sign-in)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Mandatory (cloud-based)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: None (14-day trial only)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 20+ IDEs
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 150-250ms per suggestion
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 8,000 tokens (~6,000 words)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 8+ (VS Code, JetBrains Suite, Vim, Visual Studio, etc.)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: April 2022
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 72% correct on HumanEval benchmark
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-5 seconds (in-editor, no switching)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 15+ IDEs
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Code may be retained (opt-out available)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited (logs code references)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited (generic suggestions)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $100/year or $120 with GitHub Pro
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Cloud-only
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2,000 completions
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 340ms average
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Cloud (GitHub servers)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 250,000,000
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 100 chat prompts
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2-3 minutes
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $10 (Pro) or $0 (Limited)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 0.5 minutes
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Integration with VS Code
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 50-100ms per suggestion
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Fixed $10 (Copilot Individual) or $19 (Copilot Pro)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Single file at a time
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: None: requires manual git commands outside Copilot
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: No: GitHub Copilot model is fixed and proprietary
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~8,000 (estimated Copilot context)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $20/month
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Available in all tiers
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~300-500ms
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 6+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Visual Studio, etc.)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $100/year
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 1 proprietary (GitHub Copilot model, Claude 3.5 option)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Limited (single file)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 4+ years
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: ~3,000K (2025)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Basic (autocomplete only, no agents)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 0-1 days (plugin in existing IDE)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Yes (Enterprise Server)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: $100-120
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 2 proprietary models
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 87,000 stars
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Cloud-only, data sent to servers
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 15+ IDEs (VS Code, PyCharm, Visual Studio, Sublime, Vim, Neovim, etc.)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: 50-200 lines (typical suggestion scope)
Windsurf: N/A | GitHub Copilot: Read repository context only
How to choose between Windsurf and GitHub Copilot
Windsurf vs GitHub Copilot — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Windsurf vs GitHub Copilot. Contains 221 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Windsurf vs GitHub Copilot — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Windsurf vs GitHub Copilot.
No. Windsurf is a standalone editor with its own integrated AI model (Cascade). It does not support plugins, including GitHub Copilot. If you want Copilot, you must use VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, or Visual Studio.
Windsurf is better for beginners because it has a simpler, distraction-free interface, instant startup, and lower cost ($20/month). GitHub Copilot requires learning your existing IDE first, making it a secondary layer to master.
Does Windsurf work with my JetBrains IDE?
No. Windsurf is a standalone editor and cannot be installed as a plugin in JetBrains IDEs. If you're invested in JetBrains, GitHub Copilot is the better choice, as it integrates natively with IntelliJ, PyCharm, and other JetBrains products.
What's the difference between Cascade and GPT-4o?
Windsurf uses a custom-tuned Cascade model optimized for code tasks and agentic workflows (autonomous multi-step actions). GitHub Copilot uses OpenAI's GPT-4o for reasoning and o1-preview for complex logic. Both are strong; Cascade excels at autonomy, while GPT-4o excels at general reasoning.
Is GitHub Copilot worth the cost over Windsurf?
Only if you already use VS Code or JetBrains, need 80+ language support, require enterprise compliance features (SSO, audit logs), or work in large teams. For solo developers or small teams, Windsurf's $20/month is better value.
How to Choose Between Windsurf and GitHub Copilot
Architecture: Windsurf has Standalone AI-native editor, while GitHub Copilot has AI plugin for existing IDEs.
Startup Time: Windsurf has ~2 seconds, while GitHub Copilot has ~3-5 seconds (depends on host IDE).
Pricing Model: Windsurf has Free tier + $20/month Pro, while GitHub Copilot has $10/month individual + $21/month business.
IDE Support: Windsurf has Native editor only, while GitHub Copilot has VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Visual Studio.
AI Model: Windsurf has Custom-tuned model (Cascade), while GitHub Copilot has GPT-4o and o1-preview.
Language Support: Windsurf has 40+ languages, while GitHub Copilot has 80+ languages.
Enterprise Features: Windsurf has Limited team collaboration, while GitHub Copilot has Full enterprise SSO, audit logs, usage controls.