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Best Windsurf Alternatives in 2026

We reviewed 8 alternatives to Windsurf. Pricing verified March 2026. No sponsored placements.

Why Look for Windsurf Alternatives?

Common reasons people switch from Windsurf:

✕Smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code
✕Newer editor with less community support
✕Not ideal for teams deeply invested in vs code or jetbrains plugin ecosystems

Top 8 Alternatives to Windsurf

DifyRecommended★ 4.9

From $59/mo · Best for Teams building LLM-powered applications who want a

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ClerkRecommended★ 4.9

From $25/mo · Best for React and Next.js developers who want authenticati

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AssemblyAIRecommended★ 4.9

From $0.37/hour · Best for Developers building apps that need accurate speech

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Cloudflare Workers AISituational★ 4.8

From $0.011/1K neurons · Best for Developers on Cloudflare who want to add AI featur

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WarpRecommended★ 4.8

From $18/user/mo · Best for Developers who want a modern terminal with AI assi

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DeepgramRecommended★ 4.8

From $0.0043/min · Best for Developers building real-time voice applications t

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VS CodeRecommended★ 4.7

free · Best for Every developer. It is free, powerful, and the eco

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Perplexity APIRecommended★ 4.7

From $0.20/1K requests · Best for Developers building applications needing sourced,

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Dify — Best Developer Tools Alternative for Teams building LLM-powered applications

Dify is an open-source AI application development platform with visual prompt engineering, RAG pipeline, agent frameworks, and model management for building LLM-powered apps..

RecommendedFrom $59/mo★ 4.9Read full review →

Clerk — Best Developer Tools Alternative for React and Next.js developers who want au

Clerk provides complete authentication with pre-built, customizable React components. It handles sign-up, sign-in, user profiles, organizations, and webhooks with minimal code..

RecommendedFrom $25/mo★ 4.9Read full review →

AssemblyAI — Best Developer Tools Alternative for Developers building apps that need accur

AssemblyAI provides speech-to-text with 8.4% word error rate plus audio intelligence features including sentiment analysis, content moderation, PII redaction, topic detection, and speaker diarization..

RecommendedFrom $0.37/hour★ 4.9Read full review →

Windsurf vs Top Alternatives

	Windsurf	Dify	Clerk	AssemblyAI
Price	$15/mo (Pro)	$59/mo	$25/mo	$0.37/hour
Free Tier	✓	✕	✕	✕
Rating	★ 3.6	★ 4.9	★ 4.9	★ 4.9
Verdict	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended
API	✕	✓	✓	✓

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free alternative to Windsurf?▼

Clerk is the highest-rated free alternative to Windsurf. It offers react and next.js developers who want authentication with the least possible setup and has a 4.9 star rating from 6 reviews.

Why do people look for Windsurf alternatives?▼

Common reasons include: Smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code. Newer editor with less community support. Windsurf is teams deeply invested in vs code or jetbrains plugin ecosystems.

Is Windsurf the best developer tools tool?▼

Based on our review, Windsurf is recommended for developers wanting a free ai-native code editor with agentic capabilities. However, Dify may be better for teams building llm-powered applications who want a visual development platform.

What is cheaper than Windsurf?▼

Deepgram starts at $0.0043/min compared to Windsurf at $15/mo (Pro). It has a 4.8 rating and is best for developers building real-time voice applications that need ultra-low latency transcription.

Related Comparisons

Windsurf vs Dify— Full Comparison →Windsurf vs Clerk— Full Comparison →Windsurf vs AssemblyAI— Full Comparison →

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