Coding · Head-to-head
Windsurf vs Amazon Q Developer
Windsurf vs Amazon Q Developer: Freemium vs Free tier + Pro $19/user/mo. Side-by-side features, pricing, and which to pick.
The verdict
Pick Windsurf if…
- →your primary use case is developers who want an ai ide that autonomously plans, codes, tests, and iterates across a project with minimal input.
- →you need: agents
Pick Amazon Q Developer if…
- →you want our editor's pick for this category
- →your primary use case is development teams building on aws who need code generation, security scanning, and infrastructure help across their ide, console, and cli.
- →you need: productivity
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Windsurf | Amazon Q Developer |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Coding | Coding |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Headline pricing | Freemium | Free tier + Pro $19/user/mo |
| Free tier | Unlimited basic completions forever | Generous free tier with code completion, chat, and 50 security scans per month |
| AI Score | 9.1/10 | 8.8/10 |
| Best for | Developers who want an AI IDE that autonomously plans, codes, tests, and iterates across a project with minimal input. | Development teams building on AWS who need code generation, security scanning, and infrastructure help across their IDE, console, and CLI. |
| Editor's pick | — | ✓ Yes |
| Use cases | development agents | development productivity |
| Date added | 2025-06-01 | 2026-05-01 |
Pros and cons
Windsurf
Coding · freemium
Pros
- ✓Autonomous agent capabilities that plan, implement, and iterate
- ✓Generous free tier with unlimited completions
- ✓Excellent multi-step task execution
- ✓Fast and responsive editor
Cons
- ×Newer tool with smaller community
- ×Agent mode can sometimes go off-track
- ×Less mature extension ecosystem than VS Code
- ×Heavy resource usage during agent tasks
Amazon Q Developer
Coding · freemium
Pros
- ✓Unmatched AWS integration — understands cloud infrastructure, not just application code
- ✓Generous free tier with real functionality including security scanning
- ✓Code transformation automates painful language and framework upgrades
- ✓Works across IDE, AWS Console, and CLI for a unified experience
Cons
- ×Much less useful if you're not building on AWS
- ×Code completion quality trails GitHub Copilot and Cursor for general-purpose coding
- ×IDE plugin can feel slower than competitors for inline suggestions
- ×Transformation feature currently limited to Java and .NET upgrades
Related comparisons
Updated 2026-05-01. Spec data sourced from official product pages and tracked in our public directory at /tools.