Windsurf slashes prices as competition with Cursor heats up

23/05/2025

Windsurf slashes prices as competition with Cursor heats up | TechCrunch

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Windsurf slashes prices as competition with Cursor heats up | TechCrunch

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Windsurf slashes prices as competition with Cursor heats up
===========================================================

[Charles Rollet](https://techcrunch.com/author/charles-rollet/)

2:43 PM PDT · April 23, 2025

AI coding assistant startup Windsurf cut its prices “across the board” it announced [on Monday](https://windsurf.com/blog/pricing-v2), touting “massive savings” for its users as competition with its rival Cursor intensifies.

Windsurf said it’s getting rid of its complex system of “flow action credits,” which charged developers for actions its AI did in the background. It’s also cutting prices for its team plans to $30 per user per month down from $35, while making its enterprise plans “much cheaper,” per the announcement.

Windsurf product marketer Rob Hou [proclaimed on X](https://x.com/robhou_/status/1914409884982108406) that Windsurf now has “BY FAR the best and most affordable pricing structure of all AI coding tools on the market,” crediting this to Windsurf optimizing its GPU usage.

Hou criticized “confusing” competitor plans priced at $20 a month in an apparent dig at Cursor’s individual monthly plan, which starts at $20 compared to Windsurf’s $15.

The pricing overhaul comes as Windsurf is reportedly [being considered for an acquisition by OpenAI for $3 billion](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/openai-is-reportedly-in-talks-to-buy-windsurf-for-3b-with-news-expected-later-this-week/) (Cursor’s creator Anysphere [is in talks to raise at a $10 billion valuation](https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/07/cursor-in-talks-to-raise-at-a-10b-valuation-as-ai-coding-sector-booms/)). As TechCrunch previously reported, Windsurf is the smaller of the two coding assistant startups, generating about $100 million in ARR [compared to Cursor’s $300 million](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/22/why-openai-wanted-to-buy-cursor-but-opted-for-the-fast-growing-windsurf/). OpenAI [originally wanted to buy Cursor, but it’s growing so quickly that it’s not in the market to be sold](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/22/why-openai-wanted-to-buy-cursor-but-opted-for-the-fast-growing-windsurf/).

Although Windsurf hasn’t confirmed the OpenAI acquisition reports, it has recently stepped up its public collaborations with OpenAI.

For example, [Windsurf’s CEO Varun Mohan appeared earlier this month](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA-P9ood-cE) in OpenAI’s launch video for its latest API model family. And as part of the pricing change announcement, Windsurf is lavishing its users with another week of free and unlimited usage of OpenAI’s latest GPT-4.1 and o4-mini models.

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The big question is whether Cursor ends up cutting its own prices in response to Windsurf’s revamp. That might risk a price war, making it harder for both startups to scale up profitably.

Windsurf, which declined to comment for this article, said in its announcement that it’s continuing to deliver on its promise “from the very beginning” to pass savings back to its users.

Cursor creator Anysphere didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Topics

[AI](https://techcrunch.com/category/artificial-intelligence/), [cursor](https://techcrunch.com/tag/cursor/), [Startups](https://techcrunch.com/category/startups/), [Windsurf](https://techcrunch.com/tag/windsurf/)

![Image 5: Charles Rollet](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Charles-Rollet.png?w=150)

Charles Rollet

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[](https://x.com/CharlesRollet1)

Charles Rollet is a senior reporter at TechCrunch. His investigative reporting has led to U.S. government sanctions against four tech companies, including China’s largest AI firm. Prior to joining TechCrunch, Charles covered the surveillance industry for IPVM. Charles is based in San Francisco, where he enjoys hiking with his dogs. You can contact Charles securely on Signal at charlesrollet.12 or +1-628-282-2811.

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Windsurf slashes prices as competition with Cursor heats up

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