Is Amp or Windsurf better?

Neither clearly leads. Amp starts at $20/monthly and Windsurf at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Amp or Windsurf?

Windsurf has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20/monthly for Amp and Free for Windsurf.

Does Amp or Windsurf run on more platforms?

Amp runs on Web. Windsurf runs on macOS, Linux, Windows.

Can I use Windsurf for free?

Yes. Windsurf has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amp starts at $20/monthly.

What is Amp best used for?

Amp is most often used for building and running parallel ai agents for automation, accessing multiple ai models via single subscription, developing ai applications with flexible compute models, running high-capacity agent workloads in ultra mode. Of those, building and running parallel ai agents for automation and accessing multiple ai models via single subscription are not what Windsurf is typically brought in for.

What can Amp do that Windsurf cannot?

Windsurf covers Cascade AI agent, Agentic programming, Context-aware assistance, Automated command execution.

Software Development · head to head

Amp vs Windsurf

Amp

Software Development

Amp is the frontier agent

From: $20/monthly
Rated: -

Full review Website

Windsurf

Software Development

The agentic IDE

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Windsurf has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Amp minimum $20/month subscription cost with limited orb hours (750); Windsurf recently rebranded to Devin Desktop, creating product identity confusion
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amp and Windsurf actually diverge.

Attributes where Amp and Windsurf differ
Attribute	Amp	Windsurf
Starting price	$20/monthly	Free
Pricing model	subscription	Unknown
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web	macOS, Linux, Windows
Founded	Unknown	2021

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Software Development).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amp

Nothing recorded that Windsurf does not also cover.

Only in Windsurf

Cascade AI agent
Agentic programming
Context-aware assistance
Automated command execution
Multi-file understanding
Intelligent code generation
Real-time debugging
Integrated terminal

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amp

Building and running parallel AI agents for automationnot Windsurf
Accessing multiple AI models via single subscriptionnot Windsurf
Developing AI applications with flexible compute modelsnot Windsurf
Running high-capacity agent workloads in ultra modenot Windsurf

Windsurf

Agentic developmentnot Amp
AI-assisted codingnot Amp
Complex project managementnot Amp
Automated coding tasksnot Amp
Learning new codebasesnot Amp

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amp

Minimum $20/month subscription cost with limited orb hours (750)
High-tier Gigawatt plan at $200/month required for ultra mode agents
Usage limits apply after included quotas are consumed each month
Each user limited to maximum of 2 simultaneous subscriptions

Windsurf

Recently rebranded to Devin Desktop, creating product identity confusion
Cascade agent reached end-of-life on July 1, 2026, requiring migration to Devin Local
Free tier quota runs out quickly for active developers, within a couple days of coding
Pricing increased significantly in March 2026 overhaul, moving from credit-based to daily/weekly quotas
OpenAI acquisition raises concerns about long-term product direction diverging from Codeium's vision

Pricing, plan by plan

Amp

$20/monthly

Megawatt$20/monthly
- All product features
- 750 hours of orbs
- Use your ChatGPT subscription
Gigawatt$200/monthly
- Everything in Megawatt plus: 1
- 000 hours of xxlarge orbs
- $200 included agent usage
Education Discount$10/monthly
- For students and teachers: full access at $10/month (50% off Megawatt)
Unconstrained$undefined/usage
- Pay for what you use at standard rates
- all agent modes
- API pricing for model tokens and orbs

Windsurf

Free

FreeFree
- Light daily and weekly quotas
- Unlimited tab autocomplete
- Access to Cascade AI agent
Pro$20/month
- Standard quotas
- Windsurf proprietary SWE model
- Cloud sessions for background work
Max$200/month
- Heavy daily quotas
- Long agent sessions
- Frontier third-party models
Teams$40/month-per-user
- All Pro features
- Centralized billing
- Usage analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Amp if

Nothing in the data separates Amp from Windsurf on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Amp review

Choose Windsurf if

You need cascade ai agent.
You want to start without paying.
You work on macOS, Linux, Windows.
You also want agentic programming.

Windsurf review

Questions people ask

Is Amp or Windsurf better?: Neither clearly leads. Amp starts at $20/monthly and Windsurf at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amp or Windsurf?: Windsurf has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20/monthly for Amp and Free for Windsurf.
Does Amp or Windsurf run on more platforms?: Amp runs on Web. Windsurf runs on macOS, Linux, Windows.
Can I use Windsurf for free?: Yes. Windsurf has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amp starts at $20/monthly.
What is Amp best used for?: Amp is most often used for building and running parallel ai agents for automation, accessing multiple ai models via single subscription, developing ai applications with flexible compute models, running high-capacity agent workloads in ultra mode. Of those, building and running parallel ai agents for automation and accessing multiple ai models via single subscription are not what Windsurf is typically brought in for.
What can Amp do that Windsurf cannot?: Windsurf covers Cascade AI agent, Agentic programming, Context-aware assistance, Automated command execution.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amp: How much does Amp cost per month?

Amp offers two main monthly plans: Megawatt at $20/month (750 hours of orbs) and Gigawatt at $200/month (1,000 hours of xxlarge orbs). Students and teachers get a 50% education discount ($10/month). Source: https://ampcode.com/pricing

Source

Windsurf: Does Windsurf support MCP (Model Context Protocol) integrations?

Yes. Windsurf supports MCP with integrations for 21 third-party tools for extending functionality and connecting to external systems.

Source

Amp: What usage is included in Amp subscriptions?

At minimum, Amp subscriptions include agent usage equal to the subscription cost per month. Depending on usage patterns, you may receive additional usage beyond the base guarantee. Megawatt includes 750 orb hours and Gigawatt includes 1,000 hours of xxlarge orbs.

Source

Windsurf: What is Windsurf's current status as of 2026?

Windsurf rebranded to Devin Desktop in June 2026 and is backed by OpenAI after its 2025 acquisition. Cascade reached end-of-life on July 1, 2026, with Devin Local as the Rust-rewritten successor.

Source

Amp: Can I use my own ChatGPT subscription with Amp?

Yes, Amp subscribers who link a ChatGPT subscription pay no per-token fees and can use as many tokens as their third-party subscription allows, making it ideal for users who already have ChatGPT access.

Source

Amp vs Windsurf

Amp

Windsurf

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Amp

Only in Windsurf

What people use each for

Amp

Windsurf

Where each one falls short

Amp

Windsurf

Pricing, plan by plan

Amp

Windsurf

Which should you pick?

Choose Amp if

Choose Windsurf if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Amp

More on Windsurf

Keep looking

Other head to heads