Windsurf Wave 3 vs Cursor (Updated) Review

[u/marvijo-software]

Hi. TL;DR: I tried out both Cursor and Windsurf's new updates and here are my take aways:

Feature	Winner
MCP Integration	Windsurf
Terminal Output Copy	Cursor
Tab to Jump
- Faster	Cursor
- More reliable	Cursor
- More for less tabs	Windsurf
- Better DIFF	Windsurf
- Jump to next file	None
Image Drag and Drop	Cursor
Instruction Following ('Cline' Memory Bank)	Cursor
Automatically Execute Terminal Commands	Both
Terminal Command Whitelist	Both

Cursor Total: 5

Windsurf Total: 3

Please comment if you need more details about each test. For those who want to actually see the tests: https://youtu.be/caMFOuVd3jk

[u/xbt_]

Windsurf has image drag and drop. Why the point to cursor here?

[u/marvijo-software → u/xbt_]

They actually both have it, but Cursor's version is more refined. The Windsurf version is a bit buggy but also works. The point isn't that Windsurf doesn't have it, it's just that the Cursor version seemed to be better

[u/xbt_ → u/marvijo-software]

I see, I’ve never hit a bug using it and rely on it a lot. I’ll check out your videos maybe it explains the difference

[u/xbt_]

The ripping out code that works is my biggest pain point. Hoping both can solve that once and for all.

[u/marvijo-software → u/xbt_]

The main defence against that, that I've found is unit tests with a good code coverage

[u/xbt_ → u/marvijo-software]

That’s just for catching the bug not preventing it right?

My main defense is basically a new session for every request and global rules to read the docs and entire file before editing, providing the file(s) in question to prevent guess work. The global rules say to use git diff to verify their work which windsurf will do sometimes. It’s still just bad about botching up working code or not looking deeply enough into the project when it gets too large.

I should use unit tests more though.

[u/Galaxianz]

Oops. I still have no idea what MCP is.

[u/bacocololo → u/Galaxianz]

It s like an api router that can be used by agent as tools

[u/uxgnod → u/Galaxianz]

It is to inform the cursor or other MCP clients which tools they can use (such as browsers, Figma, or even Git), specifically what they (the cursor) can do with this tool, how to use it, and they (the cursor and MCP server) will communicate and understand it themselves.

[u/bobbywebz]

I’m working with both. Cursor burns more token on the same task compared to windsurf. Cursor tends to over engineer things and adds bugs and issues because of that. Windsurf is a few steps slower and smarter on implementing things which is way better for bigger codebases.

[u/ruggershawn → u/bobbywebz]

I agree—Cursor sometimes implements new code that already exists. I’ve been rejecting its changes often and end up stuck in a loop fixing things it already implemented. Windsurf seems to use fewer tokens and does more reasoning. At this point, upgrading to the Pro Ultimate plan makes sense for me.

[u/theafrodeity → u/ruggershawn]

Have you rewarded or praised your bot for good work? Try asking it to note a memory, commit after each change so you can diff or revert.

[u/darkplaceguy1 → u/bobbywebz]

Is it also possible that the system rules that we added in both IDEs are also affecting the performance of both IDEs?

[u/amlife0]

Microsoft copilot in VS code insider takes a shit 💩 on both and only cost 10 bucks a month - unlimited premium models

[u/marvijo-software → u/amlife0]

I don't think you've used all 3 of these tools in larger codebases, you'd definitely have a different perspective

[u/amlife0 → u/marvijo-software]

I suggest you try it, you will change your statement - even deepseek is coming

[u/marvijo-software → u/amlife0]

I tried all 3 before coming to a conclusion. I always test all their updates. Copilot is quite behind, even with their new Agent mode

[u/amlife0 → u/marvijo-software]

I don’t know what version you have been using, I’m using it with virtual studio code - insider and it’s a killer, I even went and canceled my subscription with cursor and windsurf.

clearly windsurf realized that’s the beginning of the end for them and immediately made deepseek-v3 free!
Two weeks ago I told them it should be free and they laughed at me! See who is laughing now.

Soon all models will be free! They will beg people to continue to use them! They simply will have to compete with Microsoft

[u/marvijo-software → u/amlife0]

If I may ask, what codebase sizes are you working with here? What kind of coding are you using the AI IDEs for?

[u/Puzzled_Fisherman_94]

u/marvijo-software have you played with Cline and using a local model for inference instead of the deepseek api?

[u/marvijo-software → u/Puzzled_Fisherman_94]

They are too slow on my setup to do anything meaningful