Comparison · under IB-CODE-2026.2
Cline vs Windsurf
| Cline | Windsurf | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Cline (OSS, Apache 2.0) | Cognition (formerly Codeium) |
| Pricing | Free extension + API tokens; Teams $20/user/mo for central billing; v3.2 auto-routing reduces typical API spend to $8-12/mo | Free 25 credits/mo; Pro $15/mo (500 credits); Teams $30/user/mo |
| Default model | Model-agnostic with v3.2 auto-routing (picks cheapest capable model per task) | SWE-1.5 (Cognition proprietary, trained with Devin's engineering stack); Claude/GPT switchable |
| CLI surface | — | — |
| Eval status | queued | out of scope |
Comparison pending — neither side evaluated yet
Both Cline and Windsurf are currently unevaluated under IB-CODE-2026.2. This page will update as evaluations land.
Want this comparison sooner? Vendors can commission an evaluation to bump their tool up the queue (with full editorial independence on the verdict). Readers can email hello@indiebench.dev to vote for which comparison ships next.
About each tool
Cline
Cline is the high-adoption VS Code extension for agentic coding. Large user base, Apache 2.0, model-agnostic. v3.2 (March 2026) auto-routing cuts typical monthly API cost by selecting the cheapest capable model per task. Architectural note: Cline has no standalone CLI binary — evaluations under IB-C…
Windsurf
Windsurf is the agentic IDE acquired by Cognition (the Devin team) in late 2025. The Cascade multi-step engine is genuinely strong — but it is IDE-only, with no standalone CLI or SDK as of May 2026. This puts Windsurf out of scope for IB-CODE-2026.2 (autonomous CLI/API evaluation). When the upcoming…