Windsurf: what 36 developers actually say.
36 Hacker News opinions from 35 developers, Nov 2025 – Nov 2026. 31 come from people who say they use it. Here is what they praise, what they complain about, and who switched.
The case for Windsurf, in one paragraph.
Windsurf earns 58% approval across 36 opinions. Developers are divided on it.
Pick it if you
- Want free unlimited tab completion
- Want broad model access on a $20 plan
- Already use rules files to keep agents focused
Look elsewhere if you
- Need stable message quotas
- Run long terminal tasks and need them to finish
- Expect the strongest agent features
Where it wins and loses.
Mentions across 36 opinions. Bars are counts, not votes; a tool can be both praised and criticized on the same topic.
View data table
| Topic | Praise | Complaints | Mentions |
|---|
How opinion has moved.
Monthly approval, Nov 2025 – Sep 2026. Bars show opinion volume; low-volume months are still included but faded.
View data table
| Month | Approval | Opinions |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 75% | 8 |
| Dec 2025 | 60% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | 58% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | 50% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | 10% | 5 |
What developers say.
Summaries are paraphrased. Each links to the original Hacker News comment.
Praise
4 selectedCancelled WebStorm and GoLand subscriptions after switching to Windsurf, since they rarely need IDE features now.
Happy using Cascade as a JetBrains plugin; likes choosing models and its frequent promotional deals.
Uses Windsurf's free unlimited tab completion alongside Claude Code and finds it works well.
Used Windsurf rules files and scripts to stop agent forgetfulness; says it has been not bad so far.
Complaints
4 selectedReports Windsurf agents attempt file edits in Ask mode and fall back to scripts that never work.
Former user says Windsurf declined after merging into Devin and lags features behind Cursor.
Windsurf hung or froze on terminal runs until they wired up a workaround skill.
A pricing change drove them off Windsurf; they now mainly use it to spend weekly tokens.
Questions developers ask.
Is Windsurf worth it?
Is Windsurf better than Cursor?
Is Windsurf reliable?
The data behind this page.
Windsurf has 58% approval across 36 opinions from 35 authors, and 31 of those opinions come from firsthand use. The trend drifts down from 75% in November 2025 to 50% in April 2026. The recent sample is thin and weak: five opinions in September 2026 showed 10% approval, while the single October opinion was positive. Praise centers on free tab completion, broad model access on the $20 plan, and rules files that keep agents on task. Complaints center on quota cuts, pricing changes, terminal freezes, and features trailing Cursor.
Every number comes from public Hacker News comments collected through the HN Search API. A language model tagged each comment for sentiment, first-hand use, topic and switches; a human spot-checks samples. No vendor can pay for placement.
Get the monthly report
Which AI coding tools gained or lost developer approval on Hacker News, and why people switched. One email a month.