Key Terms
- Cascade — Windsurf's local AI agent that runs inside the IDE. Supports Code, Ask, and Plan modes. Can read files, run terminal commands, and edit code. Source: Windsurf – Cascade
- Devin Cloud — Cognition's cloud-based AI agent. Runs in its own VM with its own environment. Can work asynchronously on tasks, run tests, and open PRs. Available on Pro and higher plans. Source: Cognition – Devin In Windsurf
- Devin Local — A local CLI agent (the same harness used in Devin for Terminal) that can be enabled inside Windsurf. Up to 30% more token-efficient than Cascade per Cognition's testing. Source: Windsurf – Changelog
- SWE-1.6 — Cognition's latest proprietary model for software engineering agents. Optimized for both intelligence and "model UX" (parallel tool calls, reduced looping, less terminal reliance). Available at 200 tok/s (free, via Fireworks) or 950 tok/s (paid, via Cerebras). Source: Cognition – Swe 1 6
- SWE-1.5 — Cognition's previous proprietary coding model. Still available in Windsurf. Free tier includes SWE-1.5. Source: Windsurf – Pricing
- Fast Context — A subagent powered by SWE-grep that finds relevant code context up to 20x faster with >2,800 tokens/second throughput. Available on Pro and higher plans. Source: Windsurf – Pricing
- Adaptive — A model router that intelligently selects the best model for each task, helping quota last longer by avoiding overuse of premium models. Available on Pro, Max, and Teams plans. Source: Windsurf – Changelog
- Arena Mode — Side-by-side model comparison within the IDE. Two Cascade agents run with hidden model identities; users vote on which performs better. Contributed to Windsurf's personal and global leaderboards. Source: Windsurf – Changelog
Latest Changes
Changes since the 2026-04 report.
- New model: Claude Opus 4.8 launched on May 28. Regular pricing unchanged from Opus 4.7 at $5.00/MTok input, $25.00/MTok output. Fast Mode at $10.00/MTok input, $50.00/MTok output. See API Pricing.
- New model variant: Claude Opus 4.7 (fast mode) launched on May 12 with ~2.5x higher output speeds at the same intelligence level.
- Feature added: Devin Review and Quick Review available for all IDE users starting May 6. Devin Review has a 2-week free trial. Enterprise users require a Cognition Platform agreement.
- Feature added: Devin Local agent updated (bundled version 2026.5.26). Now aware of open editor files, supports session-level MCP tool permissions, improved plan mode in OS sandbox.
- Funding: Cognition raised over $1B at a $26B valuation on May 27. Run-rate revenue reported at $492M. 89% of code committed by Devin at Cognition internally.
- Bug fix: Fixed availability issues with swe-check model for some users (May 17).
- Bug fix: Increased remote server startup timeout from 2.5s to 6s (May 28).
- Deprecation: Free tier no longer includes any free third-party models. SWE-1.5 is the only model available on the free tier.
- Plan change: The Pro trial (2 weeks, first-time users only) reportedly restricts model access to SWE-1.5 only during the trial period, per Reddit reports.
Plans
Source: Windsurf – Pricing
| Feature | Free | Pro | Max | Teams | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0/month | $20/month | $200/month | $40/user/month | Custom |
| Usage allowance | Light | Standard | Heavy | Standard | Custom |
| Extra usage | None | At API price | At API price | At API price | Custom |
| Tab (inline completions) | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Inline edits | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Previews | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deploys | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| All premium models | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fast Context | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SWE-1.5 model | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SWE-1.6 model | No (free via promotion) | Yes (free for 3 months) | Yes (free for 3 months) | Yes (free for 3 months) | Yes |
| Devin Cloud | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (requires Cognition Platform) |
| Centralized billing | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Admin dashboard | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Priority support | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge base | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Automated zero data retention | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| SSO + Access control | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| RBAC | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Volume discounts | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Hybrid deployment | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Dedicated account management | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Free trial | N/A | 2 weeks (first-time users) | No | No | No |
Usage allowance details: The exact token counts, request limits, or credit amounts for Light, Standard, and Heavy quotas are not disclosed on the pricing page, in the documentation, or in the FAQ. The FAQ describes quotas as refreshing "daily and weekly" but does not specify the amounts. This is a transparency gap.
Extra usage: On paid plans, users can purchase extra usage beyond their included quota at API pricing rates. The specific per-model rates are shown in the IDE's model picker but not on the public pricing page.
SWE-1.6 promotion: SWE-1.6 is free for the first 3 months after its April 7, 2026 launch. The free version runs at 200 tok/s via Fireworks. Paid users get 950 tok/s via Cerebras. Pricing after the promotional period has not been announced.
API Pricing
Windsurf does not offer a standalone API for its proprietary models (SWE-1.6, SWE-1.5). Usage is through the Windsurf IDE or Devin platform. Extra usage on paid plans is billed at per-model API rates shown in the IDE's model picker.
Known per-token rates for third-party models used within Windsurf (from the May 28 changelog entry for Claude Opus 4.8):
| Model | Input ($/MTok) | Output ($/MTok) |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4.8 | $5.00 | $25.00 |
| Claude Opus 4.8 Fast Mode | $10.00 | $50.00 |
The Adaptive model router (available on Pro, Max, Teams) charges a fixed per-token rate: $0.50/MTok input, $2.00/MTok output, $0.10/MTok cache read for extra usage (promotional rate from April 2026, may have changed).
Per-model rates for other models (Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5.5, Gemini 3.5 Flash, etc.) are visible in the IDE's model picker but are not published on the web pricing page. This is a transparency gap.
Model Performance / Benchmarks
SWE-1.6 benchmarks from Cognition's blog post (Cognition – Swe 1 6):
| Model | Benchmark | Score |
|---|---|---|
| SWE-1.6 | SWE-Bench Pro | Comparable to SWE-1.6 Preview (>10% improvement over SWE-1.5) |
| SWE-1.6 Preview | SWE-Bench Pro | >10% improvement over SWE-1.5 |
| SWE-1.6 | Speed (free tier, Fireworks) | 200 tok/s |
| SWE-1.6 | Speed (paid tier, Cerebras) | 950 tok/s |
Cognition does not publish exact SWE-Bench scores for SWE-1.6 or SWE-1.5. The blog post claims "comparable performance to the Preview model on benchmarks like SWE-Bench Pro" and that SWE-1.6 Preview improved on SWE-1.5 by more than 10% on SWE-Bench Pro, but does not provide the raw numbers. This is a transparency gap.
Cognition claims SWE-1.6 is "the most used model in Windsurf" as of May 27, 2026.
Latest News
Cognition raises over $1B at $26B valuation (May 27, 2026)
Cognition raised over $1B at a $26B valuation led by Lux Capital, General Catalyst, and 8VC. Existing investors include Founders Fund, Elad Gil, Alpha Wave, and others. New investors include Ribbit Capital, Atreides, and Layer Global. Enterprise usage has grown >10x since the start of 2026. Run-rate revenue reached $492M. At Cognition internally, 89% of code committed by engineers is committed by Devin. Named enterprise customers include Citi, Mercedes-Benz, Goldman Sachs, Elevance, Dell, Santander, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Navy. Source: Cognition – Series D
Claude Opus 4.8 available in Windsurf (May 28, 2026)
Claude Opus 4.8 is now available in Windsurf. Regular usage pricing is unchanged from Opus 4.7 at $5.00/MTok input and $25.00/MTok output. A new Fast Mode is priced at $10.00/MTok input and $50.00/MTok output. Source: Windsurf – Changelog
Claude Opus 4.7 (fast mode) available in Windsurf (May 12, 2026)
Claude Opus 4.7 (fast mode) is now available with the full intelligence of Opus 4.7 and ~2.5x higher output speeds. Source: Windsurf – Opus 4.7 Fast
Devin Review and Quick Review for all users (May 6, 2026)
All Windsurf IDE users now have access to Devin Review and Quick Review with their existing subscription. Devin Review is available for all self-serve users with a 2-week free trial. Enterprise users can only use Devin Review with a Cognition Platform agreement. Source: Windsurf – Changelog
Devin for Terminal launched (April 28, 2026)
Devin is now available as a CLI agent for terminal. All Windsurf users can use it with their existing subscription. It runs on the user's machine with full codebase access. Supports multi-model (Opus 4.7, GPT-5.5, SWE-1.6). Written in Rust for performance. Also enables the Devin Local agent in Windsurf, which is up to 30% more token-efficient than Cascade. Source: Windsurf – Changelog
SWE-1.6 released (April 7, 2026)
SWE-1.6 was released and made generally available in Windsurf. Free for the next 3 months (through approximately July 7, 2026). Free tier version at 200 tok/s via Fireworks. Paid version at 950 tok/s via Cerebras. Key improvements over the preview: reduced overthinking, more parallel tool calls, less terminal reliance, reduced looping behavior. Source: Cognition – Swe 1 6
Community Signals
SWE-1.6 reception is positive, especially for cost-conscious users
A Reddit thread titled "Why is SWE-1.6 kinda cooking?" (16 upvotes, 12 comments) on r/windsurf shows growing appreciation for SWE-1.6 as a budget-friendly model. The original poster noted that while SWE-1.6 initially felt like "gpt 4.1 level of intelligence max," it executed flawlessly when given a well-structured plan. Multiple users report using SWE-1.6 as their go-to model to conserve quota. One user said: "SWE 1.6 has been great for me. Super fast. Has way less errors than Gemini I find." Another noted: "It's expertly engineered for actually getting shit done." A user considering Pro specifically cited SWE-1.6 being "pretty much free as long as I use the slow version" as a motivating factor. Source: Reddit – Why Is Swe16 Kinda Cooking
Free tier backlash over model removal
A Reddit thread titled "Windsurf has now completely removed all free models" (9 upvotes, 28 comments) reports that Windsurf stripped the free tag from all selectable models. The poster expressed frustration that what was previously one of the best free options for AI-assisted coding in a VS Code fork has become significantly more restricted. Source: Reddit – Windsurf Has Now Completely Removed All Free
A related thread "Free tier is SO dead" (6 upvotes, 4 comments) echoes similar frustration with the free tier's current limitations. Source: Reddit – Free Tier Is So Dead
Refund requests and value concerns
A thread titled "Genuinely asking: Why are people asking for Windsurf refunds? Is there actually a better affordable IDE?" (20 upvotes, 21 comments) indicates ongoing community debate about Windsurf's value proposition relative to competitors like Cursor and Claude Code. Source: Reddit – Genuinely Asking Why Are People Asking For
Pro trial complaints
A thread titled "trial is really bad" (9 upvotes, 8 comments) and another titled "I'm trying with PRO TRIAL, but can't use any models beside SWE-1.5" (2 upvotes, 7 comments) report that the 2-week Pro trial restricts model access to SWE-1.5 only, preventing users from evaluating the full product. Source: Reddit – Trial Is Really Bad and Reddit – Im Trying With Pro Trial But Cant Use Any Models
Positive community sentiment also present
A thread titled "Some praise for Windsurf" (45 upvotes, 9 comments) represents the highest-engagement positive post in the period, indicating a significant base of satisfied users. Source: Reddit – Some Praise For Windsurf
Rate limiting confusion with Devin for Terminal
A thread titled "Devin for Terminal rate limit? It says upgrade to Pro, but I am on Pro" (4 upvotes, 7 comments) reports that Pro users are hitting rate limits with the newly launched Devin for Terminal CLI agent. Source: Reddit – Devin For Terminal Rate Limit It Says Upgrade To
HackerNews: No major Windsurf-specific discussions in May 2026
Search of HackerNews for May 2026 yielded no Windsurf-specific front-page stories. Windsurf is mentioned tangentially in several Show HN posts as a supported platform for MCP servers and extensions.
Enterprise Readiness
| Feature | Available? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| SSO (SAML/OIDC) | Yes | Available on Enterprise plan only. Described as "SSO + Access control features." Specific protocol (SAML vs OIDC) not documented on pricing page. Source: Windsurf – Pricing |
| SCIM | Undisclosed | Not mentioned on pricing or enterprise pages. |
| Audit logs | Undisclosed | Not mentioned on pricing or enterprise pages. Cascade Hooks can be configured for logging responses, but this is not a full audit log solution. |
| IP indemnity | Undisclosed | Not mentioned on pricing or enterprise pages. |
| Data residency | Undisclosed | Not explicitly mentioned. Hybrid deployment option on Enterprise plan may enable on-premises processing. |
| HIPAA | Yes | Listed as a certification on the enterprise page. Source: Windsurf – Enterprise |
| Air-gapped/on-prem | Partial | Hybrid deployment option available on Enterprise plan. Details not publicly documented. Source: Windsurf – Pricing |
| SLA | Undisclosed | Not mentioned on pricing or enterprise pages. |
| Admin controls (RBAC) | Yes | Available on Enterprise plan. Admin dashboard with analytics available on Teams and above. Enterprise admins can set default models, organization-wide command allow/deny lists, and deploy rules/workflows via MDM. Source: Windsurf – Pricing, Windsurf – Changelog |
Additional certifications: SOC 2 Type 2, FedRAMP High. Source: Windsurf – Enterprise
Terms explained:
- SCIM — a protocol for automatically provisioning and deprovisioning user accounts from a corporate directory (e.g., Okta, Azure AD) to a SaaS tool. Without SCIM, IT teams must manually create and remove accounts. Datatracker – Rfc7644
- IP indemnity — the provider covers your legal costs if their AI output infringes a third party's copyright.
- Data residency — the ability to specify that data is processed and stored in a particular geographic region (e.g., EU-only) to comply with local regulations.
Transparency Gaps
- Usage quota amounts are undisclosed. The pricing page describes quotas as "Light", "Standard", and "Heavy" but does not publish the actual token counts, request limits, or credit amounts. Users cannot compare Windsurf's included usage against competitors without signing up and testing. Source: Windsurf – Pricing
- Extra usage pricing is not published on the web. Per-model API rates for extra usage are visible only in the IDE's model picker, not on the public pricing page. Users cannot estimate their total cost before subscribing. Source: Windsurf – Pricing
- SWE-1.6 pricing after promotional period is undisclosed. SWE-1.6 is free for 3 months (through approximately July 7, 2026). Pricing after that period has not been announced. Users adopting SWE-1.6 as their primary model face uncertainty about future costs. Source: Cognition – Swe 1 6
- Benchmark scores are not published. Cognition claims SWE-1.6 improved on SWE-1.5 by ">10% on SWE-Bench Pro" but does not publish exact scores, making independent verification impossible. Source: Cognition – Swe 1 6
- Pro trial limitations are not documented. Reddit users report that the 2-week Pro trial restricts model access to SWE-1.5 only, but this limitation is not disclosed on the pricing page. Source: Reddit – Im Trying With Pro Trial But Cant Use Any Models
- SCIM, audit logs, SLA, and IP indemnity status are undisclosed. These enterprise features are not mentioned on the pricing or enterprise pages. Enterprise buyers must contact sales for details. Source: Windsurf – Enterprise
- Devin for Terminal rate limits are unclear. Pro users report hitting rate limits with Devin for Terminal despite being on a paid plan. The specific rate limits for Devin Cloud and Devin for Terminal are not documented. Source: Reddit – Devin For Terminal Rate Limit It Says Upgrade To