Title: Cursor vs Windsurf: Which AI Code Editor Is Best for Python? – Real Python
Open Graph Title: Cursor vs Windsurf: Which AI Code Editor Is Best for Python? – Real Python
Description: Compare Cursor vs Windsurf for Python across code completion, multi-file editing, and debugging to choose the right editor for your workflow.
Open Graph Description: Compare Cursor vs Windsurf for Python across code completion, multi-file editing, and debugging to choose the right editor for your workflow.
Mail addresses
?subject=Python article for you&body=Cursor vs Windsurf: Which AI Code Editor Is Best for Python? on Real Python
https://realpython.com/cursor-vs-windsurf-python/
Opengraph URL: https://realpython.com/cursor-vs-windsurf-python/
X: @realpython
Domain: realpython.com
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Cursor vs Windsurf: Which AI Code Editor Is Best for Python?",
"image": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"url": "https://files.realpython.com/media/Windsurf-vs-Cursor-Which-AI-Powered-Code-Editor-Is-Best-for-Python_Watermarked.5c2bcb8d1965.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1080
},
"mainEntityOfPage": {
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://realpython.com/cursor-vs-windsurf-python/",
"lastReviewed": "2026-09-24",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Brian Mutea",
"image": "https://realpython.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,height=1200,fit=crop,gravity=auto,format=auto/https://files.realpython.com/media/brian_mutea.c0ae241f403d.jpg",
"url": "https://realpython.com/team/bmutea/",
"affiliation": {
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://realpython.com/#organization",
"name": "Real Python",
"url": "https://realpython.com",
"logo": "https://realpython.com/static/real-python-logo-square-512.157ae6bf64ed.png"
}
},
"reviewedBy": [
{
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Aldren Santos",
"image": "https://realpython.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=500,height=500,fit=crop,gravity=auto,format=auto/https://files.realpython.com/media/Aldren_Santos_Real_Python.6b0861d8b841.png",
"url": "https://realpython.com/team/asantos/",
"affiliation": {
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://realpython.com/#organization",
"name": "Real Python",
"url": "https://realpython.com",
"logo": "https://realpython.com/static/real-python-logo-square-512.157ae6bf64ed.png"
}
},
{
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Brenda Weleschuk",
"image": "https://realpython.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=320,height=320,fit=crop,gravity=auto,format=auto/https://files.realpython.com/media/IMG_3324_1.50b309355fc1.jpg",
"url": "https://realpython.com/team/bweleschuk/",
"affiliation": {
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://realpython.com/#organization",
"name": "Real Python",
"url": "https://realpython.com",
"logo": "https://realpython.com/static/real-python-logo-square-512.157ae6bf64ed.png"
}
},
{
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Bartosz Zaczy\u0144ski",
"image": "https://realpython.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1694,height=1694,fit=crop,gravity=auto,format=auto/https://files.realpython.com/media/coders_lab_2109368.259b1599fbee.jpg",
"url": "https://realpython.com/team/bzaczynski/",
"affiliation": {
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://realpython.com/#organization",
"name": "Real Python",
"url": "https://realpython.com",
"logo": "https://realpython.com/static/real-python-logo-square-512.157ae6bf64ed.png"
}
},
{
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Philipp Acsany",
"image": "https://realpython.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1920,height=1920,fit=crop,gravity=auto,format=auto/https://files.realpython.com/media/pacsany.19bcf16f5a00.jpg",
"url": "https://realpython.com/team/pacsany/",
"affiliation": {
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://realpython.com/#organization",
"name": "Real Python",
"url": "https://realpython.com",
"logo": "https://realpython.com/static/real-python-logo-square-512.157ae6bf64ed.png"
}
},
{
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Stephen Gruppetta",
"image": "https://realpython.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=400,height=400,fit=crop,gravity=auto,format=auto/https://files.realpython.com/media/Stephen_inside_2_BW_2_square_crop_2_low_res_2_copy.4a7e2d8bc19c.png",
"url": "https://realpython.com/team/sgruppetta/",
"affiliation": {
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://realpython.com/#organization",
"name": "Real Python",
"url": "https://realpython.com",
"logo": "https://realpython.com/static/real-python-logo-square-512.157ae6bf64ed.png"
}
}
]
},
"datePublished": "2026-06-10T14:00:00+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-09-24T19:24:47.055310+00:00",
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://realpython.com/#organization",
"name": "Real Python",
"url": "https://realpython.com",
"logo": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"url": "https://realpython.com/static/real-python-logo-square-512.157ae6bf64ed.png",
"width": 512,
"height": 512
},
"description": "Real Python is a leading provider of online Python education and one of the largest language-specific online communities for software developers. It publishes high-quality learning resources, such as tutorials, books, and courses to an audience of millions of developers, data scientists, and machine learning engineers each month.",
"slogan": "Become a Python Expert",
"email": "info@realpython.com",
"sameAs": [
"https://github.com/realpython",
"https://www.youtube.com/realpython",
"https://twitter.com/realpython",
"https://x.com/realpython",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/realpython-com/",
"https://www.facebook.com/learnrealpython",
"https://www.instagram.com/realpython",
"https://www.tiktok.com/@realpython.com"
]
},
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Brian Mutea",
"image": "https://realpython.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,height=1200,fit=crop,gravity=auto,format=auto/https://files.realpython.com/media/brian_mutea.c0ae241f403d.jpg",
"url": "https://realpython.com/team/bmutea/",
"affiliation": {
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://realpython.com/#organization",
"name": "Real Python",
"url": "https://realpython.com",
"logo": "https://realpython.com/static/real-python-logo-square-512.157ae6bf64ed.png"
}
},
"description": "Compare Cursor vs Windsurf for Python across code completion, multi-file editing, and debugging to choose the right editor for your workflow.",
"hasPart": {
"@type": "FAQPage",
"mainEntity": [
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Does Cursor work inside PyCharm?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "\u003cp\u003eYes, via the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), which became available on paid Cursor plans in March 2026. Windsurf\u0026rsquo;s JetBrains plugin is more mature and currently offers deeper Cascade integration (with Code, Plan, and Ask modes), plus Workflows and Rules, directly within PyCharm.\u003c/p\u003e"
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Which is better for Jupyter Notebooks?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "\u003cp\u003eWindsurf has a dedicated Jupyter integration via \u003ccode\u003epip install codeium-jupyter\u003c/code\u003e. Cursor has improved its \u003ccode\u003e.ipynb\u003c/code\u003e support but remains inconsistent in notebook-heavy workflows. Some Cursor users prefer writing \u003ccode\u003e.py\u003c/code\u003e files with \u003ccode\u003e# %%\u003c/code\u003e cell markers and converting with Jupytext, which sidesteps the notebook format entirely.\u003c/p\u003e"
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "What happens when usage runs out?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "\u003cp\u003eOn Cursor, you can continue at pay-as-you-go pricing billed against the underlying model API, or fall back to slower free-tier requests. On Windsurf, you continue at standard per-token API pricing. Windsurf\u0026rsquo;s \u003cem\u003eTab\u003c/em\u003e autocomplete and its own SWE-1 model remain available on all plans, including Free, even after your quota is exhausted.\u003c/p\u003e"
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Is my code safe?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "\u003cp\u003eCursor offers \u003cem\u003ePrivacy Mode\u003c/em\u003e on all plans, enforced by default on the Business and Teams plans. Windsurf defaults to \u003cem\u003eZero Data Retention\u003c/em\u003e on Teams and Enterprise, with an opt-in on individual plans, including Free.\u003c/p\u003e"
}
}
]
}
}
| author | Real Python |
| theme-color | #18354c |
| color-scheme | light dark |
| twitter:card | summary_large_image |
| twitter:image | https://files.realpython.com/media/Windsurf-vs-Cursor-Which-AI-Powered-Code-Editor-Is-Best-for-Python_Watermarked.5c2bcb8d1965.jpg |
| og:image | https://files.realpython.com/media/Windsurf-vs-Cursor-Which-AI-Powered-Code-Editor-Is-Best-for-Python_Watermarked.5c2bcb8d1965.jpg |
| twitter:creator | @realpython |
| og:type | article |
| og:site_name | Real Python |
| apple-mobile-web-app-title | Real Python |
Links:
Viewport: width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no, viewport-fit=cover
Robots: max-image-preview:large