VS
LM Studio vs Windsurf IDE
An in-depth comparison of LM Studio and Windsurf IDE — pricing, features, ratings, and more.
4.7
★★★★★
124 reviews
4.9
★★★★★
164 reviews
Higher ratedSide-by-Side Comparison
Category
AI Coding Assistant
AI Coding Assistant
Pricing
Free
Free tier; Pro at $15/month; Teams at $35/user/month
Pricing model
free
freemium
Rating
4.7 ★
4.9 ★
Reviews
124
164
Platforms
macOS, Windows, Linux
Windows, macOS, Linux
API Access
✗ No
✗ No
Open Source
✗ No
✗ No
Key Features
- ✓ Run 500+ LLMs completely offline
- ✓ OpenAI-compatible local API server
- ✓ Built-in model marketplace
- ✓ GPU acceleration support
- ✓ Chat history and multiple conversations
- ✓ Cascade agentic AI
- ✓ Multi-file code editing
- ✓ Terminal command execution
- ✓ Codebase understanding
- ✓ VS Code compatible
- ✓ Multiple AI models
- ✓ Flows for automation
Pros & Cons
Pros
- + 100% private, no internet required
- + OpenAI-compatible API
- + Huge model selection
- + Free
Cons
- − Requires powerful hardware for large models
- − Slower than cloud APIs
Pros
- + Cascade is very capable autonomously
- + Good VS Code compatibility
- + Free to start
- + Fast and responsive
Cons
- − Cascade can make mistakes requiring review
- − Newer than Cursor
- − Credits can run out quickly on free tier