VS
OpenRouter vs Windsurf IDE
An in-depth comparison of OpenRouter and Windsurf IDE — pricing, features, ratings, and more.
4.7
★★★★★
79 reviews
4.9
★★★★★
164 reviews
Higher ratedSide-by-Side Comparison
Category
AI Coding Assistant
AI Coding Assistant
Pricing
freemium
Free tier; Pro at $15/month; Teams at $35/user/month
Pricing model
freemium
freemium
Rating
4.7 ★
4.9 ★
Reviews
79
164
Platforms
API
Windows, macOS, Linux
API Access
✓ Yes
✗ No
Open Source
✗ No
✗ No
Key Features
- ✓ 300+ models with one API key
- ✓ OpenAI SDK compatible
- ✓ Automatic fallback routing
- ✓ Real-time pricing comparison
- ✓ Free models included (Llama, Mistral)
- ✓ Cascade agentic AI
- ✓ Multi-file code editing
- ✓ Terminal command execution
- ✓ Codebase understanding
- ✓ VS Code compatible
- ✓ Multiple AI models
- ✓ Flows for automation
Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Huge model selection
- + Cost savings through routing
- + Automatic fallbacks prevent downtime
Cons
- − Extra latency from proxy layer
- − Another service dependency
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