KiroVS
Windsurf
Read from each vendor’s own pages last night, so it does not go stale the way a written comparison does.
- KIRO
- Free, then $20 / mo
- WINDSURF
- Not published as tiers
- CHANGES ON EITHER
- 6
- CAVEATS
- 1
WINDSURFACQUIRED SINCE 14 JULY 2025Windsurf was acquired by Cognition and is no longer independent. Acquired by Cognition in 2025 after the Google deal took the founding team; $82M ARR at acquisition. Every "Cursor vs Windsurf" page written before the acquisition describes a company that no longer exists independently.
On the prices each vendor publishes about itself, Kiro starts at Free, then $20 / mo and Windsurf at Not published as tiers. Before that decides anything: Windsurf was acquired by Cognition and is no longer independent. (since 14 July 2025) Neither takes your own API key, both bundle model usage, and on both the headline price is an allowance rather than a bill. Every figure on this page was read from the two vendors' own pages in last night's run rather than written down once, which is the only reason it is still the current answer. ToolDrift sells neither and takes no referral fee on either.
| COMPARED ON | KIRO | WINDSURF |
|---|---|---|
| ASSERTED · WHAT EACH VENDOR PUBLISHES ABOUT ITSELF | ||
| Category | IDE | IDE |
| Vendor | AWS | Cognition |
| Status | Active | Acquired |
| How it charges | Subscription | Subscription |
| Entry price | Free, then $20 / mo | Not published as tiers |
| Default model | None, you choose | None, you choose |
| Your own key | No, bundled only | No, bundled only |
| Source | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Plans | Free · Freefor teams up to 500 · $20 / mo per user / month | Cognition publishes no pricing page for Windsurf, so there are no tiers to compare. |
| MEASURED · COUNTED ON THE LAST NIGHTLY RUN | ||
| Stars | not measured | not measured |
| Maintenance | not measured | not measured |
| Days since last push | not measured | not measured |
| Top model in it | not measured | not measured |
| Its volume | not measured | not measured |
Is Kiro or Windsurf cheaper?
On the cheapest option each vendor publishes: Kiro is Free, then $20 / mo and Windsurf is Not published as tiers. Treat both as an allowance rather than a bill, every tool in this category meters model usage on top of the plan, and which one costs more in practice depends on the models you drive and how hard. The tier prices are the part that can be checked from outside, so they are the part this page prints.
Can I use my own API key with Kiro or Windsurf?
Kiro: no, model usage is bundled. Windsurf: no, model usage is bundled. It is the row that decides whether the subscription price is most of what you pay or a fraction of it: a tool that takes your own key charges for the software, and one that does not is reselling inference with a margin you cannot see.
Are Kiro and Windsurf still maintained?
Active and Acquired as of last night's read. Kiro publishes no repository this site tracks, so there is no push date to read; Windsurf publishes no repository this site tracks, so there is no push date to read. One caution: Windsurf was acquired by Cognition and is no longer independent. (since 14 July 2025) This is the question a written comparison cannot answer, because it was true on the day it was published and nobody went back.