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COUNTED 08:56 UTC4 READS FAILED
59 models ranked12 boards36 tools tracked, 7 not what they werecaptured 24 Sep 2026against 23 Sep 202616 rose · 10 fell · 75 held · 10 newadoption, not capability
COMPARISONS/TRAE VS WINDSURF

TraeVSWindsurf

Read from each vendor’s own pages last night, so it does not go stale the way a written comparison does.

TRAE
Not read
WINDSURF
Not published as tiers
CHANGES ON EITHER
1
CAVEATS
1
IDEREAD NIGHTLY FROM THE VENDORS’ OWN PAGESVERDICT DERIVED FROM THE ROWS BELOW
Contents
BEFORE YOU READ ON1 of the two is not what it was

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.

THE VERDICTderived from the rows below, so it cannot say anything the table does not

On the prices each vendor publishes about itself, Trae starts at Not read 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.

SIDE BY SIDE9 asserted rows, 5 measured
COMPARED ONTRAEWINDSURF
ASSERTED · WHAT EACH VENDOR PUBLISHES ABOUT ITSELF
CategoryIDEIDE
VendorByteDanceCognition
StatusActiveAcquired
How it chargesSubscriptionSubscription
Entry priceNot readNot published as tiers
Default modelNone, you chooseNone, you choose
Your own keyNo, bundled onlyNo, bundled only
SourceProprietaryProprietary
PlansNo named tier on ByteDance's pricing page could be read with a price beside it.Cognition publishes no pricing page for Windsurf, so there are no tiers to compare.
MEASURED · COUNTED ON THE LAST NIGHTLY RUN
Starsnot measurednot measured
Maintenancenot measurednot measured
Days since last pushnot measurednot measured
Top model in itnot measurednot measured
Its volumenot measurednot measured
THE QUESTIONS3 answered from the rows above

Is Trae or Windsurf cheaper?

On the cheapest option each vendor publishes: Trae is Not read 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 Trae or Windsurf?

Trae: 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 Trae and Windsurf still maintained?

Active and Acquired as of last night's read. Trae 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.