--- title: "Bolt vs Windsurf: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Bolt or Windsurf more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI coding assistants set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/bolt-new-vs-windsurf" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Bolt vs Windsurf: Which is searched more? Is Bolt or Windsurf more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI coding assistants set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Bolt and Windsurf - **Competitive set**: AI coding assistants - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Bolt Share of Search**: 1.5% - **Windsurf Share of Search**: 1.2% ## Is Bolt or Windsurf more popular in search? - In September 2026, Bolt had more branded searches than Windsurf among AI coding assistants worldwide. Bolt had about 110,000 branded searches, while Windsurf had 87,400. Bolt made up 1.5% of all AI coding assistant searches we track, and Windsurf accounted for 1.2%. - The lead changed hands once in the 12 months ending September 2026: Bolt took it in July 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Bolt’s share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide moved from 2.3% to 1.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 110K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Windsurf’s share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide moved from 3.1% to 1.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 152K to 87.4K. ## Top AI coding assistants in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Windsurf was mentioned in two out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Bolt was mentioned in one out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Windsurf was listed before Bolt in two out of three answers that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Cursor | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Claude Code | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | GitHub Copilot | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | OpenAI Codex | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Replit | 5th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Windsurf | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Lovable | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Bolt | 8th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about AI coding assistants - Asked ChatGPT "Which AI coding assistant should I use?": 1. Cursor, 2. Claude Code, 3. OpenAI Codex, 4. GitHub Copilot - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best AI coding assistants?": 1. Cursor, 2. Claude Code, 3. GitHub Copilot, 4. OpenAI Codex, 5. Windsurf - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best AI coding assistant for help coding?": 1. Cursor, 2. OpenAI Codex, 3. Claude Code, 4. GitHub Copilot - Searched Google, AI Overview "ai coding assistant": 1. Cursor, 2. GitHub Copilot, 3. Claude Code, 4. Replit, 5. Lovable, 6. Bolt - Searched Google, AI Overview "programming ai assistant": 1. Cursor, 2. GitHub Copilot, 3. Claude Code, 4. Windsurf Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for AI coding assistants worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for Windsurf worldwide fell 42.4% over 12 measured months, from 152K to 87.4K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Bolt estimated searches | Bolt Share of Search | Bolt rank | Windsurf estimated searches | Windsurf Share of Search | Windsurf rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 110K | 2.3% | 7 | 152K | 3.1% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | 90.5K | 2% | 7 | 150K | 3.4% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | 74K | 1.6% | 8 | 123K | 2.7% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 74K | 0.97% | 8 | 125K | 1.6% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 74K | 0.79% | 8 | 139K | 1.5% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 74K | 0.59% | 8 | 158K | 1.3% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 74K | 0.57% | 8 | 155K | 1.2% | 7 | | May 2026 | 90.5K | 0.76% | 8 | 138K | 1.2% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | 110K | 1.1% | 8 | 151K | 1.6% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 135K | 1.6% | 7 | 107K | 1.3% | 8 | | Aug 2026 | 135K | 1.8% | 6 | 82.1K | 1.1% | 8 | | Sep 2026 | 110K | 1.5% | 6 | 87.4K | 1.2% | 8 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Bolt’s and Windsurf’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Bolt**: Measured on the search terms “bolt new” and “bolt.new”, summed into one figure. - **Windsurf**: Measured on the search terms “codeium”, “codeium ai”, “codeium windsurf”, “windsurf ai”, “windsurf ai coding”, “windsurf ai ide”, “windsurf app”, “windsurf cascade”, “windsurf code”, “windsurf code editor”, “windsurf codeium”, “windsurf coding”, “windsurf editor” and “windsurf ide”, summed into one figure. - [Bolt profile](/demand/global-en/brands/bolt-new) - [Windsurf profile](/demand/global-en/brands/windsurf) - [All AI coding assistants worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/ai-coding-assistants): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Bolt or Windsurf more popular in search? In September 2026, Bolt had more branded searches than Windsurf among AI coding assistants worldwide. Bolt had about 110,000 branded searches, while Windsurf had 87,400. Bolt made up 1.5% of all AI coding assistant searches we track, and Windsurf accounted for 1.2%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Bolt vs Windsurf: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/bolt-new-vs-windsurf This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/bolt-new-vs-windsurf. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.