--- title: "Cursor vs Windsurf: Which is more popular by branded search?" description: "Which is more popular in search, Cursor or Windsurf? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI coding tools 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/cursor-vs-windsurf" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Cursor vs Windsurf: Which is more popular by branded search? Which is more popular in search, Cursor or Windsurf? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI coding tools 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**: Cursor and Windsurf - **Competitive set**: AI coding tools - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **Cursor Share of Search**: 23.7% - **Windsurf Share of Search**: 3.7% ## Which is more popular in search, Cursor or Windsurf? - In August 2026, Cursor had more branded searches than Windsurf among AI coding tools worldwide. Cursor was estimated to have 2.9M branded searches compared to Windsurf’s 458K, and held a 23.7% Share of Search versus Windsurf’s 3.7%. - Cursor was ahead of Windsurf in every measured month of the 11 months ending August 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Cursor’s estimated Share of Search among AI coding tools worldwide moved from 40.6% to 23.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 3M to 2.9M. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Windsurf’s estimated Share of Search among AI coding tools worldwide moved from 9.6% to 3.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 723K to 458K. ## How did search popularity change for AI coding tools worldwide in August 2026? - In August 2026, Cursor gained estimated Share of Search among AI coding tools worldwide, from 20.7% to 23.7%. - Windsurf’s estimated Share of Search among AI coding tools worldwide has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 4.5% to 3.7% in August 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Cursor estimated searches | Cursor Share of Search | Cursor rank | Windsurf estimated searches | Windsurf Share of Search | Windsurf rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 3M | 40.6% | 1 | 723K | 9.6% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 3M | 42.9% | 1 | 722K | 10.2% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 2.8M | 42.2% | 1 | 588K | 8.7% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | 3.5M | 33.1% | 2 | 591K | 5.6% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | 3.5M | 25.8% | 2 | 604K | 4.5% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | 4.2M | 23.8% | 2 | 723K | 4% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | 4.2M | 22% | 3 | 719K | 3.7% | 5 | | May 2026 | 3.6M | 19.6% | 3 | 825K | 4.5% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | 4.2M | 25.3% | 3 | 721K | 4.3% | 5 | | Jul 2026 | 2.9M | 20.7% | 3 | 568K | 4% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | 2.9M | 23.7% | 3 | 458K | 3.7% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Cursor’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. - **Cursor**: Measured on the search terms “anysphere cursor”, “Cursor”, “cursor agent”, “cursor ai”, “cursor ai agent”, “cursor ai app”, “cursor ai code editor”, “cursor ai coding”, “cursor ai coding assistant”, “cursor ai coding tool”, “cursor ai download”, “cursor ai editor”, “cursor ai for students”, “cursor ai free”, “cursor ai ide”, “cursor ai pricing”, “cursor ai pro”, “cursor ai student”, “cursor app”, “cursor bugbot”, “cursor cli”, “cursor code”, “cursor code editor”, “cursor coding”, “cursor com”, “cursor composer”, “cursor download”, “cursor editor”, “cursor for students”, “cursor ide”, “cursor price”, “cursor pricing”, “cursor pro”, “cursor sh”, “cursor vscode”, “cursor.com”, “cursor.sh” and “download cursor ai”, summed into one figure. - **Windsurf**: Measured on the search terms “codeium”, “codeium ai”, “codeium windsurf”, “Windsurf”, “windsurf ai”, “windsurf ai code editor”, “windsurf ai download”, “windsurf ai ide”, “windsurf ai pricing”, “windsurf app”, “windsurf cascade”, “windsurf code”, “windsurf code editor”, “windsurf codeium”, “windsurf coding”, “windsurf com”, “windsurf download”, “windsurf editor”, “windsurf ide”, “windsurf pricing” and “windsurf.com”, summed into one figure. - [Cursor profile](/demand/global-en/brands/cursor) - [Windsurf profile](/demand/global-en/brands/windsurf) - [All AI coding tools worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/ai-coding-tools): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which is more popular in search, Cursor or Windsurf? In August 2026, Cursor had more branded searches than Windsurf among AI coding tools worldwide. Cursor was estimated to have 2.9M branded searches compared to Windsurf’s 458K, and held a 23.7% Share of Search versus Windsurf’s 3.7%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Cursor vs Windsurf: Which is more popular by branded search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/cursor-vs-windsurf This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/cursor-vs-windsurf. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.