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Bolt.new vs Windsurf

A side-by-side comparison of Bolt.new and Windsurf, drawn from Ignaite's continuously-verified listings.

Compared from listings verified as of

Bolt.new

Agent

Prompt-to-app generator running in the browser. WebContainers under the hood.

View Bolt.new

Windsurf

IDE

Agent-first IDE with the Cascade planning agent.

View Windsurf

At a glance

Feature comparison of Bolt.new and Windsurf
AttributeBolt.newWindsurf
Category (differs)AgentIDE
PricingFREEMIUMFREEMIUM
LicenseProprietaryProprietary
Deployment (differs)CloudLocal
Platforms (differs)WebmacOS, Windows, Linux
Model supportMulti-modelMulti-model
Vendor (differs)StackBlitzCognition
Capabilities (differs)
  • AI app builder
  • App / agent deployment
  • UI design / design-to-code
  • Autonomous coding agent
  • Code generation
  • IDE integration
  • Code review
  • MCP server

The honest brief

Bolt.new

Runs the whole Node stack in-browser via WebContainers, giving a real full-stack IDE no rival sandbox matches.

  • Full Node stack runs in the browser tab
  • Code-first with a real editable IDE
  • Generates frontend, backend, and deps
  • Good for modern JS framework projects
  • Token usage can burn fast on iteration
  • Less hand-holding than design-first builders
  • Backend/database wiring weaker than Lovable

Windsurf

Cascade plans before it edits, paying off on multi-file changes — with a cleaner, less busy UX than rivals.

  • Cascade agent plans then acts
  • Strong multi-file change handling
  • Good terminal integration
  • Bundled model spend in subscription
  • Closed source
  • Ownership upheaval (acquisition saga)
  • Usage limits on lower tiers
  • Smaller extension base than VS Code

When to pick which

Across the signals we compare, Bolt.new and Windsurf differ on deployment and platforms:

Deployment
Cloud · Local
Platforms
Web · macOS, Windows, Linux

Their capability lists differ in recorded depth — compare the full lists above before deciding.

Bolt.new detailsWindsurf details