Free
$0
Comparison · prices checked every day
Windsurf vs Bolt: which is worth paying for?
The current plans and our verdict on each tool, side by side. Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page and are checked every day.
Prices, verdicts, test results or user reports behind this comparison changed on Sep 28, 2026. We are re-checking it; the plan table below always shows the current prices.
The short answer
Choose Windsurf if…
- Windsurf costs $20/month for full model access and increased quotas.
- you need an IDE with unlimited inline edits and Tab completions.
Choose Bolt if…
Our pick for most people
- Bolt costs $25/month for 10M tokens per month and no daily token caps.
- you want to remove Bolt branding and support custom domains.
- Bolt offers a generous free tier with 1M tokens per month and 300K daily tokens.
Bottom line: Bolt is the better paid option for most users because its free tier is generous and its paid plan removes token caps.
Key differences
- Windsurf costs $20/month for the Pro plan, which includes increased quotas and full model availability. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (windsurf.com), checked Sep 25, 2026.Go to sources ↓
- Bolt costs $25/month for the Pro plan, which provides 10M tokens per month and no daily token limit. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (bolt.new), checked Sep 24, 2026.Go to sources ↓
- Windsurf offers a free plan with a light quota and limited model availability. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (windsurf.com), checked Sep 25, 2026.Go to sources ↓
- Bolt offers a free plan with 300K tokens daily and 1M tokens per month. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (bolt.new), checked Sep 24, 2026.Go to sources ↓
- Windsurf includes unlimited inline edits and Tab completions in its free plan. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (windsurf.com), checked Sep 25, 2026.Go to sources ↓
- Bolt includes website hosting and unlimited databases in its free plan. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (bolt.new), checked Sep 24, 2026.Go to sources ↓
Plans and limits side by side
| Plans | Windsurf | Bolt |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free $0Quota Light, Model availability Limited, Inline edits Unlimited, Tab completions Unlimited | Free $0Tokens daily limit 300K, Tokens per month 1M, File upload limit 10MB, Web requests Up to… |
| Paid plans | Pro $20/moQuotas Increased, Model availability Full, SWE-2 Free in Devin Desktop and CLI Free throu…Max $200/moQuotas Significantly higher | Pro $25/moTokens per month Start at 10M, File upload limit 100MB, Web requests Up to 1M |
| Business plans | Teams $80/user/moUsers Up to 200, Support PriorityEnterprise CustomSupport Highest priority, Account management Dedicated, SSO SAML/OIDC, Admin controls Cen… | Teams $30/user/moEnterprise Custom |
From each vendor's own pricing page · Windsurf checked Sep 27, 2026 · Bolt checked Sep 27, 2026.
Our tests
We have not run our task suite on Windsurf or Bolt yet, so this comparison has no test scores.
What users say
Windsurf
One Reddit user cancelled their subscription after Windsurf changed its pricing structure RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/windsurf, posted Mar 20, 2026See the report ↓. Another user noted that Windsurf switched from credits to a rolling window quota system HNUser report · negative · Hacker NewsPosted Mar 25, 2026See the report ↓. Some users feel the new pricing destroys the tool's reputation RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/windsurf, posted Mar 23, 2026See the report ↓. A user mentioned that Windsurf's pricing is similar to Cursor HNUser report · positive · Hacker NewsPosted Apr 22, 2026See the report ↓. Another user found that using advanced models consumes a large portion of their daily quota RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/windsurf, posted Mar 20, 2026See the report ↓.
Reports cited (5)
I switched to Windsurf recently and it's been pretty good for providing a Cursor-like experience; pricing is pretty similar.
Upvote if you cancelled your subscription or plan to let's visualize the impact of their pricing changes. i cancelled mine today as it was about to refresh in two days
… Update: Windsurf has just made a shitty move by changing their pricing structure from credits to rolling window percentages, not sure if it's better or worse, free models are still there & I haven't hit any rate limit so far.
Windsurf is simply destroying its reputation with these disguised new pricing changes. Windsurf is literally destroying its own reputation with these new pricing changes. If you’re seeing this, it’s because this is honestly my last resort. …
This is beginning of the end of Windsurf 7 prompts with opus 4.5 thinking which used to cost 5 credits per prompt consumes 96% daily quota and 48% weekly quota how can Windsurf justify this is better than the credit system. FRUSTRATING. DISAPPOINTED.
Bolt
We do not have enough user reports about Bolt yet.
Questions people ask
Is Windsurf free?
Windsurf has a free plan with a light quota and limited model availability.
How many tokens does Bolt free plan include?
Bolt's free plan includes 300K tokens daily and 1M tokens per month.
Does Bolt have a daily token limit?
The free plan has a 300K daily limit, but the paid Pro plan has no daily token limit.
What is the price of Windsurf Pro?
Windsurf Pro costs $20/month.
Sources
Drafted with AI from these pages, our tests and the linked user reports, and checked automatically against them before publishing: every price, score and report above is tied to the tool it is about.
Windsurf
- Pricing page · checked Sep 25, 2026windsurf.com/pricing ↩ text
Bolt
- Pricing page · checked Sep 24, 2026bolt.new/pricing ↩ text
Each tool's verdict and plans
Windsurf
DEPENDS DEPENDS — worth it for some people Re-checking after a price change
Windsurf Pro offers full model access for $20/month, but the new quota system drains limits quickly for some users.
Based on pricing, docs & user reports — not yet tested by us
- Cheapest paid
- $20/mo
- What's free
- $0
- Our test score
- —
Pro
$20/mo
Max
$200/mo
Teams
$80/user/mo
Enterprise
Custom
Bolt
YES YES — worth paying for
Paying removes daily token limits, branding, and file size caps, making it worth it for serious builders.
Based on pricing & docs — not yet tested by us
- Cheapest paid
- $25/mo
- What's free
- $0
- Our test score
- —
Free
$0
Pro
$25/mo
Teams
$30/user/mo
Enterprise
Custom
How we make money
The "Visit" buttons go through shouldipay.ai/go/ and may be affiliate links, but commissions never decide a verdict or a comparison: the evidence does. Affiliate disclosure