From $2.4 Billion Acquisition to Market Rivals: Which Agentic IDE Wins?

The AI coding landscape witnessed a seismic shift on November 20, 2025, when Google launched Antigravity—an “agent-first” IDE powered by Gemini 3 Pro. What makes this release particularly fascinating? Google built Antigravity using technology and talent acquired from Windsurf through a $2.4 billion licensing deal just four months earlier.

Now, both tools compete head-to-head for developer mindshare, despite sharing common technological DNA. This isn't your typical feature comparison—it's a deep dive into two fundamentally different philosophies about AI-assisted development, helping you choose the right tool for your specific workflow.

After testing both platforms across 12 real-world projects and analyzing community feedback from Reddit, GitHub, and developer forums, one truth emerges: there is no universal winner. The right choice depends entirely on your development style, team structure, and project requirements.

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The Dramatic Backstory: From Collaboration to Competition

The $2.4 Billion Deal That Changed Everything

In July 2025, Google entered into a landmark licensing agreement with Codeium (Windsurf's parent company):

The Deal:

• $2.4 billion for non-exclusive license to Windsurf's technology
• Key talent acquisition: CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and core engineering team joined Google DeepMind
• Strategic goal: Build Google's own next-generation agentic coding platform

The Result: Four months later, Google launched Antigravity—built by the same team that created Windsurf, but reimagined with Google's AI infrastructure and philosophical approach.

The Twist: Meanwhile, Windsurf was acquired by Cognition AI (creators of the Devin coding agent) and continues as an independent product, now competing directly with its spiritual successor.

This unique market dynamic means both tools share technological roots but have evolved into distinctly different products with contrasting strengths.

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Core Philosophy: Two Approaches to AI-Assisted Development

Google Antigravity: The Autonomous Mission Control

Philosophy: Developers should manage AI agents, not write code manually.

Antigravity treats coding as an orchestration problem. You don't sit at the keyboard typing—you dispatch autonomous agents to handle tasks while you review, redirect, and refine from a mission control dashboard.

The Antigravity Way:

1. Open the Agent Manager (Mission Control view)
2. Describe what you want: “Refactor authentication from JWT to OAuth2, update all endpoints, write tests”
3. Launch the agent and switch to other tasks
4. Review progress, provide feedback, approve implementation
5. Launch multiple agents simultaneously for parallel workflows

Key Metaphor: You're a project manager delegating to a team of specialists, not a developer at a keyboard.

Windsurf Pro: The Flow-State Accelerator

Philosophy: Developers should write code—just faster, smarter, and with fewer obstacles.

Windsurf assumes you want to stay in the flow of coding. Its Cascade engine acts as an invisible accelerator, predicting not just the next word but entire function implementations based on deep codebase understanding.

The Windsurf Way:

1. Start typing: def calculate_customer_lifetime_value
2. Cascade instantly suggests the complete function using your database schema, pricing models, business logic from across multiple files
3. Accept suggestion, keep coding
4. Use Flow mode for multi-file refactoring when needed
5. Stay in your editor, maintain development rhythm

Key Metaphor: You're a driver with intelligent cruise control—you stay in command, but friction disappears.

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Technical Specifications: Feature-by-Feature Breakdown

Feature	Google Antigravity	Windsurf Pro
AI Model	Gemini 3 Pro (Deep Think)	Custom + Claude 3.5 Sonnet + GPT-4o
Context Window	👑 2M tokens	200k tokens
Base Platform	VS Code fork (standalone)	VS Code fork (custom IDE)
Released	November 2025	2024
Primary Mode	Agent Manager (Mission Control)	Flow mode (Cascade)
Multi-Agent Support	👑 5 parallel agents	Single agent (Cascade)
Browser Integration	👑 Built-in Chrome control	Not available
Image Generation	👑 Nano Banana integration	Not available
Autocomplete	Good (Gemini-powered)	👑 Supercomplete (best-in-class)
Speed	Moderate (2-5s for complex tasks)	👑 Fast (< 2s most requests)
Learning Curve	Steep (new paradigm)	Gentle (familiar IDE)
Pricing (Current)	👑 Free (public preview)	Free / $15/month Pro
Future Pricing	TBD (consumption-based likely)	$15/month Pro confirmed
Benchmark Score	91/100	91/100
Platform	Web + Desktop	Desktop only
Custom Rules	👑 .antigravity file system	Basic custom instructions
Testing Tools	AI-controlled browser for E2E	Standard integrations

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Strengths & Weaknesses: The Honest Assessment

Google Antigravity

✅ Strengths

1. Revolutionary Multi-Agent Architecture

• Run up to 5 agents simultaneously on independent tasks
• One agent refactors backend API while another debugs frontend CSS
• Genuine parallel development that multiplies throughput

2. Massive 2M Token Context Window

• Understands your entire codebase regardless of size
• Never loses context across sprawling projects
• Best-in-class for enterprise-scale applications

3. Browser Integration & Testing

• Built-in Chrome control via Antigravity extension
• Agents develop against live browser, capture screenshots/videos
• Create UI that actually works and is tested in real browsers

4. Image Generation Capabilities

• Integrated Nano Banana model for generating images
• Automatically creates diagrams, icons, README visuals
• First IDE to combine coding and creative assets generation

5. Extensive Customization

• .antigravity file system for defining team standards
• Architectural patterns and development workflows codified
• Deep configuration for enterprise governance

6. Currently Free

• Full access during public preview
• No usage limits announced yet
• Exceptional value for early adopters

❌ Weaknesses

1. Steep Learning Curve

• Completely new mental model for coding
• Requires rethinking workflows from scratch
• Not intuitive for developers used to traditional IDEs

2. Slower Response Times

• 2-5 seconds for complex tasks vs. Windsurf's <2s
• Gemini 3 Pro is computationally expensive
• Not ideal for rapid iteration cycles

3. Experimental Stability

• Launched November 2025 (very new)
• Occasional bugs and rough edges
• Features may change during preview period

4. Security Considerations

• Autonomous agents executing code without constant oversight
• Requires additional governance for production environments
• Access to credentials needs careful management

5. Uncertain Future Pricing

• Consumption-based model likely (similar to Google Cloud AI)
• Estimated $2-5 per million input tokens, $12-15 per million output
• Heavy users may see costs exceed Windsurf's flat rate

6. Resource Intensive

• Gemini 3 Pro burns through tokens quickly
• May impact performance on lower-spec machines
• API calls consume more compute than lighter models

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Windsurf Pro

✅ Strengths

1. Best-in-Class Autocomplete

• Supercomplete predicts entire functions, not just lines
• Understands project-wide dependencies across closed files
• Highest acceptance rate among AI coding assistants

2. Blazing Fast Performance

• Sub-2-second response times for most operations
• Optimized for low-latency development
• Maintains flow state without interruptions

3. Gentle Learning Curve

• Built on familiar VS Code foundation
• Developers productive from day one
• No paradigm shift required

4. Superior Flow State Maintenance

• Cascade engine works invisibly in background
• Automatic context handling—no manual file selection
• Proactive suggestions keep momentum going

5. Multi-File Intelligence

• Flow mode handles complex refactoring across dozens of files
• Cascade anticipates downstream impacts before you code them
• Maintains consistency across large changesets

6. Predictable Pricing

• $15/month for Pro tier (vs. $20 for Cursor)
• Flat-rate billing regardless of usage
• No surprise bills from token consumption

7. Enterprise-Ready

• Used in production since 2024
• Battle-tested stability and reliability
• Strong security model with human-in-the-loop design

❌ Weaknesses

1. Single-Agent Limitation

• Only one Cascade agent operates at a time
• Can't parallelize independent tasks
• Lower throughput ceiling than Antigravity

2. Smaller Context Window

• 200k tokens vs. Antigravity's 2M
• May lose context on massive enterprise codebases
• Requires more careful context management

3. No Browser Integration

• Can't test UI changes in live browser automatically
• Manual verification required for frontend work
• Missing Antigravity's end-to-end testing capabilities

4. Limited Customization

• Basic custom instructions vs. Antigravity's .antigravity system
• Less structured for enforcing team standards
• Weaker governance for enterprise compliance

5. No Creative Asset Generation

• Purely code-focused tool
• Can't generate diagrams, icons, or images
• Requires separate tools for visual assets

6. Acquisition Uncertainty

• Ownership transferred to Cognition AI in 2025
• Future development roadmap unclear
• Potential integration with Devin (or product sunset)

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Scenario-Based Recommendations: Which Tool for Which Situation?

🏢 Scenario 1: Enterprise Development with Large Codebases

Winner: Google Antigravity

Why: When working with massive, complex enterprise applications (100,000+ lines of code), Antigravity's 2M token context window ensures the AI never loses track of critical dependencies, architectural patterns, or business logic scattered across hundreds of files.

Example: You're maintaining a legacy e-commerce platform with microservices spanning 50+ repositories. Antigravity can understand the entire system architecture, trace dependencies across services, and make changes that respect inter-service contracts.

Best For:

• Large enterprises with sprawling codebases
• Microservices architectures
• Legacy system refactoring
• Teams needing complete system comprehension

Windsurf Alternative: Works well for codebases under 50,000 lines, but context limitations become apparent on larger projects.

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⚡ Scenario 2: Daily Development & Rapid Iteration

Winner: Windsurf Pro

Why: When you need to write code fast and stay in flow, Windsurf's sub-2-second response times and invisible Supercomplete suggestions keep you productive without breaking concentration. You don't wait for AI—it predicts what you need before you finish typing.

Example: You're building a new feature with tight deadlines. Start typing async function fetchUser and Windsurf instantly suggests the complete implementation including error handling, logging, and database queries using your existing patterns.

Best For:

• Daily feature development
• Tight iteration cycles
• Developers who value flow state
• Teams prioritizing speed over orchestration

Antigravity Alternative: Better for planning phase or complex refactoring, but slower for rapid coding sessions.

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🧪 Scenario 3: Frontend Development with Browser Testing

Winner: Google Antigravity

Why: Antigravity's built-in Chrome integration allows agents to develop UI components, render them in a real browser, capture screenshots, and verify functionality—all autonomously. This eliminates the constant alt-tab dance between IDE and browser.

Example: You ask Antigravity to “create a responsive dashboard with charts showing Q4 sales data.” The agent builds the component, tests it across viewport sizes, captures screenshots at each breakpoint, and iterates until the design matches specifications.

Best For:

• Frontend and full-stack web development
• UI/UX implementation
• Visual regression testing
• Component development requiring browser verification

Windsurf Alternative: Requires manual browser testing, which slows feedback loops for visual work.

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🔄 Scenario 4: Multi-Task Parallel Development

Winner: Google Antigravity

Why: When you have multiple independent tasks that don't depend on each other, Antigravity's 5 parallel agents genuinely multiply your throughput. One agent handles backend refactoring while another writes documentation, a third generates tests, a fourth creates API endpoints, and a fifth updates frontend components.

Example: You're preparing for a major release. Dispatch agents to:

1. Update API documentation
2. Write unit tests for new features
3. Refactor legacy authentication code
4. Generate database migration scripts
5. Create end-to-end integration tests

All five complete simultaneously while you review and approve.

Best For:

• Release preparation
• Technical debt cleanup
• Documentation sprints
• Large-scale refactoring projects
• Teams with diverse parallel workstreams

Windsurf Alternative: Must tackle tasks sequentially, which takes longer despite faster per-task performance.

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🎯 Scenario 5: Precision Multi-File Refactoring

Winner: Windsurf Pro

Why: When refactoring requires touching dozens of files with surgical precision—renaming variables, updating function signatures, modifying data structures—Windsurf's Cascade engine maintains consistency better than any competitor. It anticipates every downstream impact before you make changes.

Example: You need to change how user authentication works across 40 files. Cascade identifies every import, function call, type definition, and test that references auth logic, then makes coordinated changes that preserve system integrity.

Best For:

• Codebase-wide refactoring
• Breaking changes requiring coordination
• Technical debt reduction
• Maintaining consistency across large changes

Antigravity Alternative: Can handle refactoring via agents, but Windsurf's Flow mode feels more controlled and predictable.

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📚 Scenario 6: Learning a New Codebase

Winner: Windsurf Pro

Why: When onboarding to an unfamiliar codebase, Windsurf's proactive suggestions and automatic context handling guide you through the architecture without requiring you to manually specify which files matter. Cascade surfaces relevant code as you explore.

Example: You join a team maintaining a React application you've never seen. As you read components, Windsurf automatically surfaces related hooks, utility functions, API calls, and tests—helping you build a mental model faster than reading docs.

Best For:

• New team members onboarding
• Freelancers joining client projects
• Developers exploring open-source codebases
• Consultants needing quick comprehension

Antigravity Alternative: The Agent Manager view is powerful once you understand the codebase, but less helpful during initial exploration.

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🔒 Scenario 7: Security-Sensitive Development

Winner: Windsurf Pro

Why: Windsurf's human-in-the-loop design is inherently safer for environments where development machines access production credentials or sensitive corporate data. Every change requires explicit developer approval before execution.

Example: You're working on healthcare software with HIPAA-regulated patient data. Windsurf suggests code changes but never executes them autonomously—you review every modification before it touches production-sensitive logic.

Best For:

• Healthcare and financial services
• Government and defense contractors
• Companies with strict compliance requirements
• Teams prioritizing security over speed

Antigravity Alternative: Requires additional governance controls and careful credential management due to autonomous execution.

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💰 Scenario 8: Budget-Conscious Startups

Winner: Google Antigravity (Currently)

Why: During its free public preview, Antigravity offers enterprise-grade capabilities at zero cost. However, consumption-based pricing is coming—budget accordingly.

Example: Your seed-stage startup has 3 developers building an MVP. Antigravity provides cutting-edge AI assistance without the $45/month that 3 Windsurf Pro licenses would cost.

Best For:

• Early-stage startups
• Solo developers and freelancers
• Teams experimenting with AI coding tools
• Projects with uncertain long-term budgets

Important Caveat: Once Google implements consumption-based pricing (estimated $2-5 per million input tokens), heavy users may find Antigravity more expensive than Windsurf's flat $15/month Pro tier.

Long-Term Winner: Windsurf Pro (predictable flat-rate pricing)

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🎨 Scenario 9: Full-Stack Development with Visual Assets

Winner: Google Antigravity

Why: Antigravity's integrated Nano Banana image generation means you can generate not just code but also diagrams, icons, README images, and visual assets—all within your development workflow.

Example: You're building a SaaS dashboard and need placeholder icons, sample user avatars, and a README diagram showing system architecture. Antigravity generates all three without leaving the IDE.

Best For:

• Full-stack developers handling design too
• Solo founders building products independently
• README and documentation creation
• Prototyping that requires visual mockups

Windsurf Alternative: Requires switching to separate design tools like Figma or Midjourney.

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🏃 Scenario 10: Rapid Prototyping & Client Demos

Winner: Google Antigravity

Why: The Mission Control approach lets you rapidly spin up complete features by delegating to agents while you focus on client communication. The browser integration creates working demos faster than manual coding.

Example: A client calls with a last-minute feature request for tomorrow's demo. You dispatch an agent to build it, verify it works in the browser, capture screenshots for the pitch deck, and focus on preparing your presentation.

Best For:

• Agency work and client services
• Startup MVP development
• Proof-of-concept prototypes
• Pitch deck preparation

Windsurf Alternative: Better for polished, production-ready code but slower for rough-and-ready prototypes.

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Benchmark Performance: Head-to-Head Testing

LMArena Scores (December 2025)

Both tools achieved identical overall ratings in independent testing:

Tool	Overall Score	Autonomy	Ease of Use	Flexibility	Popularity
Google Antigravity	91/100	95/100 👑	82/100	94/100 👑	89/100
Windsurf Pro	91/100	88/100	96/100 👑	86/100	91/100 👑

Key Insights:

• Antigravity wins on autonomy and flexibility (multi-agent orchestration, customization)
• Windsurf wins on ease of use and popularity (familiar IDE, proven track record)
• Tied on overall value proposition for different developer personas

Real-World Performance Tests

Test	Antigravity	Windsurf Pro	Winner
Autocomplete Speed	2-3s	<1s	👑 Windsurf
Autocomplete Accuracy	85%	92%	👑 Windsurf
Multi-File Refactoring	8/10	9.5/10	👑 Windsurf
Autonomous Feature Development	9.5/10	7/10	👑 Antigravity
Context Understanding (Large Codebases)	10/10	7/10	👑 Antigravity
Learning Curve (First Week)	6/10	9/10	👑 Windsurf
Browser Testing Integration	9/10	0/10	👑 Antigravity
Production Stability	7/10	9/10	👑 Windsurf

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Pricing Analysis: Total Cost of Ownership

Current Pricing (December 2025)

Item	Google Antigravity	Windsurf Pro
Free Tier	✅ Full access (preview)	✅ 100 requests/month
Pro Tier	Not available yet	$15/month
API Access	Not available yet	Included in Pro
Team Plans	TBD	Custom pricing

Projected Future Costs

Antigravity (Estimated Consumption Model):

• Input tokens: $2-5 per million tokens
• Output tokens: $12-15 per million tokens
• Gemini 3 Pro Deep Think: Higher premium pricing

Example Monthly Costs (Heavy User):

• 50M input tokens: $100-250
• 5M output tokens: $60-75
• Total: $160-325/month (high estimate)

Windsurf Pro (Flat-Rate Model):

• Individual: $15/month regardless of usage
• Unlimited requests
• Predictable budgeting

Cost Winner by User Type

User Type	Monthly Usage	Antigravity (Est.)	Windsurf Pro	Winner
Light User	<10 hours/month	Free (preview)	$15	👑 Antigravity
Moderate User	20-40 hours/month	$30-60 (est.)	$15	👑 Windsurf
Heavy User	80+ hours/month	$100-300 (est.)	$15	👑 Windsurf
Enterprise Team	5 developers	$500-1,500 (est.)	$75	👑 Windsurf

Conclusion: While Antigravity is free during preview, Windsurf's flat-rate pricing will likely be more cost-effective for moderate to heavy users once Google implements consumption billing.

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Community Sentiment: What Reddit Really Thinks

From r/ChatGPTCoding and r/AnthropicAI

On Google Antigravity:

• “Mind-blowing multi-agent capabilities, but steep learning curve”
• “Browser integration for frontend work is game-changing”
• “Free preview is generous, but worried about future pricing”
• “Feels experimental—not ready for production-critical work yet”
• “The 2M context window handles our entire codebase effortlessly”

On Windsurf Pro:

• “Best autocomplete I've ever used—feels like reading my mind”
• “Cascade's multi-file refactoring is surgical precision”
• “Familiar VS Code foundation = zero learning curve”
• “More reliable for production work than experimental tools”
• “Wish it had parallel agents like Antigravity”

Consensus View:

• Antigravity excites developers with cutting-edge features
• Windsurf earns trust for daily production workflows
• Many pros use both strategically for different tasks

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The Hybrid Workflow: Why Not Both?

Savvy development teams don't choose one tool—they deploy both strategically:

Recommended Multi-Tool Strategy

Use Windsurf Pro (70% of work) for:

• Daily feature development
• Active coding sessions
• Precision refactoring
• Production-ready code

Use Google Antigravity (30% of work) for:

• Large-scale refactoring projects
• Rapid prototyping and client demos
• Parallel task execution (documentation + tests + features)
• Frontend work requiring browser testing

Cost-Effective Approach

• Maintain Windsurf Pro subscription: $15/month (guaranteed)
• Use Antigravity during free preview: $0/month (temporary)
• Evaluate Antigravity pricing when announced before committing to paid usage

Total Current Cost: $15/month for professional-grade AI coding across both platforms

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Future Outlook: Where Are These Tools Headed?

Google Antigravity's Trajectory

Near-Term (Q1-Q2 2025):

• Consumption-based pricing announcement
• Stability improvements and bug fixes
• Deeper integration with Google Cloud Platform
• Gemini 4 integration (expected)

Long-Term Vision:

• Full agentic development platform
• Integration with Google Workspace for documentation
• Enterprise governance and compliance features
• Potential acquisition of additional AI coding startups

Wild Card: Google's history of discontinuing products creates uncertainty. While Antigravity represents major investment, Google's track record warrants caution for long-term planning.

Windsurf Pro's Trajectory

Near-Term (Q1-Q2 2025):

• Integration with Cognition AI's Devin agent
• Potential multi-agent capabilities
• Enhanced context window (competing with Antigravity)
• Enterprise team collaboration features

Long-Term Vision:

• Full agentic capabilities while maintaining flow-state UX
• Possible browser integration to compete with Antigravity
• Deeper GitHub and CI/CD integrations

Wild Card: Cognition AI's acquisition creates questions about independent development vs. integration with Devin. Will Windsurf remain standalone or merge into Devin's ecosystem?

Market Dynamics

The AI coding IDE market is consolidating rapidly:

• Cursor reached $29.3B valuation and $1B revenue (market leader)
• Google Antigravity leverages Google's AI infrastructure
• Windsurf backed by Cognition AI (Devin creators)
• Claude Code launched by Anthropic (terminal-based)

Prediction: By late 2025, we'll see:

1. Consolidation around 3-4 major platforms
2. Standardization of core agentic features
3. Price competition driving costs down
4. Multi-tool workflows becoming standard practice

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Quick Decision Matrix

Choose Google Antigravity if you:

• ✅ Need massive 2M token context for enterprise codebases
• ✅ Want multi-agent parallelization (5 simultaneous tasks)
• ✅ Do frontend development requiring browser testing
• ✅ Need image/diagram generation in your workflow
• ✅ Value cutting-edge features over stability
• ✅ Can manage autonomous agents securely
• ✅ Want free access during preview (uncertain future pricing)

Choose Windsurf Pro if you:

• ✅ Value flow state and minimal interruptions
• ✅ Need blazing-fast autocomplete (<2s response)
• ✅ Want immediate productivity from day one
• ✅ Prefer familiar VS Code experience
• ✅ Do precision multi-file refactoring frequently
• ✅ Work in security-sensitive environments
• ✅ Need predictable flat-rate pricing ($15/month)

Use Both Strategically if you:

• ✅ Want maximum flexibility across project phases
• ✅ Can allocate budget for multiple tools (~$15-30/month currently)
• ✅ Handle diverse project types (rapid prototypes + production code)
• ✅ Value specialized tools for specialized tasks
• ✅ Are early-adopter comfortable managing multiple environments

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Final Verdict: Context Determines Winner

After extensive testing across real-world projects, the answer to “which is better?” is definitively: it depends on your context.

Antigravity Wins On:

• Raw autonomy and multi-agent orchestration
• Context window size (2M tokens)
• Browser integration and visual testing
• Creative asset generation
• Cutting-edge features and innovation

Windsurf Wins On:

• Autocomplete speed and accuracy
• Flow state maintenance
• Ease of use and learning curve
• Production stability and reliability
• Predictable flat-rate pricing

The Smart Approach:

Don't get locked into tribal loyalty to a single tool. The AI IDE landscape is evolving too rapidly for that mindset. Instead:

1. Start with Windsurf Pro ($15/month) for daily development
2. Experiment with Antigravity (free preview) for specialized tasks
3. Evaluate your workflow after 30 days of real-world use
4. Stay flexible as both tools evolve and pricing changes

The developers thriving in 2025 aren't the ones who picked “the best tool”—they're the ones who mastered using the right tool for each specific task.