GitHub Copilot vs Windsurf
Fourteen of fourteen models named GitHub Copilot first on the direct prompt; zero named Windsurf. GitHub Copilot was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Windsurf by thirteen and GitHub Copilot carries 73 labels and Windsurf 34, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the AI coding assistants page.
By framing
GitHub CopilotFirst choices, of fourteen modelsWindsurf
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, GitHub Copilot and Windsurf were named in the same answer ninety-four times, of the 234 answers naming GitHub Copilot and the 97 naming Windsurf. In those answers Windsurf took the first choice fifteen times and GitHub Copilot fifty.
Every model, every framing
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | | |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | ||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | | |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | | |||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | ||
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | | |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | | |
GitHub Copilot Windsurf first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, GitHub Copilot on the left and Windsurf on the right.The direct prompt
GitHub Copilot first, Windsurf an alternative
14 of 14 modelsWindsurf was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
GitHub Copilot63%#1 of 7Windsurf19%#2 of 7GitHub Copilot75%#1 of 9Windsurf14%#2 of 9GitHub Copilot82%#1 of 9Windsurf0%#7 of 9What the models said about GitHub Copilot
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“GitHub says it may use Copilot interaction data, including prompts, suggestions, and code snippets, to train and improve models for individual subscribers.” GPT-5.4 mini · negative prompt · soft negative
“GitHub may use individual subscribers’ interaction data—including prompts, outputs, code snippets, and context—to train models unless they opt out.” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“GitHub Copilot Free / Pro / Pro+ tiers. Training data opt-out required, deep IDE and repository integration increases exposure” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“The Safe & Scalable Choice: GitHub Copilot ... Go with GitHub Copilot if your priority is security, SSO compliance, and zero friction” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“Prefer autocomplete and chat plugins (like GitHub Copilot or Gemini Code Assist) for low-risk, low-autonomy use cases.” Mistral Small · negative prompt · first choice
“GitHub Copilot if you want the most established solution with strong security compliance and already use GitHub” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about Windsurf
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Cursor, Replit, Windsurf, OpenAI Codex. Named in the 43.1% unauthorized file operations taxonomy” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“Augment and Windsurf did not issue swift fixes, leaving their users temporarily exposed.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Augment and Windsurf had not provided a fix update at the time of publication” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“Codeium – best free unlimited usage ... Zero budget / proof of concept: Codeium free unlimited + Amazon Q Developer free tier” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · first choice
“The best AI coding assistant for a company with a limited budget is Windsurf, which is priced at $15/month.” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
“The Top Pick for $0 Budget: Codeium ... is the strongest option for a budget-conscious team” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.