Company
Date Published
Author
Everett Butler
Word count
649
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Windsurf and Continue are two prominent AI-powered developer tools that offer robust code completion and AI assistance capabilities. Windsurf provides sophisticated code completion with contextually aware in-line and multi-line suggestions, leveraging advanced LLMs like GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet. It also features an agentic chatbot called Cascade for direct codebase modifications and general inquiries. On the other hand, Continue offers intelligent code completion with inline suggestions as you type, featuring streaming diff previews and highlight-and-edit functionality. Its integrated AI chat interface provides real-time responses to coding queries and maintains context throughout the conversation. Both tools demonstrate strong context awareness, but Windsurf excels in this area due to its ability to understand both local and broader project context. Windsurf prioritizes user privacy with clear data handling policies, while Continue is open-source, providing complete transparency in its code handling and self-hosting capabilities. Windsurf offers a polished commercial product with tiered pricing, making it ideal for developers and teams who want a ready-to-use solution with professional support. In contrast, Continue appeals to developers who value transparency, customization, and community-driven development, offering comparable core features without the associated costs.