Kiro vs Cursor vs Windsurf: The New IDE War

The AI IDE market has three serious contenders in 2026: Cursor (the incumbent), Kiro (from AWS), and Windsurf (from Codeium). Each takes a different approach to AI-assisted development. Here is how they compare.

Cursor

Cursor is a VS Code fork with deep AI integration. Its killer feature is Composer — an agent that can edit multiple files simultaneously while you watch. Cursor indexes your entire codebase for context, which means it understands your project structure, naming conventions, and patterns.

Pricing: $20/month for Pro (500 fast requests). Session data stored in SQLite at ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/User/globalStorage/state.vscdb.

Kiro

Kiro is AWS's AI IDE, built on VS Code. Its differentiator is the spec-driven development workflow: you write requirements, Kiro generates a design document, breaks it into tasks, and executes them sequentially. This structured approach works well for larger features.

Kiro also has hooks — automated actions that trigger on events (file save, commit, etc.). This makes it more of a development platform than just an editor. Session data stored as JSON files in ~/Library/Application Support/Kiro/User/globalStorage/kiro.kiroagent/workspace-sessions/.

Windsurf

Windsurf (formerly Codeium) focuses on speed and affordability. Its Cascade agent is fast and capable, with good multi-file editing. Windsurf positions itself as the budget-friendly alternative to Cursor with comparable capabilities.

Pricing: Free tier available, Pro at $15/month. Session data stored in workspace storage similar to VS Code extensions.

Which to Choose

Choose Cursor if you want the most mature agent with the best codebase awareness. Choose Kiro if you prefer structured, spec-driven development and want AWS ecosystem integration. Choose Windsurf if you want good AI capabilities at a lower price point.

Qmmit tracks all three. Your profile shows which tools you use with percentage breakdowns, so you can demonstrate fluency across multiple environments.