Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Amazon Q vs Windsurf comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Q
Ranking in AI Code Assistants
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
3.7
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windsurf
Ranking in AI Code Assistants
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
IDE (4th), AI Software Development (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the AI Code Assistants category, the mindshare of Amazon Q is 7.7%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windsurf is 8.5%, down from 19.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
AI Code Assistants Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Amazon Q7.7%
Windsurf8.5%
Other83.8%
AI Code Assistants
 

Featured Reviews

Uday Boya - PeerSpot reviewer
AI Research Enthusiast and Developer at ADP
Daily AI assistance has transformed debugging, automation, and rapid project delivery
One improvement for Amazon Q is that I use it in Visual Studio, and in Visual Studio, I am not given an option to upload an image in Amazon Q. Also, this is one part of it. The second part is the context window of Amazon Q is very less compared to other GenAI tools. The moment I would be in a deep research or deep development or deep debugging mode in Amazon Q, the moment I hit the context length of the window, it would ask me to clear the complete context, and it would lose the complete context of the chat that I had previously. The two major pain points are that I have Amazon Q in Visual Studio, but I am not given an option to upload an image as a reference in Amazon Q. The second part is the context window is so limited. The moment I deep dive into some discussion in terms of development or debugging or automation, I hit a context length of the window, and the moment I hit it, it would lose the complete context. It has an option of summarizing the complete context and having it as a memory, but it would not be sufficient because I would have given a lot of details in the chat by that time. I have mentioned the two points earlier, so those are the only two points that I have in mind for improvements needed for Amazon Q.
SA
Angular Developer at a computer retailer with 51-200 employees
AI coding assistance has boosted Angular refactors and has reduced boilerplate and bugs
I would like to add that Windsurf is very good and fits well into my workflow, but I would prefer if the cascade agent of Windsurf could be a little better. Recently, I used the agent for an Angular upgrade from version 14 to 21, but it got stuck and did not provide a good response. I want the Windsurf cascade agent to improve in solving complex problems that occur throughout my entire repository. I have many points for improvement, particularly regarding the cascade agent. It often fails to understand the latest Angular repo, not interacting with files like my Angular JSON, tsconfig, or package.json unless prompted. I want the cascade to be more predictable and wish for improvements in the agent to handle complex tasks more effectively. Enhancing the reliability of the cascade agent for large and complex codebases, ensuring it understands projects thoroughly, and providing safer multi-file edits would make Windsurf a significantly stronger tool.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The explanation and documentation capabilities are excellent."
"Amazon Q saved my time more than other products, such as GitHub Copilot, because it is conscious about particular AWS services."
"The best feature of Amazon Q is that it has knowledge of my entire code base, entire repository, and its flows."
"Amazon Q provides direct file access and it will integrate the things which you want into the files."
"Amazon Q is able to understand human language regarding the context and scan through folders to ensure best practices are followed."
"The best feature Amazon Q offers is the code security scan, which actually depicts the threat assessment of the code or whether a particular code snippet can be utilized by attackers to find loopholes."
"Amazon Q significantly reduced the time we spent on testing; it served as a great tool where we could ask questions, get answers, and complete testing efficiently."
"There is a lot of return on investment from using Amazon Q because the number of developers needed or the number of researchers needed, the number of automation people needed has been drastically reduced."
"As we're experimenting with different AI IDEs, Windsurf has positively impacted my organization by providing options."
"As we're experimenting with different AI IDEs, Windsurf has positively impacted my organization by providing options."
"Windsurf has positively impacted my organization by increasing productivity, because during a one-week hackathon we were able to build a product from scratch that would have taken at least two to three weeks, making the time savings substantial."
"I have seen a return on investment with Windsurf because I have saved time and money and needed fewer resources since using it."
"Windsurf has created a personal impact on my productivity, allowing me to typically meet deadlines in one week instead of two."
 

Cons

"If I start with a prompt in one tab and then try to continue in another, it does not retain that context."
"Even though we connected with the support team of AWS, they were not able to resolve our issue, so we were disappointed at that moment."
"One most important improvement would be having deeper domain-specific intelligence for Amazon Q."
"I discovered that the application logs me out automatically after some time, which becomes problematic as I then lose access to my chat history."
"While great for standard tasks, it sometimes struggles with more complex or multi-layered problems in large code bases."
"One improvement for Amazon Q is that I use it in Visual Studio, and in Visual Studio, I am not given an option to upload an image in Amazon Q."
"Sometimes feedback is needed immediately. It takes a bit of time because there is a workload."
"While using Amazon Q, I faced some challenges, such as navigating the interface initially."
"I would like to add that Windsurf is very good and fits well into my workflow, but I would prefer if the cascade agent of Windsurf could be a little better."
"I chose 7 out of 10 because I've used Cursor as well, and sometimes I feel Cursor hallucinates less compared to Windsurf."
"Since using Windsurf, I notice more errors, but we deliver approximately twice as fast."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which AI Code Assistants solutions are best for your needs.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise13
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Amazon Q?
While using Amazon Q, I faced some challenges, such as navigating the interface initially.
What is your primary use case for Amazon Q?
I have completed a project where the company required testing R&D on Kubernetes. I tested it locally by installing MiniKube, Kubernetes, and all the containers. I configured the Kubernetes MCB ...
What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Q?
I find Amazon Q easy to use, and I believe anyone can use it without needing extensive technical knowledge. I would definitely recommend Amazon Q to other people; it's a great tool. I find it quite...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windsurf?
My experience with Windsurf's pricing, setup cost, and licensing was positive. I received a discount because I joined early, so the license cost or monthly rental of Windsurf has been reasonably pr...
What needs improvement with Windsurf?
I have no suggestions at the moment for how Windsurf can be improved. I would not add more about the needed improvements, even small things that could make my experience better.
What is your primary use case for Windsurf?
I have been using Windsurf off and on for the last year. My main use case for Windsurf is for software development. Currently, we're working on an API, and Windsurf will help us develop a particula...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Dell, Anduril, MongoDB, Zillow, Atlassian
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Q vs. Windsurf and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.