Oracle SQL Developer vs Windsurf comparison

Oracle and Windsurf are both solutions in the IDE category. Oracle is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8, while Windsurf is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.8. Oracle holds a 5.3% mindshare in IDE, compared to Windsurf’s 8.6% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Oracle users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Windsurf users who would recommend it.

Oracle SQL Developer

Read 35 Oracle SQL Developer reviews

967 Views
803 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Windsurf

Read 4 Windsurf reviews

3,157 Views
758 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Oracle SQL Developer

Windsurf

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Oracle SQL Developer and Windsurf are two competitive products in the database management sector. Oracle SQL Developer holds an advantage due to its robust feature set and cost-effectiveness, whereas Windsurf stands out for its ease of deployment and customer satisfaction.

Features: Oracle SQL Developer provides powerful data modeling, SQL generation, and query optimization capabilities suitable for large enterprises managing complex databases. Windsurf excels with intuitive data analytics and customizable dashboard features designed for smaller businesses seeking flexibility and simplicity. Oracle's comprehensive toolset makes it ideal for extensive database management, while Windsurf focuses on streamlined analytics.

Room for Improvement: Oracle SQL Developer could enhance its ease of setup and reduce the need for extensive IT infrastructure. Improved integration with non-Oracle environments would also add value. Additionally, increasing the usability of the interface for novice users could be beneficial. Windsurf could improve by expanding its feature set to appeal to larger enterprises, enhancing its offline capabilities, and lowering its initial cost barrier to attract more startups and small businesses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Windsurf benefits from a cloud-based deployment model, ensuring fast setup and low maintenance with excellent customer support. Oracle SQL Developer often requires a more comprehensive IT infrastructure, being largely on-premises, which may complicate installation. However, Oracle provides an extensive support network, though its structured service may lack the agility of Windsurf's more flexible customer service approach.

Pricing and ROI: Oracle SQL Developer is regarded as cost-effective, particularly for organizations already operating within an Oracle environment. Its lower licensing costs offer a positive return on investment. On the other hand, Windsurf, leveraging its SaaS model, incurs a higher initial investment but achieves rapid ROI through minimized downtime and operational efficiency. Oracle focuses on affordability and compatibility with existing systems, while Windsurf adds value through operational effectiveness and scalability.

To learn more, read our detailed Oracle SQL Developer vs. Windsurf Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Oracle SQL Developer vs. Windsurf

December 2025

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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

Oracle SQL Developer

Ranking in IDE

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Windsurf

Ranking in IDE

4th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

AI Code Assistants (4th), AI Software Development (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the IDE category, the mindshare of Oracle SQL Developer is 5.3%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windsurf is 8.6%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IDE Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Oracle SQL Developer	5.3%
Windsurf	8.6%
Other	86.1%

IDE

Featured Reviews

Vikram_Kumar

Data Architect at Ontario Power Generation

Has improved development efficiency through reusable components and intuitive programming features

When errors occur while programming, they are very generic. Even when searching the internet, the errors remain generic and it takes considerable time to understand the fix. This was predominantly felt because we were mostly working on writing code and developing features. Error handling needs to be improved. The patches and upgrade process is very long. In the last year and a half, I haven't upgraded, so we don't know if latest features have arrived. Another issue is with sessions. If we were working on code and then switch off our laptop for two to three days, the session would keep running. This consumes many resources and flags to the team that a user has been continuously using Oracle SQL Developer. There should be a timeout period for inactive sessions.

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reviewer2748786

Founding BackEnd Engineer

Enhancing productivity with advanced code generation and low-cost accessibility

What they can do further and venture into next is to provide a CLI environment, similar to the command-line interface environment that Cursor offers. It allows for running a cursor agent from the command line to make changes, review pull requests, or access certain other capabilities. These capabilities are currently not in Windsurf. Windsurf focuses on the productivity and the ID/editor part. I would rather look for the inclusion of pull request reviews or a kind of a TRD or technical requirement general documentation generation, or system diagram generation directly from the codebase in Windsurf itself. These should be the next obvious features they launch for developers. In our team, there are certain people who use Windsurf regularly and appreciate using it. However, it is not a collaborative tool where someone is going to use the same tool and interact in the same IDE. Everyone does their local development, pushes it to different Git branches, someone reviews the PR, and then merges the branch. It is very localized in that sense.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like it because it's very similar in output to SQL *Plus, and it has many convenience features that make it easier to read the data and use the basic reporting features it provides."

"It's easy to deploy, I can copy it onto the system and run it without having to install it and this makes it a very good solution for quick use."

"Ability to analyze performance, using Explain Plan statement."

"The most valuable features of Oracle SQL Developer that I use. However, I do not use all of them"

"Using execution plan, I am able to do lots of query tuning."

"It allows us to implement a form of test driven development (TDD) for database-resident code."

"You do not have to install it, just dump it on the OS, then use it."

"I have a lot of flexibility with it."

More Oracle SQL Developer pros

"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."

"As we're experimenting with different AI IDEs, Windsurf has positively impacted my organization by providing options."

"I have seen a return on investment with Windsurf because I have saved time and money and needed fewer resources since using it."

Cons

"The stability depends on what version you're using. There are more successful versions and are less successful versions. For example, 17.3 is less successful. There were many bugs. Now, we are trying to pull all the developers to upgrade to 17.4."

"The initial setup is always a problem, it cannot find the Java SDK."

"There is room for improvement in the Real Time SQL Monitoring."

"It's more stable sometimes and less stable other times. I have used it in Windows, Mac, and Linux. It's variable, it's not the same stability. I think that can be improved on."

"I think it would be great to have an overview over the sessions it opens so that we could easily see and control which connections to the database we want to keep open, which ones are hanging; and it would be great to make them independent from each other."

"Oracle SQL Developer could improve the speed, it is a bit slow."

"There are occasional runtime issues that are easily worked around, especially on a Windows deployment."

"Scalability has room for improvement. Often if you have to do a heavy load of queries or are getting large result sets you have to be careful not to overload the Java virtual machine that's running."

More Oracle SQL Developer cons

"Since using Windsurf, I notice more errors, but we deliver approximately twice as fast."

"I chose 7 out of 10 because I've used Cursor as well, and sometimes I feel Cursor hallucinates less compared to Windsurf."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a free tool."

"It has the advantage that it's free. The next best competitor would cost several thousand dollars."

"It's a no-cost license and it offers outstanding functionality on that basis."

"It is basically free."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

22%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	19

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle SQL Developer?

The pricing of Oracle SQL Developer depends on the size of the company and the project. I cannot use Oracle or other solutions if I am just starting. If I start with MySQL, it depends on the size o...

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What needs improvement with Oracle SQL Developer?

The downsides of Oracle SQL Developer include hard typing. It is not similar to another relational database such as MySQL. I need to define the object that I will receive even when I create a store...

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What is your primary use case for Oracle SQL Developer?

I have been using it for about five years, but it has not been continuous. Sometimes I have projects that are developed in SQL Server, MySQL, and even more relational databases such as MongoDB. It ...

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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...

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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.

See all answers

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...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Oracle SQL Developer

January 2026

Download Oracle SQL Developer product report

Buyer's Guide

IDE

December 2025

Download Windsurf product report

Overview

Oracle SQL Developer is a free integrated development environment that simplifies the development and management of Oracle Database in both traditional and Cloud deployments. SQL Developer offers complete end-to-end development of your PL/SQL applications, a worksheet for running queries and scripts, a DBA console for managing the database, a reports interface, a complete data modeling solution, and a migration platform for moving your 3rd party databases to Oracle.

For more information on Oracle SQL Developer, visit Oracle.com

Oracle

Windsurf offers a strategic approach to digital transformation, providing tools for optimizing processes. It's aimed at businesses looking to enhance efficiency and adapt to changing market demands through technology-driven solutions.

Targeted at enterprises, Windsurf integrates seamlessly with existing systems to improve workflow and data management. By offering customizable options, it meets diverse business requirements, enabling companies to stay competitive in a fast-paced environment. Its user-focused design ensures accessibility and ease of use, helping teams achieve their goals swiftly.

What are the key features of Windsurf?

Integration Capability: Connects with numerous software platforms, ensuring smooth data flow.
Customizable Options: Offers flexibility to tailor functionalities to specific business needs.
User-Friendly Interface: Designed for ease of adoption with minimal training requirements.
Real-Time Data Analysis: Provides immediate insights to support decision-making.

What benefits and ROI does Windsurf offer?

Increased Productivity: Streamlines operations leading to time and resource savings.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces overhead by optimizing processes and systems.
Improved Decision-Making: Real-time insights aid in strategic planning.
Scalability: Easily adapts as business grows without significant additional investment.

In areas like manufacturing and retail, Windsurf improves supply chain management and customer engagement. In healthcare, it optimizes patient data management, while in finance, it enhances compliance and reporting processes, each tailored to meet industry-specific challenges.

Windsurf

Sample Customers

Prinova

Dell, Anduril, MongoDB, Zillow, Atlassian

Buyer's Guide

Oracle SQL Developer vs. Windsurf

December 2025

Free Report: Oracle SQL Developer vs. Windsurf

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