GitHub Copilot vs Windsurf
Thirteen 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 eleven and GitHub Copilot carries 80 labels and Windsurf 27, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in three 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 November 2026 Edition, GitHub Copilot and Windsurf were named in the same answer seventy-seven times, of the 235 answers naming GitHub Copilot and the 77 naming Windsurf. In those answers Windsurf took the first choice six times and GitHub Copilot forty-five.
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
13 of 14 modelsWindsurf was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Neither was named
1 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.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 Copilot73%#1 of 9Windsurf10%#3 of 9GitHub Copilot80%#1 of 11Windsurf4%#2 of 11GitHub Copilot86%#1 of 9Windsurf0%#8 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 eight in this category shown.
“GitHub explicitly warns that Copilot CLI and cloud-agent workflows need extra caution around command execution, sensitive information, and inaccurate code.” GPT-5.4 mini · negative prompt · soft negative
“Highest visibility in risks—can memorize/leak real secrets, API keys, or training data snippets... consumer/free tiers are riskier.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · soft negative
“AI coding assistants like Copilot and Cursor introduce 45% vulnerability rates, secret leaks, and prompt injection risks in 2026.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“I'd suggest evaluating GitHub Copilot (strong industry adoption) and Claude (excellent for complex reasoning) as starting points” Claude Haiku 4.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“Start with GitHub Copilot if you're already on GitHub — it's the safest, most mature, and most widely adopted option” DeepSeek V4 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“GitHub Copilot is widely considered the best all-around AI coding assistant for mid-market B2B companies.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · 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.
“the individual version collects data by default, while enterprise versions offer zero-data-retention” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“cloud versions still risk data exfil. Some studies show similar vuln introduction rates.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Free tier available, but less capable on complex tasks per benchmark studies” GLM 4.7 FlashX · paraphrase prompt · soft negative
“Codeium — Best Overall for Small Teams ... If you want zero cost and basic autocomplete: Go with Codeium.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · first choice
“Pick Cursor or Windsurf if: You want the most seamless experience for multi-file refactoring” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Start with Codeium (Free). Ask your engineers to try the free version.” 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.