DevConsensus
Comparisons / JetBrains Junie vs Windsurf
AI coding tools · HN opinions Nov 2025 – Nov 2026

JetBrains Junie vs Windsurf: what developers actually say

Based on 89 opinions on Hacker News from developers who discussed these two, most of them first-hand users.

JetBrains Junie
60%
approval · 53 opinions · 34 developers
last 90 days: 33%
Windsurf
58%
approval · 36 opinions · 35 developers
last 90 days: –

Junie comes out slightly ahead on the data: 60% approval across 53 opinions against Windsurf's 58% across 36, with a code quality split of 8 positive to 1 negative. Windsurf has no positive reliability comments and 3 negative ones, and no code quality or speed aspects at all. Both are fading: Junie's 90-day approval is 33% and its last two months are 25% and 17%, while Windsurf's 5 September opinions sit at 10%. No comment states a direct preference between the two, so the call rests on fit rather than head-to-head wins.

Choose JetBrains Junie if

  • Work inside JetBrains IDEs
  • Weight code quality most heavily
  • Want heavy use near $50 a month

Choose Windsurf if

  • Want a plan near $20 with many models
  • Use Cascade as a JetBrains plugin
  • Prize tab completion and free quotas

Where each one wins and loses

PraiseComplaintsA = JetBrains JunieB = Windsurf
Reliability
A
4
5
B
3
Code quality
A
1
8
UX
A
3
4
B
2
4
Cost & pricing
A
2
5
B
3
4
Speed
A
1
4

Side by side

JetBrains JunieWindsurf
Approval
60%
58%
Last 90 days33%–
Opinions5336
First-hand users4531
TypeIDE agentAI IDE
Made byJetBrainsCognition
WebsiteVisit ↗Visit ↗

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