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.
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
Code quality
UX
Cost & pricing
Speed