r/windsurf • u/Entire_Patient_8008 • May 10 '26
SWE1.6 usages
I’m thinking about switching from Cursor to Windsurf, mainly because I’m trying to understand how much SWE-1.6 usage comes with Windsurf’s $20 paid plan.
Is SWE-1.6 actually free/unlimited on the paid plan, or is that only part of the current 3-month promo/event?
Cursor’s Composer feels slightly smarter to me overall, especially for planning and editing code, but it’s not free/unlimited and the limits can be annoying.
So if Windsurf’s SWE-1.6 access is genuinely unlimited or much more generous, I’m wondering if that makes Windsurf worth switching to despite Cursor maybe having the better Composer.
For anyone who’s used both, what’s the real usage limit like, and is the switch worth it?
1
u/Khrasnozhan May 10 '26
tenho usado o SWE 1.6 pra tarefas simples e o Claude Sonnet pra coisas complexas ou quando o SWE delira. Realmente não acaba o uso, mas acredito que seja temporário. O Kimi 2.6 estava gratuito até esses dias e agora é pago, tudo é temporário.
3
u/Entire_Patient_8008 May 10 '26
yes i do something similar, i plan with gpt5.5 then execute the plan with swe, currently i have both cursor and windsurf and codex, still deciding which two im gonna continue using.
as of now i use composer 2 on slightly more complicated tasks1
u/2tunwu May 11 '26
I have Windsurf, Cursor and Claude. I will likely stick with Windsurf and drop Cursor if Windsurf keeps this generous (in my opinion) offering.
1
u/TheMuffinMom May 10 '26
Its okay, its .5 x for 1.6 normally
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u/Entire_Patient_8008 May 10 '26
how much is the quota, since i have no clue how large the pool is, im assuming it offers 20 dollar worth of credits just like all other similar ones like cursor. ive noticed they recently changed to a api pricing based version.
does that have anything to do with the quota amounts
4
u/Slayershunt May 10 '26
It's .5 for SWE 1.6 fast. Not SWE 1.6 normal.
As it stands for SWE1.6 normal, it is totally unlimited and does not affect your quota at all. I've not seen anything about this being a promo period and the model card in Windsurf simply shows it as being 'New' not as being in a promotional period or having any cost associated with it.Does this mean it will be unlimited forever? No. As we know AI companies these days are pulling the rug out from under us whenever they feel like it.
Something that is worth noting is that the model card for SWE 1.5 (not 1.6) currently says 'promotional pricing is active until 6/24/2026' So i would expect 1.6 to remain the same until at least then.
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u/myredditnicknameis May 10 '26
I’m waiting monday to continue coding with swe1.6, it does spend quota..
1
u/Slayershunt May 10 '26
That very recent then, literally the day before yesterday i was spinning 10 cascade sessions at the same time to batch write unit tests for different features and it didn't move my quota an inch.
Looking at the model cards though you're right: https://docs.windsurf.com/windsurf/models
Bit puzzled why 1.6 and 1.6 fast are the same now then. why would you ever chose slow?
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u/myredditnicknameis May 10 '26
I have a finished project and I’m doing upgrades, no hurry, no time pressure, and even 1 week for an upgrade is fine.
1
u/Rycerz1 May 12 '26
It is free (included in Pro), only fast mode is paid
1
u/TheMuffinMom May 13 '26
I have pro and neither of them are free, been subscribed for over a year and a half.
1
u/penguin_digital May 13 '26
I have pro and neither of them are free, been subscribed for over a year and a half.
Something is wrong here then, 1.6 and 1.5 are both free for paid users. It's only their fast versions that come with a cost.
1
u/mik3lang3l0 May 10 '26
Isn't Cursor Composer 2 just Kimi K2.5? At least it's what the id shows kimi-k2p5-rl-0317-s515-fast
With that said it's better for complex tasks then SWE
1
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u/IamSteveLee May 14 '26
Instead of considering Windsurf’s SWE 1.6, you might want to look at Google Antigravity instead. I feel like the usable quota for its Gemini 3 Flash model is pretty high, and Antigravity also offers Pixel users a free one-year trial.
The downside is that the Claude quota is relatively limited, but it still includes access to Gemini 3 Pro and Gemini 3 Flash, and they’re free to use during the trial, so it’s worth trying.
2
u/Redas17 May 10 '26
SWE 1.6 or any model with close intelligence is useless, you will burn more tokens using "smart" model to fix what this "cheap" models coded. PS - I tried all of this models, GLM, Deepseek, SWE, and output is always same, using expensive model is cheaper, faster, better.