Choose Excalidraw if you're a developer sketching out concepts or brainstorming quickly. Its charming hand-drawn aesthetic makes it perfect for low-fidelity visuals, enabling you to jot down ideas and collaborate with others without the pressure of polished final products. Plus, it's free and self-hostable, which is ideal for keeping your work local and private.
On the other hand, pick Windsurf if you're a developer seeking automation in your coding workflow or need real-time collaboration with your team. Its integrated debugging and agentic AI capabilities streamline tasks and enhance productivity, making it suitable for complex programming projects. Just remember it’s limited to Mac and web platforms, and the learning curve might be steep if you're not familiar with its features. Avoid this if you're looking for more traditional, standalone coding environments or extensive offline capabilities.