Zed
High-performance multiplayer code editor written in Rust with built-in AI chat and inline edits.
Zed is a high-performance multiplayer code editor written in Rust with built-in AI chat and inline edits. Zed is written in Rust and optimized for low-latency input and rendering.
About Zed
Zed is a high-performance code editor written in Rust, with a built-in AI assistant for chat and inline edits and real-time multiplayer collaboration baked in.
Its edge is speed and openness: the Rust core is tuned for low-latency input and rendering, the editor is open source and free, and collaboration is built in rather than bolted on.
It's for developers who want a fast, native, hackable editor and don't mind a leaner ecosystem. Three things to watch: there's no stable native Windows build yet (macOS and Linux only), the extension library is smaller than VS Code's, and some AI features need a Zed Pro subscription or your own API key.
Among AI editors it trades the VS Code lineage of Cursor and Windsurf for raw performance and an open-source core.
Sources: zed.dev, this listing
Zed pros and cons
Pros
- Zed is written in Rust and optimized for low-latency input and rendering.
- Zed includes built-in real-time multiplayer collaboration for editing code with other developers.
- Zed has a built-in AI assistant that supports chat and inline code transformations.
- Zed is open source and free to use, with an optional paid tier for additional AI features.
Cons
- Zed does not yet offer a stable native Windows build, limiting it to macOS and Linux users.
- Zed's extension ecosystem is smaller than that of editors like VS Code.
- Some AI features require a Zed Pro subscription or your own API keys.
Tagged
- Bring Your Own Key
- Supports Claude
- Supports GPT
- Supports Gemini
- Git Integration
- Terminal Execution
- Free
- Freemium
- Open Source
Zed alternatives
More from AI Code Editors.
- 01Freemium →Cursor
VS Code-based, agent-first coding environment — since Cursor 3.0 the default surface is an Agents Window, not an editor.
- 02Freemium →Windsurf
AI code editor by Codeium with Cascade agent for autonomous multi-step coding tasks.
- 03Free →AutoGPT
Original autonomous-agent project that popularised the loop of plan, act, observe, reflect.
- 04Freemium →AgentGPT
Web-based autonomous agent — give it a goal, watch it self-plan and execute with web browsing and code.
- 05Freemium →Relevance AI
Platform to build, deploy, and manage AI agents and AI teams without writing code.
- 06Freemium →Lindy
No-code AI employees that handle email, scheduling, lead routing, and customer support workflows.
Zed pricing
Read off the vendor’s own pricing page on 2026-08-27.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | $0 | Solo developers who want the editor without AI, or who will use their own API keys/external agents like Claude Agent or Codex CLI. |
| Pro | $10 per month | Solo developers who want Zed-hosted AI and unlimited edit predictions out of the box. |
| Business | $30 per seat, per month | Teams that need org-wide control over AI model use, data sharing, and unified billing across seats. |
Full Zed pricing breakdown — limits, hidden costs, change log →
Zed vs other tools
Related reading
Featured on Vibedonalds
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</a>Frequently asked questions
- What is Zed?
- Zed is a high-performance multiplayer code editor written in Rust with built-in AI chat and inline edits.
- How much does Zed cost?
- Zed pricing, read from the vendor's page on 2026-08-27: Personal — $0; Pro — $10 per month; Business — $30 per seat, per month.
- Is Zed free?
- Yes. Zed has a free plan (Personal) — 2,000 accepted edit predictions; no hosted AI tokens included.. Verified against the vendor's pricing page on 2026-08-27.
- What platforms does Zed support?
- Zed runs on mac, linux.
- What are the alternatives to Zed?
- Similar tools in AI Code Editors on vibedonalds: Cursor, Windsurf, AutoGPT, AgentGPT.
- What are the downsides of Zed?
- Zed does not yet offer a stable native Windows build, limiting it to macOS and Linux users. Zed's extension ecosystem is smaller than that of editors like VS Code. Some AI features require a Zed Pro subscription or your own API keys.