Zed
The fastest AI code editor — built in Rust for speed and collaboration
About Zed
Zed is a high-performance, open-source code editor built from scratch in Rust with GPU-accelerated rendering. Created by the team behind GitHub's Atom editor, Zed delivers sub-60ms response times, native AI agentic editing, real-time multiplayer collaboration with voice chat, and support for dozens of LLM providers. It's designed for developers who demand speed without sacrificing AI capabilities.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Fastest code editor available — sub-60ms response times from Rust + GPU acceleration leave VS Code and Cursor behind
- Best-in-class real-time collaboration with shared cursors, voice chat, and screen sharing built natively
- Fully open-source (GPL/AGPL) with no vendor lock-in and transparent development
- Flexible AI integration — bring your own API keys or use built-in providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Ollama, etc.)
- Pro plan at $10/month is half the cost of Cursor Pro while including token-based AI credits
- Created by the team behind Atom — proven track record building beloved developer tools
Cons
- Smaller extension ecosystem compared to VS Code's massive marketplace
- AI features are less deeply integrated than Cursor's Composer for complex multi-file refactoring
- Still maturing — reported as feeling beta-like with ~3,000 open GitHub issues
- Token-based AI billing can be unpredictable for heavy users beyond the $5 monthly credit
- Windows support arrived later and may still lag behind macOS and Linux in polish
Key Features
Rust-Powered Performance
Built from scratch in Rust with GPU-accelerated rendering, delivering sub-60ms response times — faster than VS Code, Cursor, and Sublime Text
Agentic AI Editing
Agent Panel lets AI agents understand your codebase, answer questions, and directly make multi-file changes autonomously
Edit Predictions
AI-powered multi-line autocomplete from Zeta, Mercury Coder, Sweep, Ollama, or GitHub Copilot that predicts your next edits as you type
Real-Time Collaboration
Shared cursors, live co-editing, voice chat, and screen sharing built natively — no extensions needed
Multi-Provider AI Support
Works with Anthropic, OpenAI, Google AI, DeepSeek, Mistral, Ollama, OpenRouter, Amazon Bedrock, and more
Inline Assistant
Select code or terminal output and describe changes in natural language — AI transforms it in place
Built-In Git Integration
First-class support for staging, committing, pulling, pushing, viewing diffs, and branch management without leaving the editor
Open Source (GPL/AGPL)
Fully open-source with transparent development, community contributions, and no vendor lock-in
Pricing
- Full code editor — free forever
- 2,000 accepted edit predictions/month
- Use your own API keys or external agents
- Real-time collaboration
- All extensions and themes
- Unlimited edit predictions
- $5 of AI tokens included monthly
- Usage-based billing beyond credits
- Configurable spending caps
- All AI providers supported
- 2-week free trial
- Usage analytics
- SSO authentication
- Security & data privacy guarantees
- Shared billing
- Premium support
- Custom deployment options
Best For
Performance-Critical Development
Work with large codebases without lag or slowdowns — Zed's Rust engine handles massive files and projects that choke Electron-based editors
Remote Pair Programming
Collaborate in real-time with shared cursors, voice chat, and screen sharing — no setup or extensions needed
AI-Assisted Coding with Choice
Use any AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, local Ollama models) or bring your own keys instead of being locked into one vendor
Open-Source Development
Contribute to the editor itself or build extensions — Zed's open-source nature means full transparency and community-driven features
Cost-Conscious AI Coding
Get unlimited edit predictions and AI tokens at $10/month — significantly cheaper than Cursor Pro at $20/month
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Featured In
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Best overall lightweight code editor for developers who want modern features without sacrificing speed — Zed's Rust + GPU architecture delivers the fastest editing experience available in a graphical editor.
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Best free editor for developers who want native AI speed without Electron overhead — the closest thing to Cursor's experience at zero cost
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Best for engineers who prioritize editor speed and a clean modern UX, on small-to-medium codebases where indexing scale isn't critical.
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Best for performance-obsessed developers on macOS who do most of their work in mainstream languages and want pair-programming built in.