Zed

✓ Editorially verified

A high-performance, multiplayer code editor built in Rust with native AI agent workflows.

Freemium· Personal: Free / Pro: $10 per user/mo (includes $5 token credits + usage-based billing) / Business: $30 per seat/moCodingClaude (Sonnet/Opus), GPT-4o/5, Gemini, Ollama-hosted local models, and Zed's own Zeta2 open-weight edit-prediction model8.4 / 10

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Best for

Performance-sensitive developers and small-to-mid teams who want a fast, opinionated editor with first-class AI agent workflows and real-time collaboration built in.

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Teams deeply invested in the VS Code extension ecosystem, Windows-only shops needing full parity, or developers who rely on JetBrains' heavyweight language-specific tooling.

Zed is a GPU-accelerated code editor written from scratch in Rust by the team behind Atom and Tree-sitter. It positions itself as a modern replacement for VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, and Vim-family editors, with a heavy bet on human-AI collaborative coding as a first-class primitive rather than a bolted-on plugin. Out of the box you get LSP-driven autocomplete, Tree-sitter syntax, an integrated debugger (DAP), Git tooling, multibuffer editing, remote development over SSH, a Jupyter-style REPL, and real-time collaborative editing with voice, chat, and screen sharing. The AI story is what makes it interesting in 2026: an inline assistant for prompt-driven edits, an Agent Panel that runs parallel agent threads (with Claude, GPT, Gemini, or local models via Ollama), MCP server support so agents can reach into your docs and tooling, and Zeta2 — Zed's own open-weight edit-prediction model that suggests the next likely edit as you type. Typical workflows include pair-programming with an agent on a feature branch, using edit prediction to zoom through refactors, running long-horizon agent tasks in the background while you keep coding, and joining a teammate's project for a live review. Zed is open source under a mix of GPL/AGPL/Apache licenses, and self-hosting or bring-your-own-key is fully supported for teams that don't want to pay for hosted inference.

Editor's take

Zed is the first editor in years that feels like a serious rethink rather than a VS Code reskin. The speed is real, the AI integration is unusually well-designed, and the fact that it's actually open source and BYO-key friendly makes it easy to recommend. The extension gap is the main reason it hasn't replaced my daily driver yet — but for greenfield teams starting in 2026, it's the one to try.

— The AI Tool Bible editorial team

Pros

✅ Genuinely fast — Rust core with GPU rendering makes it feel snappier than VS Code or JetBrains, especially on large files
✅ Native, thoughtful AI integration: inline assistant, agent panel with parallel threads, and MCP support built in — not a plugin afterthought
✅ Zeta2 open-weight edit-prediction model is a real differentiator versus Copilot's closed offering
✅ Bring-your-own-key or local Ollama support means you can use Zed's UX without paying for hosted inference
✅ Real-time multiplayer collaboration (Live Share-style) is built in, not an extension
✅ Open source under GPL/AGPL/Apache — the whole editor, not just a stub
✅ Solid Vim, LSP, DAP, and Git support out of the box; feels professional not toy

Cons

⚠️ Extension ecosystem is still small compared to VS Code's marketplace — niche languages and tools may be missing
⚠️ Windows support arrived late and still lags macOS/Linux in polish
⚠️ Pro tier's $5 monthly credit runs out fast on frontier models; heavy agent users will hit usage-based billing quickly
⚠️ No official public API for external automation; scripting is limited compared to Emacs or Neovim
⚠️ Some JetBrains power-features (advanced refactorings, database tools, profilers) don't have equivalents yet

Use cases

AI pair-programming with Claude or GPT agentsInline code refactoring via natural-language promptsReal-time collaborative code reviewEdit prediction with Zeta2 open-weight modelRemote development over SSHMCP-connected agent workflows for internal toolingVim-style keyboard-driven editingJupyter-style REPL data explorationMulti-file refactors across large Rust or TypeScript codebases