What is Zed?
Zed is a high performance code editor from Zed Industries, founded in 2021. It is written in Rust on its own GPU accelerated UI framework, GPUI, which keeps typing, scrolling and search very responsive even in large projects. Zed is open source, runs on macOS, Linux and Windows, and describes itself as "AI optional", so you can turn every AI feature off.
What sets Zed apart from AI editors such as Cursor is flexibility. You can use Zed hosted models on the Pro plan, bring your own API keys from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Ollama and others, or plug in external agents like Claude Agent and Codex CLI through the Agent Client Protocol. Built in multiplayer editing lets teammates code together in the same project without screen sharing.
Main Features
- Native, GPU accelerated editor written in Rust for very low latency
- Built in AI agent with threads and subthreads you can share
- Edit predictions that suggest your next change as you type
- Bring your own keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Mistral, Ollama, OpenRouter and more
- Works with external agents such as Claude Agent and Codex CLI
- Real time multiplayer collaboration built into the editor
- Open source with an extensions marketplace and themes
- Available for macOS, Linux and Windows
How to Get Started with Zed
- 1. Download Zed from zed.dev for macOS, Linux or Windows.
- 2. Open a project folder and pick a keymap and theme.
- 3. Add your own model API key, or start the free Pro trial for hosted models.
- 4. Open the agent panel and ask it to make a change, then review the diff.
Zed Pricing
Zed Personal is $0 forever and includes unlimited use with your own API keys or external agents. Pro costs $10 per month with unlimited edit predictions and $5 of hosted model tokens included, then usage based billing at API list price plus 10%. A 14 day Pro trial needs no credit card. Business costs $30 per seat per month and adds org wide AI policies, data governance controls and unified billing, with order forms available at 25+ seats.
Who Should Use It?
- Developers who want a very fast native editor
- Programmers who prefer to bring their own AI keys
- Teams that pair program in real time
- Linux users looking for a modern AI ready editor
- Engineering leads who need control over AI data sharing
Zed Alternatives
- Cursor: a VS Code based AI editor with deeper built in agent features but no free bring your own key focus
- Windsurf: another AI first editor with its own coding agent, built on VS Code
- Kiro: an AI IDE from AWS that centers on spec driven development
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zed free?
Yes. Zed Personal is free forever and includes the full editor plus unlimited AI use when you bring your own API keys or external agents. Pro costs $10 a month for Zed hosted models and unlimited edit predictions, and there is a 14 day free trial without a credit card.
Can I use Zed without AI?
Yes. Zed describes itself as "AI optional", and you can disable all AI features in settings. Many developers use it simply as a very fast, open source code editor with multiplayer collaboration, extensions and themes.
Which AI models work with Zed?
Zed Pro includes hosted models. You can also connect your own keys from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google AI, Mistral, DeepSeek, Amazon Bedrock, GitHub Copilot, OpenRouter, LM Studio, Ollama and others, or use external agents such as Claude Agent and Codex CLI.