Zed

High-performance, open-source editor with built-in collaboration.

Verified facts: 2 of 3
Alternatives ranked: 7
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 2

About Zed

Zed is a high-performance code editor written in Rust by the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter. It renders with the GPU for very low latency, starts quickly and stays responsive on large files. Real-time collaboration lets developers share a project and edit together, and AI features include inline assistance and an agent panel that can work with several model providers. The editor is open source, and an optional paid plan covers hosted AI usage. It is a good fit for developers who find Electron-based editors sluggish and want a fast native tool.

Best for: Developers who want a very fast native editor.

What works

Extremely fast and responsive
Open source
Built-in multiplayer editing

Why people leave

Smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code
Some language tooling still maturing

Top Zed alternatives

See all 7

1
Visual Studio Code
Largest extension ecosystem and mature language tooling.
83.8
2
Sublime Text
Also very fast and native, with a long-established package ecosystem.
79.8
3
Cursor
Deeper AI agent features on a VS Code base.
66.3
4
Neovim
A terminal editor with a huge plugin ecosystem for keyboard-driven work.
55.0
5
Claude Code
Zed can host external agents, and Claude Code also runs in any terminal.
53.6

Why people left Zed

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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Reviews

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Zed: common questions

Is Zed free?

Yes. Zed is free, open-source software.

Is Zed open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at zed-industries/zed.

What platforms does Zed run on?

Zed is available for macOS, Linux and Windows.

What are the best alternatives to Zed?

The highest-ranked Zed alternatives right now are Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text and Cursor. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 7 Zed alternatives

Zed facts

2 of 3 verified

Open source: Yes; Not checked yetgithub.com(opens source in a new tab)
Written in: Rust; Checked Oct 24, 2026zed.dev(opens source in a new tab); “Written from scratch in Rust to efficiently leverage multiple CPU cores and your GPU.”
Collaboration: Built in, with humans and AI; Checked Oct 24, 2026zed.dev(opens source in a new tab); “Zed is a minimal code editor crafted for speed and collaboration with humans and AI.”