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AI tools for Developers

Zed — AI for Software Development

Fast Rust-built code editor with parallel agents, edit prediction and real-time collaboration.

What is Zed?

Zed: Fast Rust-built code editor with parallel agents, edit prediction and real-time collaboration. It has a free plan; paid plans start at $10/mo. Zekai's independent review scores it 8 out of 10. Best for developers who want a fast editor with optional AI.

Facts checked 12 Nov 2026.

Best forAI for Developers
DifferentiatorRust-built editor with parallel agents and bring-your-own-model AI
Try Zed
Free Plan Pro from$10/mo
Free plan verified · free AI tools for Developers
8 Zekai
Fast Rust code editor
AI for Software Development
Ease of Use
4.0
Accuracy
4.0
Value
4.5
Time Saving
4.0
RustParallel agentsEdit predictionCollaborationOpen source
📊 Independently reviewed and scored. How we score →
✍️ Reviewed by Zekai Editorial Team · Updated November 10, 2026
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Zekai Verdict

What is it?
Zed is an open-source code editor written in Rust for macOS, Linux and Windows.
Best for
Developers who prefer a fast native editor with bring-your-own-model AI
Not ideal for
Pro includes only $5 of tokens, then API list price plus 10%
Price
Free plan · paid from $10/mo
Zekai Score
8/10
Visit official site ↗Compare alternatives →Why this score →
⭐ Today's SpotlightCSVBox★ 9.5/10Thinking Orbs★ 9.5/10Bloblings★ 9.5/10LiteLLM★ 9.5/10GitHub Copilot★ 9.3/10n8n★ 9.3/10Hugging Face★ 9.3/10Be the next sponsor →
Hand-scored by Zekai

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#1CSVBox★ 9.5/10#2Thinking Orbs★ 9.5/10#3Bloblings★ 9.5/10
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⚡ Quick answer

Zed is an open-source code editor written in Rust for macOS, Linux and Windows. It includes agents, inline edits, edit prediction and real-time collaboration, with a free Personal plan and a $10 per month Pro plan.

CategoryAI code editor
Best forDevelopers who want a fast editor with optional AI
Price from$10/mo
Free planyes
DifferentiatorRust-built editor with parallel agents and bring-your-own-model AI
📖 About Zed

Zed is an open-source code editor written in Rust for macOS, Linux and Windows. It has built-in agents, inline edits and edit prediction, plus chat and shared coding with teammates. Pro adds Zed-hosted models.

How It Works

Your workflow, automated

1
Install Zed
Download for macOS, Linux or Windows and open a project.
2
Choose model access
Use your own keys, an external agent, or Zed Pro hosted models.
3
Work with agents
Run threads in parallel, use inline edits and review changes.
Ready to automate your workflow with Zed?
Try Zed →
Real Impact

Before & After

❌ Before

Heavy editors feel slow and AI add-ons lock you into one provider.

Slow editor
✅ After

You get a fast native editor and choose hosted models or your own keys.

Fast native editor
AI Prompts

Prompts for Developers

Prompt 01 Postgres Query Optimization
I have a slow PostgreSQL query. Here is the query and the EXPLAIN ANALYZE output. Query: [[Paste your slow SQL query here]] EXPLAIN ANALYZE Output: [[Paste the full EXPLAIN ANALYZE output here]] Schema: • users table: (id, name, email…
Prompt 02 The SQL Query Generator with Schema Context
CREATE TABLE users ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(100), email VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE, created_at TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW() ); CREATE TABLE orders ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, user_id INTEGER REFERENCES users(id), amount…
Prompt 03 The MCP-Aware Database Migration Agent
(for interacting with the Prisma schema and CLI) *
See all 16 AI prompts for Developers →
Social Proof

Trusted by professionals

Ease of Use
4.0
Accuracy
4.0
Value
4.5
Time Saving
4.0
Start Free Today →
Connects With

Zed integrations

Anthropic OpenAI Google AI GitHub Copilot Amazon Bedrock Ollama LM Studio OpenRouter Claude Agent Codex CLI
Setup complexity: Easy to moderate
Zed is an open-source code editor written in Rust for macOS, Linux and Windows. It has built-in agents, inline edits and edit prediction, plus chat and shared coding with teammates. Pro adds Zed-hosted models.
The decision

Is Zed worth it?

Built for
Developers who want a fast editor with optional AI agents, and teams that want shared coding sessions.
Effort to adopt
Easy to moderate
Who It's For

Why Software Development choose this tool

🎯
Built for
Developers who prefer a fast native editor with bring-your-own-model AI
In-Depth Overview
Zed is a code editor first and an AI tool second. The homepage describes it as written from scratch in Rust to use multiple CPU cores and your GPU, and it runs on macOS, Linux and Windows. For AI, the docs describe the Zed Agent, external agents connected over ACP, and terminal threads, with a Threads Sidebar for running several agent threads at once. You can also use the Inline Assistant to transform a selection, accept edit predictions while you type, and generate Git commit messages. Model access is flexible. The Personal plan is free forever and works with your own API keys or external agents, and the pricing page lists support for Amazon Bedrock, Anthropic, GitHub Copilot, Deepseek, Google AI, LM Studio, Mistral, Ollama, OpenAI and OpenRouter. Pro costs $10 a month with unlimited edit predictions and $5 of tokens, and extra usage is billed at API list price plus 10%. Business is $30 per seat per month with org-wide AI policies and data governance controls. You can switch AI off entirely. Collaboration includes chat, shared code and screen sharing. Limits: Business SSO, SAML and SCIM are planned but not yet available, and the free trial offers only one hosted model.

Key Use Cases

🧑‍💻
Edit with your own keys
Solo developer
Use Zed free and connect your own provider or a local model.
$0 Personal plan
🧑‍🤝‍🧑
Code together
Team developer
Chat, share screens and edit the same project with teammates.
Shared sessions
🏢
Control AI use
Engineering manager
Business admins can restrict hosted models and lock data-sharing settings.
Org-wide policies
✓ Pros
Personal plan is free forever
Bring your own API keys from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Ollama and others
Runs on macOS, Linux and Windows
You can disable all AI features
Open source, with a clone-source option on the homepage
· Cons
Pro includes only $5 of tokens, then API list price plus 10%
Business SSO, SAML and SCIM are planned but not available
The Pro free trial offers only one hosted model
Business has no free trial
⚡ Editorial Verdict

A fast, open-source editor where AI is optional, so you can keep it free with your own keys. Hosted usage beyond Pro's $5 of tokens is billed at API list price plus 10%, and Business SSO is not yet available.

See all 944 AI tools for Developers → Browse the AI Directory →
Questions & Answers

Frequently asked questions

Is Zed free?

+
Yes. Personal is $0 forever and supports your own API keys or external agents.

How much is Zed Pro?

+
$10 per month with unlimited edit predictions and $5 of tokens included. Extra usage is billed at API list price plus 10%.

Can I use Zed without AI?

+
Yes. The pricing FAQ says you can disable all AI features.

Which platforms does Zed run on?

+
The homepage says macOS, Linux and Windows.

Last reviewed:

Plans & Pricing

Zed pricing and plans

Free
$0
Personal: $0 forever, unlimited use with your own API keys or external agents (no Zed-hosted models). Pro has a 14-day trial with $5 of GPT-6 Luna usage, no credit card.
Get Started Free
Pro
$10/mo
Start Pro Plan

Prices and features are updated regularly but can change at any time — always confirm on the official website. Some links on this page are affiliate links.

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About Zed

Full Description

Zed is an open-source code editor written in Rust for macOS, Linux and Windows. It has built-in agents, inline edits and edit prediction, plus chat and shared coding with teammates. Pro adds Zed-hosted models.

Editorial Verdict

A fast, open-source editor where AI is optional, so you can keep it free with your own keys. Hosted usage beyond Pro's $5 of tokens is billed at API list price plus 10%, and Business SSO is not yet available.

Last reviewed:
Disclaimer
Zekai is an independent AI tools directory. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Zed unless clearly stated. All product names, logos, and brands are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only. The information on this page — including pricing, features, and availability — is general information, may have changed since our last review, and is not professional advice. Zekai Scores and verdicts are our editorial opinion. Some outbound links are affiliate links that may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Spotted outdated or incorrect information? Request a correction →
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