Zed

Zed is a native Rust editor from the Atom / Tree-sitter people. The editor itself stays usable on Free. Zed Pro is the collaboration / hosted-AI seat, not "the editor is $10". This page used to say only "optional Zed AI, unspecified".

Compare Cursor ($20 / $40) if you want an AI-first VS Code fork, and GitHub Copilot if you want to stay in VS Code / GitHub.

Key Features

Native Rust UI: Not Electron. Speed is the product.
Edit prediction: Docs still mention Zeta and other providers. Confirm the in-app list.
External agents: ACP / agent threads are documented. Do not freeze a 2025 agent roster as the catalog.
Paid seats on top: Pro $10 and Business $20 / user for hosted AI and org features.

Use Cases

People leaving VS Code for speed, who will BYOK for models.
Small teams that will pay $10–$20 instead of Cursor Pro $40.
Pairing if you actually use Zed's multiplayer, which sits on the paid plans.

Limitation: we did not re-verify every included model on Pro. BYOK still exists and is the honest Free path.

Pricing

zed.dev/pricing on 2026-08-17:

Plan	Price	Notes from that page
Free	$0	Editor. BYOK for models.
Pro	$10 / month	Hosted AI and collaboration extras.
Business	$20 / user / month	Org features on top of Pro.

Getting Started

Download from zed.dev.
Stay on Free and add your own API key if you only want a fast editor.
Pay Pro only if you want Zed-hosted models or the billed collab features.
Confirm agent integrations in-app. Names move.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the editor paid?

No. Free is a full editor. Pro is $10 for extras.

Is it cheaper than Cursor?

The seat is $10 vs Cursor Individual $20 / Pro $40. They are not the same product.

Do I need Zed AI?

No. BYOK is documented.

Alternatives

Cursor: AI-first IDE, $20 / $40.
GitHub Copilot: Stay in VS Code.
Claude Code: Terminal agent if you do not want another GUI.

Tips

Quote $10 / $20 from zed.dev/pricing, not "optional AI".
Keep Free vs Pro distinct. The editor is not the SKU.
Confirm Zeta. Open-weight prediction is a feature, not the whole bill.

Conclusion

Zed is still the fast Rust editor, now with a public $0 / $10 / $20 grid. Start at zed.dev/pricing, then compare Cursor if you wanted an AI IDE more than a native editor.