Review of Zed Editor
Zed is a high-performance code editor written in Rust by the creators of Atom. It opens instantly, scrolls smoothly, and handles massive files without lag. In 2024, the team added AI features: inline edit, chat, and agent mode. Free and open source. Pricing: Free for personal use, $20/month Pro for unlimited AI.
Zed is the fastest code editor we've used. Cold start: under 100ms. Scrolling: 120fps even on huge files. Search across a 1M-line repo: under 500ms. VS Code feels slow after using Zed. If you value speed, Zed is a clear win.
Zed's AI features are good but less mature than Cursor's. Inline edit (Cmd+I) is excellent and fast. Chat works well. The agent mode (Zed can run terminal commands, edit multiple files) is improving but still behind Cursor's Composer. For daily AI coding, Cursor is still the leader.
Zed supports Claude 4, GPT-5, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and local models (via Ollama). The free tier includes limited Claude Sonnet 4 usage. Pro ($20/month) gives unlimited usage. The model selection is competitive with Cursor.
Cursor has better AI features (Composer, Cmd+K codebase editing, multi-file refactors). Zed is faster, lighter, and more polished as a pure editor. For AI-heavy work, Cursor wins. For an editor-first experience, Zed wins.
Zed is faster and more focused. VS Code has a much larger extension ecosystem. If you rely on specific VS Code extensions (e.g., Docker, GitLens, Jupyter), stick with VS Code. If you want a fast, clean editor, Zed wins.
JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, GoLand) have better language-specific features (refactoring, debugging, IntelliSense). Zed is faster and lighter but less feature-rich. For heavy Java/Kotlin/Python work, JetBrains wins. For TypeScript/JavaScript/Rust, Zed is excellent.
Zed has built-in real-time collaboration (like Google Docs for code). Multiple devs can edit the same file with low latency. This is unique in the editor space and is genuinely useful for pair programming and code reviews.
Zed has first-class support for Rust, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, and Go. Other languages work but with less polish. The team is adding more language servers over time.
Zed has a smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code. Common extensions exist (themes, formatters, linters), but niche ones don't. The team is actively building the extension API, so this is improving.
Zed runs natively on macOS and Linux. Windows is in beta (works but has some issues). If you're on Windows, you might want to wait or use WSL.
Devs who value speed and a clean editor experience. Rust/TypeScript devs. Anyone frustrated with VS Code's sluggishness. Mac and Linux users especially. Not for: Windows users (yet), anyone deeply tied to VS Code extensions.
Windows users (until Windows support stabilizes). Devs who need a specific VS Code extension. Anyone who needs mature AI agent features (use Cursor). Heavy Java/Python users who need JetBrains-level refactoring.
Zed is the best code editor for speed and a clean experience in 2026. The AI features are good but still maturing. For a daily AI-driven workflow, Cursor is still slightly ahead. For a fast, distraction-free editor, Zed wins. Try it for a week; you might not go back.
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