code editor · Zed Industries

Zed

Open-source code editor for Windows, macOS and Linux with a built-in debugger, terminal, git panel and shared projects.

92/100

#2 of 12 code editors
Facts checked 8 Oct 2026

In short

The Personal plan is free; Pro costs $10 a month and Business $30 per seat a month¹.
Source code is licensed mainly under GPL-3.0-or-later, with Apache-2.0 parts³.
The stable channel shipped version 1.23.2 on October 7, 2026, after weekly releases through September¹².
SSH and WSL remote editing work from the Windows app^4,6.
Official downloads cover Windows, macOS and Linux; the web is not available yet^2,3.

Zed suits people who want a free, open-source editor with a debugger, git panel, terminal and shared projects in one program^3,5,9,13. Extensions live in a public directory¹⁵. The catch: its docs show no portable Windows build, and dev containers are still in development^6,18.

Best for: People who want a free editor with debugging and collaboration built in.

Where the points come from

Systems14 of 22

Code tools37 of 37

Extending11 of 11

Licence and price18 of 18

Upkeep12 of 12

Systems 14 of 22 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Systems besides Windows	macOS, LinuxDownloads for macOS and Linux; the repository lists the web as not yet available^2,3.	6 / 9
Portable Windows build	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's Windows docs page, which lists an installer and winget⁶.	0 / 5
Remote editing	YesEdit on a remote server over SSH; WSL folders open natively on Windows^4,6.	8 / 8

Code tools 37 of 37 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Language Server Protocol	YesLanguage servers provide completion, diagnostics, go-to-definition and refactoring⁷.	10 / 10
Debugger	YesDocs cover gutter breakpoints, conditional breakpoints and stepping; no beta label⁵.	9 / 9
Built-in terminal	YesBuilt-in terminal emulator in a dockable panel⁸.	6 / 6
Git in the editor	YesGit panel stages changes and commits from the editor⁹.	6 / 6
Multiple cursors	YesFeatures page says multiple cursors and selections come from alt-clicking or dragging¹⁶.	3 / 3
Live collaboration	YesDocs describe real-time multiplayer editing where people see each other's cursors and edits as they happen in a shared project¹³.	3 / 3

Extending 11 of 11 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Extension directory	YesPublic extensions directory, and docs for developing and publishing extensions^14,15.	8 / 8
Custom key bindings	YesRebind actions in keymap.json or the keymap editor¹⁰.	3 / 3

Licence and price 18 of 18 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Free for work use	YesPersonal plan is free; source is GPL-3.0-or-later, which allows work use^1,3.	6 / 6
Price	$0Editor is free and open source; Pro at $10 a month is a hosted-service tier, not an editor licence^1,3.	6 / 6
Open source	YesRepository is mainly GPL-3.0-or-later with Apache-2.0 components³.	6 / 6

Upkeep 12 of 12 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Release in the past year	YesStable 1.23.2 dated October 7, 2026¹².	8 / 8
Telemetry off or none	YesSettings telemetry.metrics and telemetry.diagnostics can be set to false¹¹.	4 / 4

The rule behind each line: how we score code editors.

Plans and prices

As the vendor lists them, before tax. Prices are in US dollars unless the plan shows euros; the points use US dollars, with euros converted at the ECB rate.

Plan	Price as listed	Per month	Notes
Personal1 person	Free¹	$0	Listed as free forever
Pro1 person	$10/month¹	$10	Free trial offered
BusinessTeams	$30/seat/month¹	$30	Adds organisation controls

The editor is open source and free. The paid tiers on the pricing page are for the hosted service, so the editor is scored at $0^1,17.

Strengths

Source is public under GPL-3.0-or-later with Apache-2.0 parts³.
Debugger with breakpoints and stepping is documented⁵.
Remote editing over SSH, plus native WSL folders on Windows⁴.
Shared projects let several people work together in real time¹³.
Telemetry has documented off switches for usage metrics and diagnostics¹¹.

Limits

The Windows docs list an installer and winget, with no portable or zip build⁶.
Dev containers are documented as "still in development"¹⁸.
No web version; the repository lists it as not yet available³.

Other code editors

1
Visual Studio CodePeople who want one editor for many languages, with remote editing and an extension marketplace
94/100
$0price
3
GNU EmacsPeople who want a free editor they can reshape in Emacs Lisp, with many tools built in
87/100
$0price
4
VSCodiumPeople who want VS Code's editor as a fully open-source build without Microsoft telemetry
78/100
$0price
5
NeovimKeyboard-driven developers who want built-in language server support and are happy to configure their own setup
73/100
$0price

Zed vs Visual Studio Code · Zed vs GNU Emacs · All 12 code editors

Sources

Zed pricing, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Download Zed, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
zed-industries/zed, GitHub. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Remote Development, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Debugger, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Zed on Windows, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Configuring languages, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Terminal, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Git, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Key bindings, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Telemetry, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Stable releases, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Collaboration overview, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Extensions, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Zed extensions, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Zed features, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Terms of Service, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Dev Containers, Zed Industries. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.

Website: zed.dev · Markdown version · We are not affiliated with Zed Industries.