Zed

Short verdict: Zed is an open-source code editor written in Rust with its own GPU-rendered interface, and since April 2026 it runs several agent threads in parallel: its own Zed Agent or outside agents such as Claude Agent, Codex and OpenCode through the Agent Client Protocol. The editor is free forever, including AI through your own keys, an existing subscription, local models or those outside agents; Pro costs $10 a month for Zed-hosted models with $5 of usage and unlimited edit predictions, with further usage at list price plus 10%. Zed does not keep your prompts or code by default, and its hosted models run under no-training, zero-retention agreements. The catch is that it is an editor first: there are no cloud agents or web editor, and the $30 Business plan has no SSO yet. It suits developers who want a fast editor and a free choice of agents and models; teams that want background agents or a large bundled AI allowance should look elsewhere.

How we reviewed it: We did not sign up for Zed or run it against a model. On 21 October 2026 we read Zed's pricing page, its AI docs on plans and usage, hosted models, model providers, external agents, edit prediction and privacy, the stable release notes, the blog and the GitHub repository. Plans and limits change often; check the pricing page before you pay.

What Zed costs and includes

What Zed does differently

Parallel agent threads in one window

Since 22 April 2026 the Threads Sidebar lists every agent thread grouped by project, each with its own agent, context and history. You can isolate a thread in its own Git worktree, queue messages or mark one to steer the Zed Agent at its next step, and roll back with a checkpoint after any edit. Zed says all of this runs at 120 frames a second.

Any agent, through ACP or a terminal thread

The ACP Registry installs outside agents such as Claude Agent, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Copilot, Cursor and Poolside into the Agent Panel. Each keeps its own sign-in, billing and data terms, and Zed does not charge for them. Terminal Threads run an agent's own CLI, such as Anthropic's claude, in a terminal-backed thread; Zed suggested this in May 2026 to keep Claude subscription limits when Anthropic planned to bill third-party agent use separately, a change Anthropic later put on hold.

Hosted models, your own keys or local models

The Zed Agent can use Zed's hosted models at list price plus 10%, your own provider keys (stored in the system keychain), a ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot subscription, a gateway such as OpenRouter, or a local model. Edit predictions default to Zeta, an open-source model developed by Zed; free users can switch predictions to Copilot or a local model.

Sandboxed agent tools by default

Since 5 August 2026 the agent's terminal and fetch tools run in a sandbox that blocks writes outside the project, writes to .git and network requests. The agent asks when it needs more, and you can grant a request once, for the thread or permanently; on macOS the sandbox uses Seatbelt.

Limits and costs to watch

• A small hosted allowance. Pro includes $5 of hosted usage; past that you pay list price plus 10%, and once the default $10 spend limit is reached, hosted models stop until it resets. Set it to $0 to cap Zed at $10 a month.

• Business is early. At $30 a seat it adds admin controls over models, edit predictions and data sharing, but no bundled credits, no free trial and no SSO, SAML or SCIM yet.

• Outside agents get fewer panel features. Restoring threads, checkpoints and token counts depend on the agent's integration.

• Provider retention for some models. Anthropic keeps prompts and outputs for Claude Fable 5.1 and Fable 5 for at least 30 days for safety review, through Zed or with your own key.

• Agents run locally. There are no cloud agents; Delta, Zed's separate multiplayer agent environment, has been in public beta since 16 September 2026.

Pros and cons

Pros

• The editor and AI through your own keys, subscriptions, local models or outside agents cost nothing from Zed.

• Open source under GPL-3.0, with weekly releases.

• Parallel threads let you mix the Zed Agent, Claude Agent, Codex and other agents in one window.

• No retention or training by default, and the agent's terminal and fetch tools are sandboxed.

Cons

• Pro includes only $5 of hosted usage before list price plus 10%.

• No cloud or background agents, and no web or mobile editor.

• Business has no SSO, SAML or SCIM yet.

• Outside agents don't get every Agent Panel feature.

How Zed compares

• Cursor is a closed-source editor whose cloud agents run on their own machines and return pull requests. Its plans run from $8 to $200 a month in The X Subscription, with Claude, GPT and Gemini billed at API list price on top. Choose it if you want background agents and pull-request review.

• Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) also runs ACP agents such as Codex and Claude Agent next to its own agent, and its Pro plan at $20 a month covers Devin Cloud too, within a daily and weekly quota. It is closed source, and its free plan can't opt out of training. Choose it for cloud agents with frontier models in the plan.

• GitHub Copilot Pro also costs $10 a month but buys 1,500 AI credits ($15 of usage) and unlimited completions, and it runs inside Zed as well as VS Code, JetBrains IDEs and Xcode. Its individual plans use your interactions for training unless you opt out. Choose it for a larger included allowance.

For more options, see all AI coding tools.

Who should use Zed

Use Zed if you want a fast, open-source editor and the freedom to pick your agents and models: free with your own keys, subscriptions or local models, or $10 a month for hosted models and edit predictions. It fits developers who already pay for Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot and want them in one editor. Look elsewhere if you want agents that keep working in the cloud after you close your laptop, a large AI allowance inside a flat fee, or SSO for a company rollout today.

FAQ

Is Zed free?

Yes. As of 21 October 2026 the editor is free forever, and you can use AI with your own API keys, a ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot subscription, local models or outside agents such as Claude Agent and Codex without paying Zed. Zed's hosted models and its Zeta edit predictions need Pro.

How much does Zed Pro cost?

Zed Pro costs $10 a month as of 21 October 2026. It includes $5 of hosted-model usage and unlimited edit predictions; more usage is billed at the provider's list price plus 10%, up to a spend limit you set (default $10). There is a 14-day trial with $5 of GPT-6 Luna usage and no card, and Business costs $30 per seat a month.

Does Zed train on my code?

No, not by default. Zed's docs say it does not retain prompts or code context, and its hosted model providers are bound by no-training and zero-retention agreements, except that Anthropic keeps Claude Fable data for at least 30 days for safety review. Zed only keeps AI data if you send feedback or opt in to edit-prediction training data.

Is Zed open source?

Yes. Zed's source code is on GitHub at zed-industries/zed under GPL-3.0-or-later, with some Apache-2.0 components. The repository had 92k stars on 21 October 2026, and the latest stable release was 1.24.4 from 20 October 2026.