Zed is a high-performance code editor written in Rust by the team behind Atom and Tree-sitter. It targets near-instant responsiveness, ships real-time multiplayer editing and shared projects, and now includes built-in AI assist that can use hosted models or your own keys.

Highlights

Exceptional editing and scrolling performance
Real-time collaboration built in, not bolted on
Open source with built-in AI that supports your own keys
Low memory footprint versus Electron editors

Watch-outs

Windows support is still maturing (preview)
Smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code
Fewer language niceties for some stacks

Good for

AI code generation Write code fast

Zed is the editor to reach for when speed and a native feel matter more than ecosystem breadth. The collaboration is genuinely real-time, and the AI is open and key-flexible. The honest caveats are Windows (still in preview) and a thinner plugin catalogue — if either is a dealbreaker, VS Code remains the pragmatic default and Cursor the AI-heavy one.

When to use it

solo_dev
performance_sensitive_developers
open_source_advocates

Avoid if

need_windows_today
depend_on_a_specific_vscode_extension

Free

Free tierOpen source

Free and open source (GPL). Optional paid plans cover hosted collaboration and managed AI usage.

Extensions / plugins
Limited
Theming
Native
Dark mode
Native
Keyboard shortcuts
Native
Command palette
Native
Open source
Native
Real-time collaboration
Native
AI assistance
Native

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Zed

Highlights

Watch-outs

Good for

When to use it