A detailed comparison of Zed and Cursor to help you choose the right tool for your needs.
| Plan | Zed | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | ✓ Free and open source | ✓ 2,000 completions/mo |
| Lowest Paid | Free | $20/mo |
| Enterprise | Coming | $40/user/mo |
| Feature | Zed | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| High Performance | ✓ | — |
| Real-Time Collaboration | ✓ | — |
| AI Integration | ✓ | — |
| Language Server Protocol | ✓ | — |
| Vim Mode | ✓ | — |
| Terminal | ✓ | — |
| AI autocomplete | — | ✓ |
| AI chat | — | ✓ |
| Code generation | — | ✓ |
| Codebase awareness | — | ✓ |
| Multi-file editing | — | ✓ |
| VS Code compatible | — | ✓ |
| Cmd-K editing | — | ✓ |
| Import extensions | — | ✓ |
| Custom models | — | ✓ |
| Privacy mode | — | ✓ |
| Open Source | ✓ | ✗ |
| Rating | ⭐ 4.3 | ⭐ 4.5 |
Choose Zed if: You need developers wanting a fast, modern code editor. Zed excels with its incredibly fast and native multiplayer.
Choose Cursor if: You need developers wanting ai-native coding. Cursor stands out with its powerful ai features and vs code familiar.
Best free option: Both Zed and Cursor offer free tiers. Zed offers "Free and open source" while Cursor offers "2,000 completions/mo".
It depends on your needs. Zed is better for developers wanting a fast, modern code editor, while Cursor is better for developers wanting ai-native coding. Both are excellent tools rated 4.3 and 4.5 respectively.
Zed starts at Free while Cursor starts at $20/mo. Both offer free tiers.
Most tools offer import/export features to help you migrate. We recommend trying Cursor's free tier before fully committing to a switch.
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