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Visual Studio Code vs Zed: catalog facts
Visual Studio Code	Zed
Free Free to download and use. GitHub Copilot and other AI features are separate paid…	Freemium The editor is free and open source. Zed's hosted AI plans are paid, and you can use your…
Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Extensions for essentially every language and framework Remote development over SSH, in containers and in WSL	GPU-rendered and written in Rust, so it stays responsive under load Real-time collaborative editing and a shared terminal
The shipped build is not open source and collects telemetry by default Its extension marketplace is licensed for Microsoft builds only	A much smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code Windows support arrived late and is still the least mature build
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Closed source	Open source
License: Microsoft product licence	License: GPL-3.0-or-later
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

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