Compare software

Zed vs Visual Studio Code: catalog facts
Zed	Visual Studio Code
Freemium The editor is free and open source. Zed's hosted AI plans are paid, and you can use your…	Free Free to download and use. GitHub Copilot and other AI features are separate paid…
Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
GPU-rendered and written in Rust, so it stays responsive under load Real-time collaborative editing and a shared terminal	Extensions for essentially every language and framework Remote development over SSH, in containers and in WSL
A much smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code Windows support arrived late and is still the least mature build	The shipped build is not open source and collects telemetry by default Its extension marketplace is licensed for Microsoft builds only
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License: GPL-3.0-or-later	License: Microsoft product licence
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

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.