TL;DR: Zed is a fast, open-source code editor whose free Personal plan includes the full editor and 2,000 accepted edit predictions a month. What free no longer includes is Zed-hosted AI chat: under the current pricing, agent work on the free plan runs on your own API keys, a local model, or an external agent you bring yourself. If you want Zed’s hosted models with no keys to manage, Pro is $10 a month.
Bottom line: free Zed is a genuinely usable editor with real AI completions — as long as you are comfortable bringing your own model access for agent chat.
What is Zed?
Zed is a code editor written in Rust by Zed Industries, the team behind the Atom editor. It is built for speed, with GPU rendering, built-in real-time collaboration, and an Agent Panel that can edit files, navigate your codebase, and run tools. It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and the editor itself is open source. If you have used Cursor or Windsurf, Zed is the same idea — an AI-first editor — with a stronger emphasis on raw performance and on letting you choose where the AI comes from.
What is actually free?
On the free Personal plan, verified on Zed’s own pricing page and pricing-change announcement on November 14, 2026, you get:
- The complete editor — no feature-gated “demo mode,” including collaboration and remote development.
- 2,000 accepted edit predictions a month — Zed’s AI predicts your next edit as you type, and only predictions you accept count.
- Unlimited agent use with your own API keys (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Amazon Bedrock, Mistral, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, and more are supported).
- Unlimited use of external agents through the Agent Client Protocol (ACP) — for example Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI running inside Zed, billed under that agent’s own plan.
- Local models through Ollama or LM Studio, which cost nothing in tokens and keep code on your machine.
What the pricing page doesn’t make obvious
Many roundups still say Zed’s free plan includes 50 hosted AI prompts a month. That was the old pricing. In Zed’s own pricing-change post, the new Free plan lists only the 2,000 edit predictions — the hosted prompts are gone. Zed’s documentation adds a second catch: Zeta, Zed’s own edit-prediction model, is included with Pro, the Pro trial, Student, and Business plans; on the free plan you can route predictions through another provider such as GitHub Copilot or a local model. Neither fact makes the free plan bad — but going in expecting free hosted chat will disappoint you.
Free vs Pro: the honest comparison
| Personal (Free) | Pro ($10/mo) | |
|---|---|---|
| Editor | Full editor | Full editor |
| Edit predictions | 2,000 accepted / month | Unlimited |
| Zed-hosted models | Not included | $5 of token credits / month included |
| Extra hosted usage | — | Billed at API list price + 10% |
| Your own API keys / external agents | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Verdict | Best if you already have model access | Best if you want hosted AI with no key management |
There is also a 14-day free trial of Pro with $5 of usage on one hosted model (GPT-6 Luna at the time of writing) and unlimited edit predictions, with no credit card required. The trial ends when the $5 balance runs out or 14 days pass, whichever comes first — and the trial balance is shared across Zed and Delta, a detail buried in the pricing FAQ. Students at verified universities can get Pro features free for a year on the Student plan.
Pros and cons
Pros
- The full, genuinely fast editor is free — the free plan is not a timed trial.
- 2,000 accepted edit predictions a month is a real, usable allowance.
- Total model freedom: your own keys, local models, or external agents, with no Zed-imposed cap.
- Open source, and every AI feature can be disabled entirely if you want a plain editor.
Cons
- No Zed-hosted AI chat on the free plan — agent work needs your own key, a local model, or a separate agent subscription.
- Pro’s $5 included credit is modest, and overage at API list price plus 10% can add up on heavy agent use.
- Zeta, Zed’s own prediction model, is a paid-plan feature; free predictions depend on the provider you connect.
Who is Zed’s free plan best for?
Zed’s free plan is best for developers who already pay for an AI subscription or API access somewhere else and want a faster editor to use it in, developers who run local models and want them wired into a real editor, and anyone who wants strong AI completions without another subscription. If you want hosted frontier models in the box with zero setup, that is what Pro — or a competitor’s paid tier — is for.
FAQ
Is Zed really free?
Yes. The Personal plan is free with no time limit: the full editor plus 2,000 accepted edit predictions a month. Zed-hosted AI models are not included on the free plan.
What counts as an accepted edit prediction?
Zed predicts the edit you are about to make as you type. A prediction only counts against the 2,000 when you accept it; suggestions you ignore or reject are free.
Can I use Zed’s AI for free with a local model?
Yes. Connect Ollama or LM Studio and the agent runs on your own hardware at no token cost. Performance depends on your machine and the model you choose.
How much is Zed Pro?
$10 a month, with unlimited edit predictions and $5 of hosted token credits included each month. Usage beyond the credit is billed at the model provider’s API list price plus 10%.
Research-based review; no hands-on testing claims. Free-tier details verified on zed.dev on November 14, 2026 — plans change, so check the pricing page before you rely on a limit.