GILD verdict
Choose Zed when engineers want one fast native editor in front of several agents and model providers, and keep Cursor for engineers whose work depends on tab completion.
- The workflow
- An engineering team that writes and reviews code in one editor while running the Zed Agent, Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI beside it, on its own keys or Zed's hosted models.56
- The decisive evidence
- DocumentedThe Agent Panel runs the Zed Agent and installs external agents such as Claude Agent, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Copilot, and Cursor from the ACP Registry. Each external agent owns its own auth and billing, and Zed charges nothing for it.56
- DocumentedZed states that history, checkpoints, token usage display, and similar panel features depend on each external agent's integration, so an agent can do less in Zed than in its own app.5
- DocumentedThe Zed Agent runs on Zed-hosted models, provider keys, existing ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot subscriptions, gateways such as OpenRouter or Bedrock, or local models. Tool permission rules allow, deny, or confirm each tool call.910
- DocumentedPro costs US$10 per month with unlimited Zeta edit predictions and US$5 of hosted tokens, then API list price plus 10%. Business costs US$30 per seat per month and adds admin controls, with SSO, SAML, and SCIM still planned.23
- GILD analysisGILD checked Zed's edit-prediction documentation and Cursor's Tab page; neither compares Zeta with Cursor Tab on the same code. Compare them on your own repositories before choosing completions.
Zed
AI Coding Agent by Zed Industries
+25 PositiveFit and limits
Who it fits
- Engineers run Claude Code, Codex, or another ACP agent and want it next to the code and out of a separate terminal.
- Model traffic must stay on the company's own provider account. The Zed Agent takes provider keys, gateways such as OpenRouter or Bedrock, and local models.
- The team wants several agent threads at once, each in its own worktree, from one Threads Sidebar.
- Editor speed matters. Zed is native Rust on macOS, Windows, and Linux, with SSH remote development where the UI stays local.
Where it falls short
- External agents in the panel may lack history, checkpoints, or token usage display, depending on each agent's ACP integration.
- Business-plan controls cover Zed's hosted services only, and SSO, SAML, and SCIM are still only planned.
- Zeta edit predictions come only with Pro, the trial, Student, or Business; the Free plan needs Copilot, another provider, or a local model.
- Business seats include no model credits, so hosted usage is billed per token on top of the seat.
Implementation reality
Choose the agents first
List the agents engineers may run: the Zed Agent, and which external agents from the ACP Registry. Each external agent brings its own login, billing, and data terms, so security reviews them one by one.
Pick the model paths
Decide between Zed-hosted models at API list price plus 10%, provider keys stored in the system keychain, existing subscriptions, gateways, or local models. Business admins can restrict or disable hosted models by model.
Write tool permission rules
Set agent.tool_permissions so terminal commands, file deletes, fetches, and MCP tools confirm or deny by pattern. Patterns in always_deny block a call even when the default allows everything.
Pilot each agent on real work
Run the same tasks through the Zed Agent and each external agent in the panel, and through the agent's own app, and note any command, history, or context control the panel lacks.
What to measure in your pilot
- How Zeta compares with Cursor Tab on your own repositories.
- Which Claude Code and Codex features reach Zed's panel as their ACP adapters change.
- When SSO, SAML, and SCIM arrive on the Business plan.
Sources
- Official documentation
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