Zed is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 7.7. Zed wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Postman on 1.
Developers who want a quick, modern editor with AI and pair programming built in
API developers and QA teams who test and document APIs together
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Zed | Postman |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Category rank | #3 of 10 | #10 of 10 |
| Developer | Zed Industries | Postman, Inc. |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Zed better than Postman?
Zed is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 7.7. Zed wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Postman on 1.
Which is cheaper, Zed or Postman?
Zed: Free with your own API keys; Pro is $10 a month with $5 of AI tokens included. Postman: Free for one user; Solo $9/month and Team $19/user/month, billed yearly. On value for money, Zed scores higher.
Do Zed and Postman work on the same devices?
Only Postman runs on Web.
Which is more private, Zed or Postman?
Zed scores higher on privacy (8.6/10). Telemetry can be turned off in Settings, source code never goes into server telemetry, and Zed doesn't train on your data unless you opt in. AI providers are on zero-retention terms.
Strengths and weaknesses
Zed
- Native, GPU-rendered and quick to open
- Free and open source, with bring-your-own AI keys
- Collaboration and AI agents built in
- Hosted AI use is billed beyond the $5 included
- Still missing requests like smooth scrolling
- No built-in test runner integration yet
Zed is a code editor written in Rust with its own GPU-rendered interface instead of Electron, built to feel instant. You get real-time multiplayer editing, a debugger, Git, SSH remoting, edit predictions and parallel AI agents that can run Claude, Codex and others. It reached 1.0 in April 2026 and runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Bring your own API keys for free, or pay for hosted AI. Some long-requested features, like smooth scrolling, are still missing.
Full Zed review
Postman
- Covers the whole API lifecycle in one tool
- Native Git workflows keep work next to your code
- Strong support for many API protocols
- Desktop app is heavy and can feel slow
- Free plan is limited to a single user
- Most work is stored in Postman's cloud
Postman is the most complete tool for working with APIs. You can send requests, organize collections, write tests, run mock servers and monitor endpoints across REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSockets and MCP. Version 12 added native Git workflows and local mocks. The downsides are a heavy desktop app, a free plan now limited to one person, and a strong pull toward storing your work in Postman's cloud.
Full Postman review
