It's close: Zed edges it 9.1 to 9.0, so the right pick depends on what you need. Zed wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Raycast on 1.
Developers who want a quick, modern editor with AI and pair programming built in
Mac power users and developers who live on the keyboard
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Zed | Raycast |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Category rank | #3 of 10 | #6 of 10 |
| Developer | Zed Industries | Raycast Technologies |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | — | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
Common questions
Is Zed better than Raycast?
It's close: Zed edges it 9.1 to 9.0, so the right pick depends on what you need. Zed wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Raycast on 1.
Which is cheaper, Zed or Raycast?
Zed: Free with your own API keys; Pro is $10 a month with $5 of AI tokens included. Raycast: Free core features; Pro $10/month or $96/year adds AI and Cloud Sync. On value for money, Zed scores higher.
Do Zed and Raycast work on the same devices?
Only Zed runs on Linux. Only Raycast runs on iPhone & iPad.
Which is more private, Zed or Raycast?
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
Raycast
- Much faster and more capable than Spotlight
- Generous free tier covers most daily use
- Extension store connects many developer tools
- AI and Cloud Sync require a paid plan
- Top-tier AI models need the $20 Plus plan
- Windows version still lacks some Mac features
Raycast replaces Spotlight with a launcher that does far more: clipboard history, window management, snippets, quick math and a big store of community extensions. Version 2.0 added an AI core that runs multi-step tasks and lets you bring your own models, even local ones. Most of the launcher is free, while AI and Cloud Sync need Pro. The Windows and iPhone apps are useful but still behind the Mac.
Full Raycast review
