Zed is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 8.5. Zed wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Warp on 0, with 1 tied.
Developers who want a quick, modern editor with AI and pair programming built in
Developers who want a modern terminal with AI help built in
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Zed | Warp |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Category rank | #3 of 10 | #8 of 10 |
| Developer | Zed Industries | Warp |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Zed better than Warp?
Zed is the better app overall, scoring 9.1 to 8.5. Zed wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Warp on 0, with 1 tied.
Which is cheaper, Zed or Warp?
Zed: Free with your own API keys; Pro is $10 a month with $5 of AI tokens included. Warp: Free terminal; Build is $20/month ($18 billed yearly) with $20 of AI usage. On value for money, Zed scores higher.
Do Zed and Warp work on the same devices?
Yes, both run on Mac, Windows, Linux.
Which is more private, Zed or Warp?
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
Warp
- Much friendlier than a classic terminal
- The agent can write commands, fix errors and code
- Open source and native on Mac, Windows and Linux
- Free plan has no included AI usage
- Free users must keep telemetry on to use AI
Warp rethinks the terminal. Commands and output are grouped into blocks you can copy, search and share, the input line edits like a text editor, and a built-in agent can write commands, fix errors and handle coding tasks, locally or in the cloud. Since April 2026 the client is open source. The trade-offs: free AI is pay-as-you-go or bring your own, and purists may find it too far from a classic terminal.
Full Warp review
