Zed Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Zed costs Free to $30 per user/month as of June 2026, with 3 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Personal (free), Pro at $10/user/month, and Business at $30/user/month. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
Zed offers 3 pricing tiers: Personal, Pro, Business. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Pro at $10/user/month, Business at $30/user/month. The Pro plan is individual developers who want hosted ai without managing api keys.
Yes, Zed offers a forever free plan as of June 2026. The free tier includes 7 features with limits on usage. Paid plans start at $10/user/month (Pro). Pricing verified from 1 sources by CostBench.
Zed's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- 2,000 accepted edit predictions
- Unlimited use with your own API keys or external agents (Claude Agent, etc.)
- Full Zed editor (open source)
- Multibuffer editing
- Multiplayer collaboration
- Vim mode
- All language servers
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- Unlimited edit predictions
- $5 of token credits included per month
- Usage-based billing beyond $5 (API list price +10%)
- Access to premium hosted models (Claude, GPT, Gemini)
- 2-week free trial with $20 of token credits
- Spending cap controls
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like Unlimited edit predictions or $5 of token credits included per month
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Zed branding may appear on your content or communications
- Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
- Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
- API access is typically limited or not available
- Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Pro Plan Comparison
| Personal $0 | Pro $10/user/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 7 included | 6+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Zed branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Individual developers who want a best-in-class code editor without hosted AI, or who prefer to bring their own API keys | Individual developers who want hosted AI without managing API keys |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Zed free?
Yes, Zed offers a forever free plan with 7 core features included. However, there are limits on users and features that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Zed's free plan?
Zed's free plan includes: 2,000 accepted edit predictions, Unlimited use with your own API keys or external agents (Claude Agent, etc.), Full Zed editor (open source), Multibuffer editing, Multiplayer collaboration, and 2 more features. Key limits include basic usage caps.
03 What's NOT included in Zed's free plan?
The free plan excludes: Unlimited edit predictions, $5 of token credits included per month, Usage-based billing beyond $5 (API list price +10%), Access to premium hosted models (Claude, GPT, Gemini), 2-week free trial with $20 of token credits. You'll also have Zed branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Zed's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like Unlimited edit predictions or $5 of token credits included per month, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $10/user/month.
05 Is Zed's free plan really free forever?
Yes, Zed's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.