Cursor vs Zed: pricing, quotas & features (2025)
AI-native code editor — VS Code fork with deep AI integration
vs. High-performance code editor, built in Rust, with AI + collaboration
Data sourced from vendor documentation · Last updated May 2026
Summary
Cursor and Zed are both ai-coding platforms, addressing the same core use case with different implementation philosophies and trade-offs. Both offer a free tier, making it easy to prototype without a credit card. Zed's paid plans start at $10/month, lower than Cursor's entry point at $20/month. Zed has a broader documented feature set (20 vs 15 features). Budget-sensitive teams will find Zed easier to justify early on. All pricing and quota data below is sourced from Cursor and Zed's official documentation — not generated by AI or estimated.
Cursor vs Zed: Comparativa de precios, cuotas y características (2025)
En esta comparativa analizamos Cursor y Zed lado a lado — incluyendo precios mensuales, límites del tier gratuito, características técnicas, cuotas de uso (almacenamiento, transferencia, usuarios activos mensuales) y los interfaces de desarrollo disponibles. Todos los datos proceden de la documentación oficial de cada proveedor, no de respuestas generadas por IA.
Cursor es una plataforma de la categoría ai-coding — AI-native code editor — VS Code fork with deep AI integration. Ofrece 6 tiers de precio: Hobby (Free) gratuito, Pro desde $20/mes, Teams desde $40/mes, Pro+ (Recommended) desde $60/mes. Su catálogo en Staxly documenta 15 características y 5 interfazes para desarrolladores.
Zed pertenece a la categoría ai-coding — High-performance code editor, built in Rust, with AI + collaboration. Ofrece 5 tiers de precio: Free gratuito, Zed Pro (trial) gratuito, BYO API Key gratuito, Zed Pro desde $10/mes. Su catálogo documenta 20 características y 7 interfazes para desarrolladores.
A continuación encontrarás los tiers de precio completos de ambas plataformas, una matriz de cuotas del tier gratuito (transferencia, almacenamiento, MAU, llamadas a la API y otros límites), el listado completo de características y los interfaces (CLI, SDKs, REST, GraphQL, MCP) disponibles para integrar cada servicio.
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Pricing tiers
Cursor
Zed
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing hobby on Cursor vs free on Zed.
| Metric | Cursor | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Cursor · 15 features
- .cursorrules / Project Rules — Custom system prompts per project to steer the AI.
- Agent Mode — Autonomous multi-file editing + tool use. Runs terminal commands with confirmati…
- Background Agents — Run agents in the cloud to tackle longer tasks async.
- BugBot (PR reviews) — AI reviewer on GitHub PRs.
- Chat (⌘L) — Conversational chat with codebase context.
- Cmd-K Inline Edit — Highlight code + ⌘K → natural language edit instruction.
- Codebase Indexing — Embedding-based semantic search over your codebase.
- Composer — Multi-file edit sessions with full context.
- MCP Support — Add Model Context Protocol servers to extend agent capabilities.
- Privacy Mode — Data never used for training; zero-retention routing.
- Skills & Hooks — User-defined skills library + lifecycle hooks.
- Tab (multi-line completion) — Predictive completions including next-edit suggestions.
- Team Shared Context — Share chats, commands, rules across team.
- VS Code Extension Compat — Most VS Code extensions work via the marketplace.
- YOLO Mode — Auto-approve all agent actions (for trusted workflows).
Zed · 20 features
- AI Assistant — Inline edits + agent panel.
- Agent Panel — Multi-step AI tasks with tool use.
- Channels (Multiplayer) — Real-time shared editing.
- Edit Prediction (Zeta) — Next-edit prediction model.
- Editor — Core Rust-based editor.
- Extensions (WASM) — WASM-based extension system.
- Git Integration — Diff view, branches, blame.
- GitHub Copilot Support — Works alongside Copilot subscription.
- Integrated Terminal — Built-in shell.
- LSP Support — Works with all LSP language servers.
- MCP Support — Connect to any MCP server.
- Multibuffer — Edit multiple files in one view.
- Remote Dev (SSH) — Edit remote filesystems natively.
- Screen Share — Share editor view live.
- Sub-16ms Latency — GPU-accelerated rendering.
- Tasks — Configurable build/test/run tasks.
- Themes — Built-in + community themes.
- Tree-sitter Syntax — Incremental parsing for instant highlighting.
- Vim Mode — First-class Vim/Helix bindings.
- Voice Channels — Talk while pair programming.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Cursor | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | Cursor CLI | zed CLI (shell integration) |
| MCP | Cursor MCP support | — |
| OTHER | Cursor Desktop App, Cursor Rules (.cursorrules), Privacy Mode | Command Palette (cmd+shift+p), Multiplayer / Channels, Remote Development (SSH), Zed AI Assistant, Zed Editor, Zed Extensions |
Key takeaways
- Both Cursor and Zed offer a free tier — Cursor ("Hobby (Free)") and Zed ("Free") — with no credit card required to start.
- The entry-level paid plan is $20/month for Cursor (Pro) vs. $10/month for Zed (Zed Pro).
- Zed has a broader documented feature set (20 features) vs. Cursor (15 features) in Staxly's catalog.
- Developer integrations differ: only Cursor offers MCP.
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