highlight snappy performance, polished autocomplete, and a smooth switch from VS Code, though some still lean on JetBrains for advanced features. Users applaud real‑time collaboration and solid AI integrations, noting it’s lightweight yet capable. Common trade‑offs: a smaller extension ecosystem and occasional rough edges, but momentum and frequent updates inspire confidence.

+30

Summarized with AI

Pros

fast performance (15)

clean interface (4)

collaboration features (4)

not bloated (3)

cross-language support (2)

lightweight (2)

minimal design (2)

Cons

limited extensions (2)

Pros

Cons

Reviews

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Most Informative

Founder Reviews (23)

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Other Reviews (10)

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used

Zed

to build Product Forums (p/)

instead of VS Code, Spacemacs

•14 reviews

What's great

lightweight (2)clean interface (4)cross-language support (2)

nice defaults with minimal customization required, at least for typescript. the taste in design is simple and functional.

doesn't feel like bloated software. reasonable git client.

What needs improvement

I stopped using it for python projects as the LSP / linters just seemed dog slow. maybe it was a skill issue, but the whole value prop for me is that it will "just work", so needing to try to troubleshoot was undesirable.

I would consider the vim bindings in zed to be decent, but not fully comprehensive. again maybe a skill issue, but i couldn't figure out how to get `K` to map to `10k` only in visual and normal mode.

vs Alternatives

VS Code

Spacemacs

I use zed for Ruby and Typescript programming in a large monorepo. Ruby has no sane LSP regardless of your editor, and Typescript works well in zed.

for personal projects (python / haskell / gleam / etc) I still use spacemacs.

Is typing latency low on big monorepos?

yes

Are there must-have extensions missing for your stack?

i like the spacemacs style leaderkey bindings. Vs code has an extension for this, but i do not see one in Zed.

Does the minimal UI help or hinder complex tasks?

i find the ui/ux tasteful on all fronts

Ratings

Ease of use

Reliability

Value for money

Customization

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13 views4mo ago

used

Zed

to build DockFix 3.0

•9 reviews

Zed is fast, efficient, modern, and sleek. I love using Zed for developing many of my applications, regardless of the language, as it is so fast and clean, and its intelligent autocomplete feels superb. It's definitely one of the better editors out there. The only thing keeping me from using this as my only code editor is the powerful features of JetBrains editors.

What's great

fast performance (15)clean interface (4)AI autocomplete (1)cross-language support (2)

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4 views1yr ago

Ask Lorem

•1 review

I've used Zed for almost a year now. It's head and shoulders better than any other editor on the market as far as speed, responsiveness, and simplicity of UX. It's clear that the Zed team thought about the editor from first principles rather than tacking on a lot of random "features." I even write blog posts in Zed.

What's great

fast performance (15)not bloated (3)

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3 views3yr ago

•5 reviews

Zed makes coding fun again! It's hard to go back to other IDEs and Electron-based editors after using Zed, because you start noticing how slow they are and how much time is spent processing your input and redrawing the UI. As a bonus, it's the only editor that I can be productive with on my 10 year old Macbook. It also has one of the best in class Github Copilot and OpenAI API integration implementations which easily competes with one of VSCode. Also having collaboration and collective development as a first class feature is nice.

What's great

fast performance (15)lightweight (2)collaboration features (4)OpenAI API integration (1)GitHub Copilot integration (1)

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10 views2yr ago

•6 reviews

Zed is a blazing-fast, minimalist editor that’s perfect for quick edits, with real-time multiplayer built in if you ever need it. It’s available on macOS and Linux (Windows “coming soon”). The trade-off is a lighter plugin ecosystem than full IDEs, so for heavier workflows I still reach for VS Code/JetBrains. Net: great speed and focus for quick changes; keep a heavier tool for deep refactors.

What's great

fast performance (15)collaboration features (4)minimal design (2)

What needs improvement

limited extensions (2)

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7 views5mo ago

•1 review

I didn't realize how fast editors could be until I tried Zed. The extensions are not quite as comprehensive as the VSCode family but still covers most of my use cases. Just from those 2 things I think its worth 5 stars. The AI integration for suggested edits and "vibe coding" i think is better than Copilot, but not quite as good as Cursor/Windsurf. I also like everything they are doing with Open source

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2 views4mo ago

•4 reviews

One the fastest graphical user interface based editors out there. The folks at Zed are on to something spectacular. They don't only want to create the most performant editor of all times. They also want to disrupt how developers collaborate and discuss code. I worked with the them for six months and I have to say they are really great people too.

What's great

fast performance (15)collaboration features (4)

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1 view2yr ago

•4 reviews

The fastested editor, ever. This editor brings back the fast era of notepad++, VI level editing with lots of modern software language server stuffs yet no bloating at all. The electron based stuffs made us believe that the standard was them - nope the standard of quality and speed is Zed, love this IDE.

What's great

fast performance (15)not bloated (3)

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1 view9mo ago

•2 reviews

You come to Zed because it is fast but you stay because it is simple to use and, let's say it, so easy on the eye and confortable to use all day long. UI is so important when you read all day Also the agentic approach is spot on for my use cases (security errors fixing)

What's great

fast performance (15)clean interface (4)

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2 views9mo ago

•6 reviews

I use this every day. I've been using for quite a while and it's getting better and better. Much prefer this as it's not bloated and doesn't get bogged down in runaway processes.

What's great

fast performance (15)not bloated (3)

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1 view9mo ago

•10 reviews

After about 2 weeks of use and a direct comparison with VS Code, Zed wins hands down! Extremely fast, beautiful to look at and great in productive use. Please keep it up!

What's great

fast performance (15)clean interface (4)

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1 view2yr ago

•2 reviews

It is fast and memory efficient. For enhancements, I would appreciate further guidance on vim configuration and the addition of more extensions is always welcome.

What's great

fast performance (15)memory efficient (1)

What needs improvement

limited extensions (2)

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1 view2yr ago

•6 reviews

Super fast IDE. It launches fast, linter and compiler feedback is instant. Really impressed with the product, so much so that it is my go-to for Rust projects.

What's great

fast performance (15)

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2yr ago