head to head · open source
vscode vs Zed
vscode has 192,658 GitHub stars, 42,648 forks, 21,181 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zed has 90,512 stars, 10,680 forks, 3,159 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vscode leads on adoption by 113% (192,658 vs 90,512 stars). vscode is written in TypeScript under MIT; Zed is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence. vscode has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, Zed 12%. vscode was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| vscode | Zed | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 193K | ★ 91K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 43K | ⑂ 11K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick vscode if
- You weight community size — 193K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Zed if
- You want the Zed feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Zed fits your workflow better
About vscode
Visual Studio Code is Microsoft's open source code editor — the Code OSS repository, written in TypeScript on Electron and released under the MIT license — and it serves two audiences: developers who want a lightweight editor covering the core edit build debug cycle on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and contributors who want to work directly on the editor, its roadmap, and its extensions.
read the full vscode overview →
About Zed
Zed is a high performance, multiplayer code editor written in Rust, built by the creators of Atom and Tree sitter and aimed at developers who want a native, fast editing surface with AI assistance built in.
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Frequently asked questions
Is vscode or Zed more popular?
vscode has 192,658 GitHub stars and Zed has 90,512. vscode has the larger community by that measure.
Are vscode and Zed free?
Both are open source. vscode is licensed under MIT, and Zed has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between vscode and Zed?
vscode is written in TypeScript and Zed in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, vscode or Zed?
Choose vscode if you want the larger community (192,658 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Zed if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.