Zed vs OpenHands
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Zed has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $500 for OpenHands.
At a glance
Best for
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Agent panel
- Edit predictions
- External agents via ACP
- Real-time collaboration
- Bring your own key
- Sandboxed agent runtime
- Web GUI and CLI
- Agent SDK
- Slack and Jira triggers
- Self-hosting
| Feature | Zed | OpenHands |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Fast Rust code editor with built-in AI agents and edit predictions | Open platform for running AI coding agents locally or in the cloud |
| Category | Coding | Coding |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $10/mo | $500/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | Zed Industries | All Hands AI |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Zed has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $500 for OpenHands.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
3 plans
Personal
Free
- Free forever
- Use your own API keys or external agents
Pro
$10/mo
- Unlimited edit predictions
- $5 of tokens included
- Usage billing beyond $5
- 14-day free trial
Business
$30/mo
- Per seat
- Org-wide AI model policies
- Data governance controls
- Role-based access controls
3 plans
Agent Canvas
Free
- Open source, runs locally
- Bring your own LLM
- Community support
Teams
$500/mo
- Up to 10 users (+$50/seat)
- Self-hosted with RBAC
- 5,000 sessions/month
- 30-day trial
Enterprise
Custom
- Unlimited organizations
- SLA-based support
- Customer success manager
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Zed
- Very fast and light on memory
- Works with your own keys or local models
- Open-source editor core
- Smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code
- Hosted model usage is billed on top
OpenHands
- MIT-licensed core
- Runs fully local if needed
- Models at cost with no markup
- Setup takes more effort than SaaS agents
- Daily cap on the free cloud plan
Which one should you choose?
Choose Zed if you want:
- Very fast and light on memory
- Works with your own keys or local models
- Open-source editor core
Watch out: smaller extension ecosystem than vs code.
Choose OpenHands if you want:
- MIT-licensed core
- Runs fully local if needed
- Models at cost with no markup
Watch out: setup takes more effort than saas agents.
Zed vs OpenHands FAQ
What is the difference between Zed and OpenHands?
Zed: Fast Rust code editor with built-in AI agents and edit predictions. OpenHands: Open platform for running AI coding agents locally or in the cloud. Both are coding tools.
Is Zed or OpenHands cheaper?
Zed has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $500 for OpenHands.
Do Zed and OpenHands have free plans?
Zed: Yes. OpenHands: Yes.
Who makes Zed?
Zed is made by Zed Industries, based in United States.
Who makes OpenHands?
OpenHands is made by All Hands AI, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Zed or OpenHands?
Choose Zed if you value very fast and light on memory and works with your own keys or local models. Choose OpenHands if you value mit-licensed core and runs fully local if needed.