Zed vs Tabby
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 $19 for Tabby.
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
- Self-hosted server
- Code completion
- Answer engine chat
- Repository indexing
- Admin dashboard
| Feature | Zed | Tabby |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Fast Rust code editor with built-in AI agents and edit predictions | Open-source, self-hosted AI coding assistant |
| Category | Coding | Coding |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $10/mo | $19/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | Zed Industries | TabbyML |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
|
|
Pricing compared
Zed has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $19 for Tabby.
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
Community
Free
- Up to 5 users
- Self-hosted code completion
- Answer engine and inline chat
Team
$19/mo
- Per seat
- Up to 50 users
- Flexible deployment
Enterprise
Custom
- Unlimited users
- Customized deployment
- Enhanced security and groups
- Billed annually
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
Tabby
- Code stays on your servers
- Runs on consumer GPUs
- Choose any open model
- You manage hardware and updates
- Weaker than frontier cloud models
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 Tabby if you want:
- Code stays on your servers
- Runs on consumer GPUs
- Choose any open model
Watch out: you manage hardware and updates.
Zed vs Tabby FAQ
What is the difference between Zed and Tabby?
Zed: Fast Rust code editor with built-in AI agents and edit predictions. Tabby: Open-source, self-hosted AI coding assistant. Both are coding tools.
Is Zed or Tabby cheaper?
Zed has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $19 for Tabby.
Do Zed and Tabby have free plans?
Zed: Yes. Tabby: Yes.
Who makes Zed?
Zed is made by Zed Industries, based in United States.
Who makes Tabby?
Tabby is made by TabbyML, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Zed or Tabby?
Choose Zed if you value very fast and light on memory and works with your own keys or local models. Choose Tabby if you value code stays on your servers and runs on consumer gpus.