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It's a split decision.
OpenCode is a coding agent that runs on your machine and can connect to more than 200 model providers, including local models. Zed is an open-source IDE with optional AI, multiplayer collaboration and organization controls on its Business plan. Pick OpenCode to use an agent across a terminal, desktop, phone or SDK. Pick Zed if you want an IDE first, with the option to bring your own AI keys or pay for hosted models.
01Side by side
| OpenCode | Zed | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Go $10/month; Go Plus $40/month | Pro $10/month; Business $30/seat monthly |
| Free tier | Free models available without an account | Personal is free with API keys or external agents |
| Open source | Open-source coding agent | Open-source IDE |
| Deployment model | Runs on your machine; self-hostable | IDE with optional AI features |
| API and SDKs | SDK drives scripts, CI jobs and tools | No SDK details published |
| CLI and docs | Terminal UI; install via npm, curl, bun or Homebrew | IDE workflow; no CLI listed |
| Integrations | 200+ model providers and MCP servers | Supports major hosted and local model providers |
| Limits and scaling | Plans list estimated requests per five hours | Business has no fixed LLM credit allotment |
OpenCode Choose OpenCode if
- Choose OpenCode if you want an agent across terminal, desktop and SDK.
- Choose OpenCode if you need local models or broad provider choice.
- Choose OpenCode if you want to self-host the coding agent.
Zed Choose Zed if
- Choose Zed if you want an IDE with optional AI.
- Choose Zed if multiplayer collaboration is part of your workflow.
- Choose Zed if your team needs organization-level AI controls.
02Pricing at real usage
OpenCode offers free models without an account. Its paid Go plan is $10 per month; Go Plus is $40 per month. The pricing page lists estimated five-hour usage of 110 Kimi K3 requests and 1,050 DeepSeek V4 Pro requests on Go, rising to 440 and 4,200 on Go Plus. Extra Usage credit top-ups are available, but their price is not published.
Zed Personal is free forever, with unlimited use through your own API keys or external agents. Pro costs $10 per month and includes $5 of tokens; additional hosted usage is billed at API list price plus 10%. Business costs $30 per seat per month, with hosted AI billed at standard usage rates and no fixed LLM credit allotment. Zed says additional Pro charges apply at month-end or for each additional $10 incurred, whichever comes first.
03API, SDKs and integration
OpenCode is an agent you can use through desktop, terminal, mobile or SDK. Its SDK is intended to drive OpenCode from scripts, CI jobs and tools. The terminal UI works in shells, editors and remote servers; the install options include curl, npm, bun, Homebrew and paru. The docs link to SDK documentation, but the vendor does not publish SDK language details or describe a REST API in its product information.
OpenCode connects to more than 200 model providers, including local models, and supports local and remote MCP servers. Listed integrations include GitHub, Linear, Figma, Sentry, Notion, Slack, Supabase and Stripe. Zed is an IDE, not a listed command-line agent. Its supported AI providers include Amazon Bedrock, Anthropic, GitHub Copilot, DeepSeek, Google AI, LM Studio, Mistral, Ollama, OpenAI, OpenRouter and Vercel. Zed lists multiplayer collaboration across plans.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Both products are open source, but their product pages do not name a license identifier. OpenCode is self-hostable and runs on your machine; it also supports local models and a broad set of providers. That gives teams options beyond a single hosted model service, though the vendor does not publish a data-export workflow.
Zed is an open-source IDE with optional AI. Personal supports users’ own API keys and external agents, while its hosted models and organization controls are paid features. The vendor does not state that Zed can be self-hosted. Neither vendor publishes a data-export workflow, so ask how to export session history, settings and team data before standardizing on either tool. Switching providers may reduce model-provider dependence, but it does not answer how product-specific state moves.
Questions people ask
Is OpenCode an IDE like Zed?
No. OpenCode is a coding agent that works through desktop, terminal, mobile or SDK. Zed is an IDE for collaborative software development, with AI features that users can disable. The products can fit different parts of a developer workflow rather than serving as direct substitutes.
Can OpenCode use local models?
Yes. OpenCode connects to more than 200 model providers, including local models. It also supports local and remote MCP servers. The vendor's site does not specify the exact local-model runtimes or hardware requirements, so check compatibility with your chosen model setup.
Can I use Zed without paying for hosted AI?
Yes. Zed Personal is free and includes unlimited use with your own API keys or external agents. You can also disable Zed's AI features. If you use your own provider key, the provider's charges are separate from Zed's free plan.
Which tool is better for a team?
It depends on the team's needs. OpenCode supports parallel agent sessions, plugins and MCP servers. Zed lists multiplayer collaboration across plans; its Business plan adds AI policies, data controls, spend visibility and role-based access. Compare those workflows and costs against your team's existing stack.