Skip to main content
Free AI For That

Cursor vs Zed: free plans compared

Here is what each gives you for free, from the vendors’ pricing pages, with the date we last verified each offer (latest ).

Cursor
Cursor is an AI coding agent and editor available as a desktop app and a CLI. You describe a task and Cursor's agents plan, write and review code across your project. Plans share one AI usage pool across Cursor and Grok products.
How to get Cursor freeFree Cursor alternatives
Zed
Zed is a high-performance, multiplayer code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter, with optional AI.
How to get Zed free
Free plans compared: Cursor, Zed
CursorVibe CodingTry
ZedAI Coding AssistantsTry
Free plan
  • Free forever
  • Limited agent requests
  • Limited chat requests
  • Free forever
  • Editor free forever with limited AI prompts
How long it's freeFree foreverFree forever
Cheapest paid plan$8/moPlus$10/moPro
Best forBuild a web app, Build a website, Write code with AI, Build AI agentsDevelopers, Indie hackersWrite code with AI, Build AI agentsDevelopers
Limitations
  • Plus includes Grok models only; third-party models are billed at API list price
  • Usage allowances refresh weekly
Not in our data
How to get it freeFree account · email
  1. 1Download Cursor
  2. 2Sign up with your email
  3. 3Use the Free plan's limited agent and chat requests
Get the free plan
Free account · GitHub
  1. 1Download Zed from zed.dev
  2. 2Sign up with GitHub (needed for AI and collaboration)
  3. 3Use the editor free; bring your own AI keys
Get the free plan
Free offer verified

Cursor vs Zed: common questions

Is Cursor or Zed free?
Both have a free option. Cursor has a free plan: Limited agent and chat requests (checked 2026-10-18). Zed has a free plan: Editor free forever with limited AI prompts (checked 2026-10-18).
Which free plan includes more?
It depends on what you need; here is what each free plan includes. Cursor: Limited agent requests; Limited chat requests (source: cursor.com, checked 2026-10-18). Zed: Editor free forever with limited AI prompts (source: zed.dev, checked 2026-10-18).
How do I get each for free?
Cursor: Download Cursor; Sign up with your email; Use the Free plan's limited agent and chat requests (checked 2026-10-18). Zed: Download Zed from zed.dev; Sign up with GitHub (needed for AI and collaboration); Use the editor free; bring your own AI keys (checked 2026-10-18).