Pick BBEdit if
mac writers/devs who will stay on Free Mode or pay $59.99 — not Cursor first unless they want an agent editor.
Read the BBEdit pageBBEdit vs Zed
Our take
Pick BBEdit if mac writers/devs who will stay on Free Mode or pay $59.99 — not Cursor first unless they want an agent editor. Pick Zed if developers who will stay on Personal at $0 forever (BYO keys / Claude Agent / Codex CLI) while they open a first Threads Sidebar, then Pro at $10/month when they want Zed-hosted models and $5 of included tokens — not Business $30/seat first unless they need org AI policies /
Best for
BBEdit Edit that file at a public $
Zed A native agent desk you start at a public $
Free plan
BBEdit $0 · subset of features; you can download and work
Zed $0 · forever. Card: “The next-generation code editor. Free forever.” Unlimited use with your API keys or external agents (Claude Agent, Codex CLI, and more)
Lowest paid
BBEdit Upgrade from 15.x $29.99
Zed Pro $10/mo
Next step up
BBEdit Upgrade from 14.x or prior $39.99
Zed
Coding agent
BBEdit
Zed Threads Sidebar
Runs where
BBEdit
Zed Desktop editor; models hosted
Watch out
BBEdit Free Mode is a subset
Zed Personal has no Zed-hosted token pool
Last checked
BBEdit 2026-10-26 · barebones.com/products/bbedit
Zed 2026-10-23 · zed.dev/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Zed if
developers who will stay on Personal at $0 forever (BYO keys / Claude Agent / Codex CLI) while they open a first Threads Sidebar, then Pro at $10/month when they want Zed-hosted models and $5 of included tokens — not Business $30/seat first unless they need org AI policies / unified spend.
Read the Zed page