Comparison

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA vs Zed

On the evidence we track, Zed leads this comparison with a composite score of 54/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA full profile →Zed full profile →

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JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA47

★Zed54

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA	ZedLeader
vioscaleAI score	47 / 100medium · 69%	54 / 100medium · 53%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	freemium	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	low	mid
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	-	$20
Transparentpricing.transparent	✗	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	6	10
Security
Certificationssecurity.certifications	SOC 2 Type II	-
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	✓	✓
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	✓
Soc2security.soc2	✓	-
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	https://www.jetbrains.com/company/commitment/compliance-highlights/	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	-	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=cargo&package_name=gpui&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	✓	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	-	0
Github starsadoption.github_stars	-	91,706
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	-	100
Release
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	-	Rust
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	-	Available worldwide · Popular in US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	5 items	7 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA47 / 100medium · 69%

Zed54 / 100medium · 53%

Pricing

Free tier

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Model

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAfreemium

Zedfreemium

Price level

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAlow

Zedmid

Starting price

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA–

Zed$20

Transparent

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✗

Zed✓

Integrations

Count

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA6

Zed10

Security

Certifications

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEASOC 2 Type II

Zed–

Disclosure policy

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Gdpr

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Soc2

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed–

Trust center

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAhttps://www.jetbrains.com/company/commitment/compliance-highlights/

Zed–

Vulnerabilities

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA–

ZedCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=cargo&package_name=gpui&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Reliability

Status page

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA–

Zed0

Github stars

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA–

Zed91,706

Activity

Commits last 30d

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA–

Zed100

Release

History

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA–

Zed20 items

Language

Primary

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA–

ZedRust

Market

Availability

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA–

ZedAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

Content

Faq

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA5 items

Zed7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for ides & code editors. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for IDEs & Code Editors
Capability	JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA	Zed
Core
Type	Full IDE	Code editor
Language scope	Polyglot	Polyglot
Deployment
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platform support
OS support	Windows, Mac, Linux	macOS 10.15+, Windows, Linux
Base platform	Original	Original
Extensibility
Extensibility	Plugins	Plugins
DX
LSP / DAP support	✓	✓
Remote / dev-containers	✓	✓
Integrated debugger / profiler	✓	✓
Code intelligence depth	IDE-grade	IDE-grade
Built-in git integration	✓	✓
AI
Built-in AI	Native	Native
Licensing
Openness	Closed	Open-source
Pricing
Pricing model	Per-seat subscription	Per-seat subscription

Core

Type

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAFull IDE

ZedCode editor

Language scope

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAPolyglot

ZedPolyglot

Deployment

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEADesktop

ZedDesktop

Platform support

OS support

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAWindows, Mac, Linux

ZedmacOS 10.15+, Windows, Linux

Base platform

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAOriginal

ZedOriginal

Extensibility

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAPlugins

ZedPlugins

LSP / DAP support

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Remote / dev-containers

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Integrated debugger / profiler

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Code intelligence depth

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAIDE-grade

ZedIDE-grade

Built-in git integration

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Built-in AI

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEANative

ZedNative

Licensing

Openness

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAClosed

ZedOpen-source

Pricing

Pricing model

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEAPer-seat subscription

ZedPer-seat subscription

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

A professional IDE for Java and Kotlin development that combines advanced code intelligence with integrated AI capabilities for code generation, testing, debugging, and application profiling. Includes deep support for Spring Framework and modern development practices.

Independently observed

Zed

Leader

An open-source IDE emphasizing speed and real-time team collaboration, with optional integrated AI features for code assistance. Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

HybridFree tier30-day trial

as of 2026-09-04verify ↗

Zed

Leader

from $20/moSubscriptionFree tier14-day trial

Free tier available. Pro at $20/month with token-based overages.

FreeFree
Pro$20/month with $5 token credits; overages at API list price + 10%
- Unlimited accepted edit predictions
- 500 prompts per month
- Claude Sonnet, Claude Opus, GPT-5, Gemini 2.5 Pro/Flash
Pro TrialFree

as of 2026-10-14verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA	Zed
macOSPlatforms	✓	✓
WindowsPlatforms	✓	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	-	✓

Platforms

macOS

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Windows

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Linux

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA✓

Zed✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA–

Zed✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (4)

Claude
Gemini
Grok
GitHub Copilot

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA

6 total - 2 not shared

GPT
Cursor

Independently observed

Zed

Leader

15 total - 11 not shared

Anthropic
OpenAI
Google
xAI
GitHub
OpenRouter
AWS Bedrock
Ollama
Google Gemini
Gemini CLI
Claude Code

Independently observed

Still deciding?

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA or Zed: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.