Cline vs Zed vs OpenAI Codex CLI

Side by side, as alternatives to Cursor. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.

Clinecline/cline

Zedzed-industries/zed

OpenAI Codex CLIopenai/codex

Cursorpaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

Free plan with limited AI use; Plus $8/month, Premium $30/month, Super $100/month, Ultra $200/month; third-party models billed separately by usage source ↗

Code in an AI-first editor

Partly

Yes

Multi-line tab completion and next-edit prediction

Partly

Yes

Let an agent plan and edit across many files

Partly

Yes

Run terminal commands and tests from the agent

Partly

Yes

Ask questions about your whole codebase

Partly

Yes

Connect tools and data through MCP

Partly

Yes

Run agents in the cloud in the background

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

4 of 7 jobs

6 of 7 jobs

3 of 7 jobs

All 7

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

70,739

92,013

130,321Top

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

209

453

892Top

—

Latest release

desktop-v0.0.48 · 2026-10-17

v1.25.2 · 2026-10-21Top

rust-v0.163.0 · 2026-10-15

—

Commits / 12 wk

840

1,417

3,490

—

People committing / 12 mo

Unknown

312+

377+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

271 / 148

413 / 484

7371 / 1498

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, in your editor, terminal or desktop app; optional Cloud Agents run in Cline's hosted sandbox

Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer

Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source

GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE)

Apache-2.0

—

Model weights licence

No separate model weights

—

Commercial useDiffers

Allowed under Apache-2.0

Allowed; GPL-3.0 is copyleft, so changes you distribute must stay GPL

Allowed under Apache-2.0

—

Paid services needed?Differs

Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio) or your own keys; Cline Provider, ClinePass and Cloud Agents are optional

Editor is free; AI works with your own API keys or local models (Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp); Zed Pro is optional for hosted models and Zed edit prediction

Not required with local models (--oss with Ollama or LM Studio) or the limited ChatGPT Free plan; paid ChatGPT plans and OpenAI API keys are optional

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

No requirements documented for Cline itself (checked 2026-10-21); local models need much more

64-bit OS; Windows needs a DirectX 11 GPU, Linux a Vulkan 1.3 driver, Macs from about 2015 on; local models need more

Not documented in the README or CLI docs

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Desktop app for macOS and Windows (Windows in beta); the extension runs in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and JetBrains IDEs, and the CLI needs Node.js 20+; Linux is not named in the install docs

macOS (10.15+, Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10 1903+ and 11, Linux x86_64 and Arm64; no web version

macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2)

—

Setup effortDiffers

Easy; install from the VS Code or JetBrains marketplace, or npm install -g cline, then add a provider key or local model

Easy; download installer, Homebrew, winget or a one-line Linux script, then add an API key or local model

Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT

—

Stars over time

Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.

The chart appears after a few nightly checks.

Notes for a video or post

A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.

Cline vs Zed vs OpenAI Codex CLI (as alternatives to Cursor)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=cline,zed,codex-cli&product=cursor

Cursor: Free plan with limited AI use; Plus $8/month, Premium $30/month, Super $100/month, Ultra $200/month; third-party models billed separately by usage
Cline: free software; does 4 of 7 Cursor jobs
Zed: free software; does 6 of 7 Cursor jobs
OpenAI Codex CLI: free software; does 3 of 7 Cursor jobs

- Cline: 70,739 GitHub stars, 840 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source
- Zed: 92,013 GitHub stars, 1,417 commits in 12 weeks, licence GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE)
- OpenAI Codex CLI: 130,321 GitHub stars, 3,490 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: Cline Yes, in your editor, terminal or desktop app; optional Cloud Agents run in Cline's hosted sandbox; Zed Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer; OpenAI Codex CLI Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss
- Code licence: Cline Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source; Zed GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE); OpenAI Codex CLI Apache-2.0
- Commercial use: Cline Allowed under Apache-2.0; Zed Allowed; GPL-3.0 is copyleft, so changes you distribute must stay GPL; OpenAI Codex CLI Allowed under Apache-2.0
- Paid services needed?: Cline Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio) or your own keys; Cline Provider, ClinePass and Cloud Agents are optional; Zed Editor is free; AI works with your own API keys or local models (Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp); Zed Pro is optional for hosted models and Zed edit prediction; OpenAI Codex CLI Not required with local models (--oss with Ollama or LM Studio) or the limited ChatGPT Free plan; paid ChatGPT plans and OpenAI API keys are optional
- Hardware: Cline No requirements documented for Cline itself (checked 2026-10-21); local models need much more; Zed 64-bit OS; Windows needs a DirectX 11 GPU, Linux a Vulkan 1.3 driver, Macs from about 2015 on; local models need more; OpenAI Codex CLI Not documented in the README or CLI docs
- Operating systems: Cline Desktop app for macOS and Windows (Windows in beta); the extension runs in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and JetBrains IDEs, and the CLI needs Node.js 20+; Linux is not named in the install docs; Zed macOS (10.15+, Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10 1903+ and 11, Linux x86_64 and Arm64; no web version; OpenAI Codex CLI macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2)
- Setup effort: Cline Easy; install from the VS Code or JetBrains marketplace, or npm install -g cline, then add a provider key or local model; Zed Easy; download installer, Homebrew, winget or a one-line Linux script, then add an API key or local model; OpenAI Codex CLI Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

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Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. cline/cline ↗zed-industries/zed ↗openai/codex ↗

Cline vs Zed vs OpenAI Codex CLI

Stars over time

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