Gemini CLI vs OpenAI Codex CLI vs Zed

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.

Gemini CLIgoogle-gemini/gemini-cli

OpenAI Codex CLIopenai/codex

Zedzed-industries/zed

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

Yes

Jobs covered

4 of 7 jobs

3 of 7 jobs

6 of 7 jobs

All 7

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

107,492

130,321Top

92,013

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

892Top

453

—

Latest release

v0.65.0 · 2026-10-20

rust-v0.163.0 · 2026-10-15

v1.25.2 · 2026-10-21Top

—

Commits / 12 wk

194

3,490

1,417

—

People committing / 12 mo

82+

377+

312+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

123 / 206

7371 / 1498

413 / 484

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, the CLI runs in your terminal; the Gemini models themselves run on Google's servers

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

Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

Apache-2.0

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

—

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

—

Paid services needed?Differs

A paid service is required since June 18, 2026; the free Google-account tier moved to Antigravity CLI. No local model support

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

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

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

4GB+ RAM for short sessions, 16GB+ for large codebases; needs Node.js 20+ and an internet connection

4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB recommended; models run in OpenAI's cloud, so no GPU needed

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

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Windows 11 24H2+, macOS 15+ and Ubuntu 20.04+

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

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

—

Setup effortDiffers

Easy; run with npx or install with npm, Homebrew or MacPorts, then sign in or set an API key

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

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

—

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.

Gemini CLI vs OpenAI Codex CLI vs Zed (as alternatives to Cursor)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=gemini-cli,codex-cli,zed&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
Gemini CLI: free software; does 4 of 7 Cursor jobs
OpenAI Codex CLI: free software; does 3 of 7 Cursor jobs
Zed: free software; does 6 of 7 Cursor jobs

- Gemini CLI: 107,492 GitHub stars, 194 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0
- OpenAI Codex CLI: 130,321 GitHub stars, 3,490 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0
- 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)

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: Gemini CLI Yes, the CLI runs in your terminal; the Gemini models themselves run on Google's servers; OpenAI Codex CLI Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss; Zed Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer
- Code licence: Gemini CLI Apache-2.0; OpenAI Codex CLI Apache-2.0; Zed GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE)
- Commercial use: Gemini CLI Allowed under Apache-2.0; OpenAI Codex CLI Allowed under Apache-2.0; Zed Allowed; GPL-3.0 is copyleft, so changes you distribute must stay GPL
- Paid services needed?: Gemini CLI A paid service is required since June 18, 2026; the free Google-account tier moved to Antigravity CLI. No local model support; 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; 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
- Hardware: Gemini CLI 4GB+ RAM for short sessions, 16GB+ for large codebases; needs Node.js 20+ and an internet connection; OpenAI Codex CLI 4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB recommended; models run in OpenAI's cloud, so no GPU needed; 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
- Operating systems: Gemini CLI Windows 11 24H2+, macOS 15+ and Ubuntu 20.04+; OpenAI Codex CLI macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2); Zed macOS (10.15+, Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10 1903+ and 11, Linux x86_64 and Arm64; no web version
- Setup effort: Gemini CLI Easy; run with npx or install with npm, Homebrew or MacPorts, then sign in or set an API key; OpenAI Codex CLI Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT; Zed Easy; download installer, Homebrew, winget or a one-line Linux script, then add an API key or local model

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. google-gemini/gemini-cli ↗openai/codex ↗zed-industries/zed ↗

Gemini CLI vs OpenAI Codex CLI vs Zed

Stars over time

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