Kilo Code vs Zed
Side by side, as alternatives to Claude Code. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.
Also replaces Claude Code: + OpenCode+ OpenAI Codex CLI+ Gemini CLI+ OpenHands+ Cline+ goose
Cost and coverage
Price
$0 software; you run it
$0 software; you run it
Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan source ↗
Edit code across a repo from the terminal with an AI agent
Partial: Partly
No: No
Confirmed: Yes
Run commands and tests
Partial: Partly
Partial: Partly
Confirmed: Yes
Use the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains
Partial: Partly
No: No
Confirmed: Yes
Connect tools and data through MCP
Partial: Partly
Partial: Partly
Confirmed: Yes
Write commits and pull requests
No: No
Partial: Partly
Confirmed: Yes
Run the agent headless in scripts or CI (GitHub Actions)
Partial: Partly
No: No
Confirmed: Yes
Jobs covered
5 of 6 jobs
3 of 6 jobs
All 6
Popularity and activity (from GitHub)
Stars
27,695
92,013Top
—
Gain this week
Unknown
Unknown
—
Signal
Building history
Building history
—
Commits / 4 wk
940Top
453
—
Latest release
v7.8.15 · 2026-10-19
v1.25.2 · 2026-10-21Top
—
Commits / 12 wk
5,236
1,417
—
People committing / 12 mo
442+
312+
—
Issues opened / closed, 30 days
318 / 231
413 / 484
—
Facts, with sources on each project page
Runs on my machine?Differs
Confirmed: Yes, the extension and CLI run on your machine; an optional hosted Cloud Agent also exists
Confirmed: Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer
Hosted by the vendor
Code licenceDiffers
Confirmed: MIT
Confirmed: GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE)
—
Model weights licence
Confirmed: No separate model weights
Confirmed: No separate model weights
—
Commercial useDiffers
Confirmed: MIT allows commercial use with attribution
Confirmed: Allowed; GPL-3.0 is copyleft, so changes you distribute must stay GPL
—
Paid services needed?Differs
Partial: Not required with local models via Ollama (no API key needed); Kilo Gateway credits, cloud model keys, Cloud Agent and Code Reviews are optional
Partial: 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
Confirmed: No stated needs with cloud models; local models via Ollama need a GPU with 24GB+ VRAM or a Mac with 32GB+ unified RAM
Confirmed: 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
Confirmed: CLI binaries for Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux (x64 and ARM); extensions run wherever VS Code or JetBrains IDEs run
Confirmed: macOS (10.15+, Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10 1903+ and 11, Linux x86_64 and Arm64; no web version
—
Setup effortDiffers
Confirmed: Easy; install the VS Code or JetBrains extension from the marketplace, or the CLI with one npm or curl command
Confirmed: Easy; download installer, Homebrew, winget or a one-line Linux script, then add an API key or local model
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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.
Want share images and a ready video description? Open a project's creator kit.
Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. Kilo-Org/kilocode ↗zed-industries/zed ↗