Zed vs Gemini CLI

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 + OpenHands + Cline + goose + Aider

Zedzed-industries/zed

Gemini CLIgoogle-gemini/gemini-cli

Claude Codepaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$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

Partly

Yes

Run commands and tests

Partly

Yes

Use the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains

Partly

Yes

Connect tools and data through MCP

Partly

Yes

Write commits and pull requests

Partly

Yes

Run the agent headless in scripts or CI (GitHub Actions)

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

3 of 6 jobs

5 of 6 jobs

All 6

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

92,013

107,492Top

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

453Top

—

Latest release

v1.25.2 · 2026-10-21Top

v0.65.0 · 2026-10-20

—

Commits / 12 wk

1,417

194

—

People committing / 12 mo

312+

82+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

413 / 484

123 / 206

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer

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

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

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

Allowed under Apache-2.0

—

Paid services needed?Differs

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

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

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

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

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

—

Operating systemsDiffers

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

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

—

Setup effortDiffers

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

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

—

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.

Zed vs Gemini CLI (as alternatives to Claude Code)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=zed,gemini-cli&product=claude-code

Claude Code: Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan
Zed: free software; does 3 of 6 Claude Code jobs
Gemini CLI: free software; does 5 of 6 Claude Code jobs

- 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)
- Gemini CLI: 107,492 GitHub stars, 194 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0

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

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

Zed vs Gemini CLI

Stars over time

Notes for a video or post

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