Side-by-side comparison · Coding & Dev Tools
Amp vs Claude Code vs Zed
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Developers and engineering teams working on large codebases who want agents running in the background, not tied to their laptop.
Pick it if: Anyone building software, from first-timers to senior engineers, who wants an AI that does the work itself.
Pick it if: Developers who want a fast editor and already pay for Claude or another AI provider.
Claude Code scores highest overall, but Zed gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Amp | Claude Code | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | A coding agent that keeps working on remote machines after you close your laptop. | An AI agent that works inside your project: it reads, writes and runs the code for you. | A fast, free, open-source code editor that runs Claude Code and other AI agents inside it. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | $20/mo | $20/mo | $10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Amp | Claude Code | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 4.4Winner | 4.3 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Amp | Claude Code | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | – |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | Yes | No | Yes |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 13/ 17 | 12/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Amp | Claude Code | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | HobbyOur pick Free Developers with their own model subscription or keys. | ProOur pick $20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly Trying Claude Code and light daily use. | PersonalOur pick Free Almost everyone. |
Megawatt $20/mo Individuals who want Amp to host the machines. | Team From $20/seat/mo billed yearly, or $25 monthly Businesses with 2 to 150 people who want central billing. | Pro $10/mo People who want Zed's hosted AI without managing keys. | |
Gigawatt $200/mo Heavy users running many big jobs. | Enterprise $20/seat/mo billed yearly, 20-seat minimum Larger companies with compliance needs. | Business $30/seat/mo Teams that need spending and access controls. | |
Enterprise Custom Large companies with security and compliance needs. | Max From $100/mo Anyone running Claude Code for hours a day. | ||
API (pay as you go) Usage based Teams who want to pay only for what they use. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Start on Hobby and link a ChatGPT or Claude subscription you already pay for. Move to Megawatt at $20 a month only when you want Amp to host the machines so tasks run while you're away. Teams can create a workspace at no extra charge. | Start on Pro. It is enough to build a small site or tool in evenings and weekends. If you hit the limit most days, Max 5x is the next step; it costs five times as much but usually works out cheaper than paying for the API directly. Max also lets you spend up to half your weekly limit on Fable, which Pro only gets through paid credits. | Personal. If you have Claude Pro, run Claude Code inside Zed and you are done. Pro only makes sense if you want Zed's built-in assistant and edit predictions without setting up API keys. |
Key features
| Attribute | Amp | Claude Code | Zed |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Amp | Claude Code | Zed |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Amp | Claude Code | Zed |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Amp, Claude Code or Zed?
Claude Code scores highest overall in our ratings (Amp 4.0/5, Claude Code 4.4/5 and Zed 4.3/5). Amp is best for running several coding tasks in the background at once and working on big, messy codebases. Claude Code is best for building a whole feature, start to finish and fixing bugs you can't find. Zed is best for Running Claude Code inside an editor and speed on big projects.
Which is cheaper, Amp, Claude Code or Zed?
Amp: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Claude Code: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $20/mo. Zed: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $10/mo.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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