Side-by-side comparison · Coding & Dev Tools
Factory 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 2 tools. Add one more if you like.
At a glance
Overview
| Attribute | Factory | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| In one line | AI coding agents called Droids that take on whole engineering tasks from your backlog. | A fast, free, open-source code editor that runs Claude Code and other AI agents inside it. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Open source |
| Starting price | $20/mo | $10/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Factory | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.8 | 4.3Winner |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.5 | 5.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 5.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Factory | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | – | No |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | – | No |
| API access | Yes | – |
| Teams & business | ||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | Yes |
| AI abilities | ||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | Yes |
| Makes images | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | Yes |
| Works in many languages | – | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Factory | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Pro $20/mo A developer trying agents day to day. | PersonalOur pick Free Almost everyone. |
PlusOur pick $100/mo Developers who lean on agents all day. | Pro $10/mo People who want Zed's hosted AI without managing keys. | |
Max $200/mo Heavy individual users. | Business $30/seat/mo Teams that need spending and access controls. | |
Teams $60/mo per team plus $40/seat Small teams up to 10 people. | ||
Business / Enterprise Custom Larger companies with security requirements. | ||
| Which plan to pick | Try Pro for a month to see if the agents suit your codebase. If you want Droids working in the background while you do other things, you need Plus. | 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
Pros and cons
| Attribute | Factory | Zed |
|---|---|---|
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| Cons |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Factory | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| Best for |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Factory or Zed?
Zed scores highest overall in our ratings (Factory 3.8/5 and Zed 4.3/5). Factory is best for working through backlog tickets in the background and bug fixes and small features from Jira or Linear. Zed is best for Running Claude Code inside an editor and speed on big projects.
Which is cheaper, Factory or Zed?
Factory: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $20/mo. Zed: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $10/mo.
Which is easier to use, Factory or Zed?
Zed rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Developers who want a fast editor and already pay for Claude or another AI provider.
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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