Side-by-side comparison · Coding & Dev Tools
GitHub Copilot vs Qodo 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: Teams and developers whose code lives on GitHub and who want AI in the tools they already use.
Pick it if: Software teams who want every pull request checked for bugs and against their coding standards before a person reviews it.
Pick it if: Developers who want a fast editor and already pay for Claude or another AI provider.
Overview
| Attribute | GitHub Copilot | Qodo | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | GitHub's AI helper: it finishes your code, reviews pull requests and takes on whole tasks. | AI code review that checks every pull request against your team's rules before merge. | A fast, free, open-source code editor that runs Claude Code and other AI agents inside it. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid | Open source |
| Starting price | $10/mo | From $30/mo in pooled credits | $10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | GitHub Copilot | Qodo | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.3Winner |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | GitHub Copilot | Qodo | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | – | No |
| Desktop app | Yes | – | Yes |
| Browser extension | – | – | No |
| API access | – | – | – |
| 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 | No | Yes | Yes |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | – | Yes |
| Understands images | 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 |
| Capabilities score | 12/ 17 | 6/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | GitHub Copilot | Qodo | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Trying autocomplete and light chat. | Free trial Free for 14 days Testing it on your own repositories. | PersonalOur pick Free Almost everyone. |
ProOur pick $10/mo Individual developers on GitHub. | Pro TeamOur pick From $30/mo in pooled credits Teams of up to 30 developers. | Pro $10/mo People who want Zed's hosted AI without managing keys. | |
Pro+ $39/mo Developers who run agent tasks every day. | Enterprise Custom Larger organisations with security requirements. | Business $30/seat/mo Teams that need spending and access controls. | |
Max $100/mo Heavy agent-driven work. | |||
Business and Enterprise See website Companies that need admin controls and policy management. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Pro is the sweet spot for an individual: cheap, unlimited autocomplete and enough credits for a few agent tasks a week. Only move to Pro+ if you find yourself buying extra credits every month. | Run the 14-day trial on a busy repository and see how many credits a normal week uses before you pick a credit pack. Talk to sales only if you need SSO or on-premise hosting. | 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 | GitHub Copilot | Qodo | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | GitHub Copilot | Qodo | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | GitHub Copilot | Qodo | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
Questions people ask
Which is better, GitHub Copilot, Qodo or Zed?
Zed scores highest overall in our ratings (GitHub Copilot 4.0/5, Qodo 3.7/5 and Zed 4.3/5). GitHub Copilot is best for autocomplete as you type and Handing GitHub issues to an agent. Qodo is best for automatic first-pass pull request reviews and enforcing team coding rules across repositories. Zed is best for Running Claude Code inside an editor and speed on big projects.
Which is cheaper, GitHub Copilot, Qodo or Zed?
GitHub Copilot: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $10/mo. Qodo: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $30/mo in pooled credits. 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.
Swap in another tool
More tools from Coding & Dev Tools in the library.
