Side-by-side comparison · Coding & Dev Tools
Hugging Face vs OpenAI Codex 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, data people and curious business owners who want open models they can try, run or customise themselves.
Pick it if: ChatGPT subscribers who want a coding agent without paying for a second subscription.
Pick it if: Developers who want a fast editor and already pay for Claude or another AI provider.
Overview
| Attribute | Hugging Face | OpenAI Codex | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | The home of open AI models: download, try and run millions of them in one place. | OpenAI's coding agent. Hand it a task and it works away while you do other things. | A fast, free, open-source code editor that runs Claude Code and other AI agents inside it. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Open source |
| Starting price | $9/mo | $8/mo | $10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Hugging Face | OpenAI Codex | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.3Winner |
| 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 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Hugging Face | OpenAI Codex | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | – | 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 | Yes | Yes |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | No | No |
| Makes video | Yes | 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 | 14/ 17 | 14/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Hugging Face | OpenAI Codex | Zed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Browsing, downloading and trying models. | Free Free A quick look at what it can do. | PersonalOur pick Free Almost everyone. |
PROOur pick $9/mo Individuals who want GPU time and their own demos. | Go $8/mo Occasional light tasks. | Pro $10/mo People who want Zed's hosted AI without managing keys. | |
Team $20/user/mo Small teams sharing private models and data. | PlusOur pick $20/mo Anyone who already pays for ChatGPT. | Business $30/seat/mo Teams that need spending and access controls. | |
Enterprise From $50/user/mo Larger companies with compliance needs. | Pro From $100/mo Developers who hit the Plus limits. | ||
Business $20/user/mo billed yearly, or $25 monthly Teams of 2 or more. | |||
Enterprise Custom Large organisations. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Stay free if you only download models or use HuggingChat. Pay the $9 for PRO the moment you want to host a demo or use GPU Spaces regularly. Anything heavier, like a private model for your app, is billed by the hour on top. | If you already have ChatGPT Plus, you have Codex: just try it. If you are choosing between this and Claude Code with no existing subscription, Plus at $20 and Claude Pro at $20 cost the same, so pick whichever chat assistant you prefer. If you outgrow Plus, Pro starts at $100 and has no five-hour limit for now. The $200 tier gives new subscribers less usage than it used to, and Ultrafast mode is only on the $500 tier. | 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 | Hugging Face | OpenAI Codex | Zed |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Hugging Face | OpenAI Codex | Zed |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Hugging Face | OpenAI Codex | Zed |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Hugging Face, OpenAI Codex or Zed?
Zed scores highest overall in our ratings (Hugging Face 3.8/5, OpenAI Codex 4.2/5 and Zed 4.3/5). Hugging Face is best for finding and downloading open AI models and trying a model in a demo before installing it. OpenAI Codex is best for background tasks in the cloud and starting a task from your phone. Zed is best for Running Claude Code inside an editor and speed on big projects.
Which is cheaper, Hugging Face, OpenAI Codex or Zed?
Hugging Face: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9/mo. OpenAI Codex: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $8/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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