# Zed vs Kilo Code: license, pricing and features compared (October 2026)

Canonical: https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/zed-vs-kilo-code · Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Published: 2026-10-25 · Author: Agentic Weekly (operated independently from Texas, US) · Evidence: Evidence: Reported for both tools. The facts in the tables were read from each vendor's own pages and the public GitHub API on 2026-10-25 (America/Chicago). The What we measured section says what we have not run yet; anything we could not confirm is marked as not captured.

**Our pick:** Pick Zed for developers who want a fast editor and optional AI; pick Kilo Code for developers who want an open-source agent with many models. No overall winner: we have not benchmarked them against each other. **Updated:** 2026-10-26 (America/Chicago).

> Zed and Kilo Code are both listed under AI coding agents. Pricing model: Zed is "Freemium"; Kilo Code is "Free and open source with usage-based inference". License: Zed is GPL-3.0 for the editor (per GitHub; some components use other licenses); Kilo Code is MIT. Zed is the better fit for: developers who want a fast editor and optional AI. Kilo Code is the better fit for: developers who want an open-source agent with many models. Facts were read from vendor and GitHub pages on Oct 25, 2026 and are Reported; what we ran ourselves is under What we measured.

## What we measured

We have not run either Zed or Kilo Code ourselves yet, so nothing on this page is Tested; it is Reported from vendor and GitHub pages. Below is what we will run, so the comparison can rest on our own results.

Table: Our own tests for Zed and Kilo Code

| Test | Zed | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
| Hands-on test log (install and a real task) | Not tested yet. What we will run: the same failing-unit-test fix in a fresh repository, scored by whether the tests pass, with wall time and tool calls. | Not tested yet. What we will run: the same failing-unit-test fix in a fresh repository, scored by whether the tests pass, with wall time and tool calls. |

How we test and label results: [methodology](https://theagenticweekly.com/methodology#testing-rig). All test logs: [test hub](https://theagenticweekly.com/tests).

## Zed vs Kilo Code at a glance

Zed and Kilo Code are both listed under AI coding agents. Zed: High-performance, multiplayer code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter, open source with AI optional. Kilo Code: Open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, CLI and Cloud, with 500+ models at zero markup or your own keys.

Table: Zed and Kilo Code side by side (vendor pages and GitHub, 2026-10-25)

|  | Zed | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Zed Industries | Kilo Code (Kilo-Org) |
| Listed under | AI coding agents | AI coding agents |
| License | GPL-3.0 for the editor (per GitHub; some components use other licenses) | MIT |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Free and open source with usage-based inference |
| Free tier | Personal: $0 forever, bring your own keys or no AI | Free for individuals; AI usage billed separately (free models, local models, BYOK or Kilo Gateway) |
| Paid plans | Pro $10/month with $5 of tokens included then usage-based; Business $30 per seat per month | Teams $15 per user per month; Enterprise custom |
| Platforms | macOS confirmed on the pages we read; other platforms not checked | VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, cloud and a desktop app (per site) |
| Public repository | zed-industries/zed: 92,184 stars, last push Oct 25, 2026 UTC (GitHub API, Oct 25, 2026) | Kilo-Org/kilocode: 27,753 stars, last push Oct 25, 2026 UTC (GitHub API, Oct 25, 2026) |
| Latest release we saw | Oct 25, 2026 | v7.8.17, Oct 23, 2026 |
| Evidence | Reported from vendor pages | Reported from vendor pages |

## How Zed and Kilo Code differ

- Pricing model: Zed is "Freemium"; Kilo Code is "Free and open source with usage-based inference".
- License: Zed is GPL-3.0 for the editor (per GitHub; some components use other licenses); Kilo Code is MIT.
- GitHub stars on Oct 25, 2026: Zed 92,184 (zed-industries/zed) vs Kilo Code 27,753 (Kilo-Org/kilocode). Stars measure attention, not quality.
- Free tier: Zed: Personal: $0 forever, bring your own keys or no AI. Kilo Code: for individuals; AI usage billed separately (free models, local models, BYOK or Kilo Gateway).
- Plans and prices differ and are not like-for-like (credits, seats and usage limits vary), so we do not name a cheaper tool. The Paid plans row above quotes each vendor's plan list as read on Oct 25, 2026.

## Which should you pick?

- Pick Zed if: developers who want a fast editor and optional AI; teams that want org-wide AI controls (Business). Skip it if: you want AI built into every action by default.
- Pick Kilo Code if: developers who want an open-source agent with many models; teams that want shared agents and centralized billing. Skip it if: you want a single-vendor model bundle with a flat monthly price.

## Strengths and limits

Table: Strengths and limits as listed on each tool page

|  | Zed | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
| Strengths | Open source editor, free forever Personal plan; Bring your own keys supported; Active nightly releases | MIT license; Bring your own keys or free models; Frequent releases |
| Limits | Business plan has no bundled LLM credits and no free trial; SSO, SAML and SCIM not yet available | Inference cost is separate and varies; The site promotes Cursor-related offers; check current terms yourself |

## What we did not verify

- Zed: Windows and Linux support status (not read).
- Kilo Code: Agent quality (not tested).
- Output quality, speed and reliability beyond the smoke tests listed under What we measured: not compared.

## FAQ

### Is Zed or Kilo Code open source?

Zed: GPL-3.0 for the editor (per GitHub; some components use other licenses). Kilo Code: MIT. Licenses come from each project's GitHub repository or the vendor's own pages, read Oct 25, 2026; read the license text itself before redistributing or building a competing service.

### Does Zed or Kilo Code have a free plan?

Zed: Personal: $0 forever, bring your own keys or no AI. Kilo Code: Free: for individuals; AI usage billed separately (free models, local models, BYOK or Kilo Gateway). Checked Oct 25, 2026; prices and limits change, so confirm on each vendor's page.

### Which was updated more recently, Zed or Kilo Code?

Zed's newest release we saw is (Oct 25, 2026); Kilo Code's is v7.8.17 (Oct 23, 2026). Read Oct 25, 2026 from the official release page or repository; a newer date is not a quality ranking.

### What is the main difference between Zed and Kilo Code?

Pricing model: Zed is "Freemium"; Kilo Code is "Free and open source with usage-based inference". License: Zed is GPL-3.0 for the editor (per GitHub; some components use other licenses); Kilo Code is MIT.

## Sources

- [Zed](https://zed.dev/) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Zed pricing](https://zed.dev/pricing) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Zed repository](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Kilo](https://kilo.ai/) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Kilo pricing](https://kilo.ai/pricing) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Kilo Code repository](https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode) (fetched 2026-10-25)

## Related

- [Zed facts and sources](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/zed)
- [Kilo Code facts and sources](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/kilo-code)
- [Alternatives to Zed](https://theagenticweekly.com/alternatives/zed)
- [AI coding agents: all tools we track](https://theagenticweekly.com/best/ai-coding-agents)
- [Cursor vs Zed](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cursor-vs-zed)
- [Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) vs Zed](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/windsurf-vs-zed)
- [Claude Code vs Kilo Code](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kilo-code)
- [Aider vs Kilo Code](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code)
- [Cline vs Kilo Code](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code)

## Changelog

- 2026-10-25: First published. Facts read from vendor pages and the GitHub API on 2026-10-25.

## How to cite

Agentic Weekly, "Zed vs Kilo Code: license, pricing and features compared (October 2026)", last updated 2026-10-26, https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/zed-vs-kilo-code