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Kiro vs Zed

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Verdict

Kiro and Zed are both Coding AI tools. Zed scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.5 vs 8.0 out of 10), led by ease of use and value for money. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Kiro is available on Web.

Best overall

Zed

  • Software Engineers
  • Development Teams
  • Open-Source Contributors
  • Developers who prefer lightweight native editors

Choose Kiro if

  • You want a tool built for turning feature ideas into structured specs and tasks before agents write code in large codebases.
  • Spec-driven workflow produces requirements, design and task lists before code is written.
  • Based on Code OSS, so VS Code settings, themes and Open VSX extensions carry over.

Choose Zed if

  • You want a tool built for fast native editing, running AI agents alongside a conventional editor, real-time pair programming.
  • Native Rust application designed for low-latency editing on multiple cores and the GPU.
  • Free Personal plan with unlimited use of your own API keys or external agents.
Best for beginners
Zed
Best for business
Zed

Features

19 features compared.

  • Spec-driven development
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Agent hooks
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Steering files
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Memory
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Correctness checking
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Model choice
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Kiro CLI
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Kiro Web
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Local command sandbox
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Open standards and MCP
    Kiro
    Available
    Zed
    Not available
  • Rust-Native Performance
    Kiro
    Not available
    Zed
    Available
  • Agentic Editing
    Kiro
    Not available
    Zed
    Available
  • External Agents via ACP
    Kiro
    Not available
    Zed
    Available
  • Edit Prediction
    Kiro
    Not available
    Zed
    Available
  • Multiplayer Collaboration
    Kiro
    Not available
    Zed
    Available
  • Debugger
    Kiro
    Not available
    Zed
    Available
  • Native Git Support
    Kiro
    Not available
    Zed
    Available
  • Remote Development
    Kiro
    Not available
    Zed
    Available
  • Flexible Model Access
    Kiro
    Not available
    Zed
    Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Kiro
    Freemium
    Zed
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Kiro
    Yes
    Zed
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Kiro
    $0
    Zed
    $0
  • Plans
    Kiro
    5 plans
    Zed
    3 plans

Kiro plans

  • Free

    $0

    Entry tier to try Kiro

    • 50 credits
    • Open-weight models
    • Claude Sonnet 4.5 with rate limits

  • Pro

    $20/user/mo

    Individual paid plan

    • 1,000 credits
    • Premium models
    • Kiro Web
    • Add-on credits at $0.04

  • Pro+

    $40/user/mo

    More credits for heavier use

    • 2,000 credits
    • Premium models
    • Kiro Web
    • Add-on credits at $0.04

  • Pro Max

    $100/user/mo

    High-volume individual use

    • 5,000 credits
    • Premium models
    • Kiro Web
    • Add-on credits at $0.04

  • Power

    $200/user/mo

    Highest credit allowance

    • 10,000 credits
    • Premium models
    • Kiro Web
    • Add-on credits at $0.04

Zed plans

  • Personal

    $0

    Free editor with your own API keys or external agents

    • Unlimited use with own API keys
    • External agents
    • No hosted AI

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $10/month

    Individuals who want Zed-hosted models and edit predictions

    • Unlimited edit predictions
    • $5 hosted token credit
    • Usage billing beyond credit

  • Business

    $30/user/mo

    Teams that need AI policy and data controls

    • Org-wide AI model policies
    • Data governance controls
    • Unified spend visibility
    • Unlimited edit predictions
    • Role-based access

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Kiro
8.0overall
Zed
8.5overall

Kiro leads in 1 category and Zed in 3, with 1 tied.

  • Ease of Use

    Zed leads by 0.2
    Kiro
    8.0
    Zed
    8.2

  • Feature Depth

    Kiro leads by 0.1
    Kiro
    8.5
    Zed
    8.4

  • Value for Money

    Zed leads by 1.1
    Kiro
    7.5
    Zed
    8.6

  • Performance & Speed

    Zed leads by 1.3
    Kiro
    8.0
    Zed
    9.3

  • Documentation & Support

    Tied
    Kiro
    8.0
    Zed
    8.0

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Kiro

Pros

  • Spec-driven workflow produces requirements, design and task lists before code is written.
  • Based on Code OSS, so VS Code settings, themes and Open VSX extensions carry over.
  • Same credit pool works across IDE, CLI and Web with no separate cloud compute charge.
  • Multiple model families, including open-weight options, with an Auto mode.
  • Free tier with 50 credits and downloadable apps on macOS, Windows and Linux.

Cons

  • Credits can run out quickly on complex spec tasks; costs vary by model and monthly credits do not roll over.
  • Free tier excludes premium models and is limited to open-weight models and Claude Sonnet 4.5 under rate limits.
  • Mobile app is iOS-only, in preview, and needs iOS 26 or later.
  • Cloud sessions are only available in US East (N. Virginia), and Enterprise pricing is not published.

Zed

Pros

  • Native Rust application designed for low-latency editing on multiple cores and the GPU.
  • Free Personal plan with unlimited use of your own API keys or external agents.
  • Supports external agents through ACP and MCP rather than locking users to one agent.
  • Built-in multiplayer collaboration, debugger, Git and remote development.
  • Source code is public on GitHub.

Cons

  • No web or mobile version; the README lists web as not yet available.
  • Hosted AI requires a paid plan, billed at API list price plus 10%.
  • Business plan SSO, SAML and SCIM are planned but not yet available.
  • Extension library is described on the site as hundreds of extensions, so niche tooling may need workarounds.

Platforms

  • Web
    Kiro
    Supported
    Zed
    Not supported
  • Windows
    Kiro
    Supported
    Zed
    Supported
  • macOS
    Kiro
    Supported
    Zed
    Supported
  • iOS
    Kiro
    Not supported
    Zed
    Not supported
  • Android
    Kiro
    Not supported
    Zed
    Not supported
  • API
    Kiro
    Not supported
    Zed
    Not supported
  • Browser Extension
    Kiro
    Not supported
    Zed
    Not supported
  • Linux
    Kiro
    Supported
    Zed
    Supported
  • CLI
    Kiro
    Supported
    Zed
    Supported

Integrations

Kiro

12 integrations
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Figma
  • Postman
  • Datadog
  • Miro
  • Stripe
  • Supabase
  • ElevenLabs
  • Firebase
  • Terraform
  • MCP

Zed

9 integrations
  • Claude Agent
  • Codex
  • OpenCode
  • MCP servers
  • Language Server Protocol
  • Debug Adapter Protocol
  • Jupyter
  • Git
  • GitHub

Company

  • Company
    Kiro
    Amazon Web Services (AWS)
    Zed
    Zed Industries
  • Founded
    Kiro
    2006
    Zed
    2021
  • Headquarters
    Kiro
    Seattle, Washington, USA
    Zed
    Not listed
  • Listing
    Kiro
    Claimed
    Zed
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Kiro better than Zed?

It depends on your workflow. Kiro is built for turning feature ideas into structured specs and tasks before agents write code in large codebases. Zed is built for fast native editing, running AI agents alongside a conventional editor, real-time pair programming.

What are the key feature differences between Kiro and Zed?

Kiro: Spec-driven agentic IDE from AWS that turns prompts into designs, tasks and code. Zed: A fast, Rust-built code editor for coding with teammates and AI agents.

Does Kiro or Zed have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Kiro is freemium and Zed is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Kiro or Zed?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.