Zed vs VS Code: Which Editor Wins for Developers in 2025?

Performance

Zed’s native UI and Rust core deliver snappy interactions, especially on large files. VS Code’s performance is solid but can degrade with many extensions.

Extensions & ecosystem

VS Code wins on breadth. Zed’s extension story is improving but not yet comparable. If you require niche tooling, VS Code is safer today.

Collaboration

Zed’s real‑time collaboration is fast and feels seamless. VS Code’s Live Share is mature and widely adopted.

Remote development

VS Code Remote and Codespaces are battle‑tested. Zed’s remote features are evolving quickly and are promising for 2025.

Verdict

Pick Zed for speed and minimalism; pick VS Code for ecosystem depth. Many teams will use both depending on task.