Try with caution
- Pick it if you are:
- Atom users who want to keep their setup; Hobbyists and tinkerers who like customizing their editor
- Top complaint:
- Some Atom packages no longer work on Pulsar
- Price:
- Free plan
Try
- Pick it if you are:
- Rust and Go developers; VS Code users annoyed by slowness
- Top complaint:
- Zed not working on Linux: Vulkan and GPU errors
- Price:
- Free plan, paid from $10/mo
Score Comparison
PulsarareaZed
62
Overall72▶
◀98
Pricing78
68
Usability75▶
50
Performance90▶
45
Support60▶
58
Reliability65▶
◀75
Onboarding70
◀65
Security–
48
Integrations50▶
Signals Comparison
Integrations
Pulsar
- Some Atom packages no longer work on Pulsar(7/10)
- Pulsar package ecosystem is a fraction of VS Code's(7/10)
- Terminal packages were broken for years(5/10)
Zed
- Zed extensions: why is the library so small?(7/10)
- Zed debugger and remote development less polished than VS Code(7/10)
- Zed git integration is less mature than GitLens(5/10)
- Zed AI agent less polished than Cursor(6/10)
Reliability
Pulsar
- Pulsar crashes or blank screen on Linux(7/10)
- Linux .rpm upgrade removed pulsar and ppm from PATH(6/10)
- Wayland support needs flags until Electron 37(5/10)
Zed
- Zed not working on Linux: Vulkan and GPU errors(8/10)
- Zed blank or invisible window on Linux and WSL(7/10)
- Zed on Windows: later and rougher than macOS(7/10)
- Zed Max tokens reached error in the agent panel(5/10)
Performance
Pulsar
- Pulsar slows down on large files(6/10)
- Why is Pulsar slow to start?(5/10)
Zed
- Why is Zed using 100% CPU or freezing?(7/10)
Support
Pulsar
- Small volunteer team means slow releases(6/10)
- Dropped OS support with each Electron upgrade(5/10)
Zed
- Zed language support gaps: C#, Vue and niche languages(6/10)
Usability
Pulsar
- No built-in AI assistant or modern Git UI(6/10)
Zed
- Migrating from VS Code to Zed: settings and keymaps(5/10)
Pricing
Pulsar
- Is Pulsar really free? Yes, with no paid tier(3/10)
Zed
- Is Zed Pro worth it? $10/month with only $5 of tokens(6/10)
- Zed AI usage stops when the spend limit is reached(6/10)
Pricing Comparison
Pulsar
Free (open source)
PopularUsers: Unlimited
Limits: No paid support, no built-in AI, no remote development
None; funded by donations. Your time for replacing broken packages.
Zed
Personal
Users: 1
Storage: N/A
Limits: No Zed-hosted AI models and no hosted edit predictions, no included tokens
No Zed-hosted AI models; you pay your own provider for API keys
Pro
PopularUsers: 1
Storage: N/A
Limits: Trial lasts 14 days with $5 of one hosted model
Usage beyond the $5 is billed at API list price plus 10%; billed at month end or each additional $10; usage stops at your spend limit
Business
Users: Per seat, no minimum
Storage: N/A
Limits: SSO, SAML and SCIM not yet available
No fixed AI credit allotment; AI spend limit starts at $0 until an admin raises it; no free trial
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Pulsar | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| Extensibility | ||
| Package manager | ||
| VS Code extensions | ||
| AI | ||
| Built-in AI agent | ||
| Edit predictions Hosted ones need Pro | ||
| Built-in AI assistant | ||
| Tools | ||
| Core terminal | ||
| Built-in Git panel | ||
| Remote development | ||
| Editing | ||
| Tree-sitter highlighting | ||
| Core | ||
| Debugger | ||
| SSH remote development | ||
| Real-time collaboration | ||
| Vim mode | ||
| Ecosystem | ||
| Extensions Much smaller than VS Code | ||
| VS Code extension compatibility | ||
| Platform | ||
| Native Wayland | ||
| Platforms | ||
| Windows, macOS, Linux Linux needs Vulkan | ||
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