Amazon Q Developer vs Zed

Auto-updated comparison · last refreshed September 3, 2026

TL;DR

Amazon Q DeveloperZed
Typeextensionide-native
VendorAWSZed Industries
PricingFree tier · Pro $19/month (Pro tier for higher limits + advanced features)Free tier · Pro $20/month (editor free, AI subscription optional)
AutocompleteYesYes
Agent modeYesYes
MCP supportNoYes
Local modelsNoYes
Self-hostedNoNo
Codebase indexingYesYes
Team featuresYesYes

Where Amazon Q Developer wins

Where Zed wins

Weaknesses

Amazon Q Developer: only shines on AWS workloads; less impressive outside AWS context

Zed: smaller extension ecosystem than VS Code; AI features newer than Cursor's

Best for

Pick Amazon Q Developer if you are AWS-heavy devs, or cloud infrastructure work, or enterprises on AWS.

Pick Zed if you are macOS speed enthusiasts, or collaborative pair programming, or devs who find VS Code bloated.

Try Amazon Q Developer Try Zed

FAQ

Is Amazon Q Developer more expensive than Zed?

Free tier · Pro $19/month (Pro tier for higher limits + advanced features) vs Free tier · Pro $20/month (editor free, AI subscription optional). Compare the Pro tiers first if you're a solo dev; Business/Enterprise only matters for teams.

Do Amazon Q Developer and Zed use the same AI models?

Amazon Q Developer supports: claude-sonnet-4-6, internal-aws. Zed supports: claude-sonnet-4-6, gpt-5, gemini-2.5-pro, local-via-ollama. Most modern tools default to Claude Sonnet 4.6 in 2026.

Can I use both?

Yes. They don't conflict at the file level. Some devs use one for autocomplete and one for agent work.

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