Head to head
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Up to 4 tools, same rows for each: what it is, what it really costs, the trap, and how to wire it up. The URL carries your picks — send it to anyone.
ZedAiderCline
Quick read
- Free with no card: Aider, Cline.
| Field | Zedzed.dev | Aideraider.chat | Clinecline.bot |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A GPU-accelerated editor written from scratch in Rust by the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter, released under GPL and Apache licences. Multiplayer editing, an agent panel and edit prediction are built in, and it is a reference implementation of the Agent Client Protocol, so external agents like OpenCode plug straight into the UI. | The original terminal AI pair programmer, Apache-2.0 with roughly 48k stars and still actively developed. It builds a repo map of your codebase, edits files in place, runs linters and tests, and auto-commits every change with a written message. Works with almost any LLM, including local models. | An Apache-2.0 autonomous coding agent with roughly 64k GitHub stars, shipping as a VS Code and JetBrains extension, a CLI, an SDK and a web kanban board. Its Plan/Act split makes the agent draft an approach before touching files, and every diff and terminal command needs approval by default. |
| Category | AI IDEs & coding agents | AI IDEs & coding agents | AI IDEs & coding agents |
| Cost tier | mixed | free | free |
| Pricing | Free Personal · $10/mo Pro · $30/seat/mo Business · BYO key free | Free and open source (Apache 2.0) · BYO API key | Free and open source (Apache 2.0) · BYO key or pay-as-you-go credits |
| Why builders pick it | Pick Zed when editor latency matters more than AI feature count — it stays instant on huge files where Electron-based forks stutter. Personal is free forever with your own API keys, and ACP means you are not married to one vendor's agent. | Git-native discipline: every AI edit lands as its own commit, so git diff and git revert are your undo button. It is the cheapest serious option because you pay only raw API tokens, and it scripts cleanly into CI. | The transparency pick: you see every diff and every command before it runs, and you pay providers directly with no markup. Works with Claude, GPT, Gemini, Ollama and 200+ models via OpenRouter, so nothing is locked in. |
| Watch out for | AI features are thinner than Cursor's and extension coverage is far smaller than the VS Code marketplace. Pro bundles only $5 of tokens, then bills API list price plus 10 percent. | No GUI and no MCP-style tool ecosystem; the interaction model is chat plus file mentions, which feels dated next to fully autonomous agents. | BYO-key means costs are unbounded and easy to underestimate — one long agent session on a frontier model can run to several dollars. |
| How to wire it up | curl -f https://zed.dev/install.sh | sh | python -m pip install aider-install && aider-install | Install 'Cline' from the VS Code marketplace |
| Editor's pick | No | No | No |
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# Tool comparison — Zed vs Aider vs Cline Source: Kbaise, a directory of tools that work with Lovable projects. Pick one and tell me why before writing any integration code. ## Zed (zed) - URL: https://zed.dev - Category: AI IDEs & coding agents - Cost: mixed — Free Personal · $10/mo Pro · $30/seat/mo Business · BYO key free - What it is: A GPU-accelerated editor written from scratch in Rust by the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter, released under GPL and Apache licences. Multiplayer editing, an agent panel and edit prediction are built in, and it is a reference implementation of the Agent Client Protocol, so external agents like OpenCode plug straight into the UI. - Why builders pick it: Pick Zed when editor latency matters more than AI feature count — it stays instant on huge files where Electron-based forks stutter. Personal is free forever with your own API keys, and ACP means you are not married to one vendor's agent. - Trap: AI features are thinner than Cursor's and extension coverage is far smaller than the VS Code marketplace. Pro bundles only $5 of tokens, then bills API list price plus 10 percent. - Wiring: curl -f https://zed.dev/install.sh | sh - Full dossier: /api/public/tools/zed ## Aider (aider) - URL: https://aider.chat - Category: AI IDEs & coding agents - Cost: free — Free and open source (Apache 2.0) · BYO API key - What it is: The original terminal AI pair programmer, Apache-2.0 with roughly 48k stars and still actively developed. It builds a repo map of your codebase, edits files in place, runs linters and tests, and auto-commits every change with a written message. Works with almost any LLM, including local models. - Why builders pick it: Git-native discipline: every AI edit lands as its own commit, so git diff and git revert are your undo button. It is the cheapest serious option because you pay only raw API tokens, and it scripts cleanly into CI. - Trap: No GUI and no MCP-style tool ecosystem; the interaction model is chat plus file mentions, which feels dated next to fully autonomous agents. - Wiring: python -m pip install aider-install && aider-install - Full dossier: /api/public/tools/aider ## Cline (cline) - URL: https://cline.bot - Category: AI IDEs & coding agents - Cost: free — Free and open source (Apache 2.0) · BYO key or pay-as-you-go credits - What it is: An Apache-2.0 autonomous coding agent with roughly 64k GitHub stars, shipping as a VS Code and JetBrains extension, a CLI, an SDK and a web kanban board. Its Plan/Act split makes the agent draft an approach before touching files, and every diff and terminal command needs approval by default. - Why builders pick it: The transparency pick: you see every diff and every command before it runs, and you pay providers directly with no markup. Works with Claude, GPT, Gemini, Ollama and 200+ models via OpenRouter, so nothing is locked in. - Trap: BYO-key means costs are unbounded and easy to underestimate — one long agent session on a frontier model can run to several dollars. - Wiring: Install 'Cline' from the VS Code marketplace - Full dossier: /api/public/tools/cline ## Quick read - Free with no card: Aider, Cline. ## Rules 1. Prefer the free tier when no budget was stated, and say what the ceiling is. 2. Read the full dossier before integrating. 3. Fetch /api/public/models before writing any AI model ID.
Agents can fetch the same thing: GET /api/public/compare?slugs=zed,aider,cline