Kiro vs Zed
Kiro vs Zed (AI Code Editors & IDEs). Agent test scores: Kiro 9.7/10, Zed 6.8/10. Kiro scored 2.9 higher overall in our separate rubric v0.1 tests (editions and tasks can differ — see Edition tested and the notes below). Pricing: Kiro — Free $0 (50 credits/mo); Pro $20/user/mo (1,000 credits); Pro+ $40 (2,000); Pro Max $100 (5,000); Power $200 (10,000); add-on credits $0.04 each; Zed — Pro $10/mo (unlimited edit predictions, $5 tokens incl.); Business $30/seat/mo.
Every fact on this page comes from our tool records and test logs. Last updated:
- VibeToolRank score
- 9.7/10
- Last tested
- 2026-11-02
- Runs
- 3 runs
- Outcome score
- 10/10
- Edition tested
- kiro-cli 2.37.1, Kiro Free (AWS Builder ID), model auto, agent v3 Default/vibe (not Spec)
- Free plan, as measured
- About 0.80 credits for three Free Auto T3 bug-fix runs on 2026-11-02 (plus ~0.03 smoke); earlier Free IDE T1 todo used ~0.6. Observed ~0.27 credits per T3-sized Auto run in that test — not a monthly capacity promise; larger or follow-up tasks use more
- Free plan
- Yes: perpetual Free with 50 credits/mo — Auto, Claude Sonnet 4.5/4.0, and open-weight models (DeepSeek 3.2, MiniMax M2.5/M2.1, GLM-5, Qwen3 Coder Next); flagship Claude Opus / Sonnet 5.5 / GPT-5.6 need a paid plan
- Price
- Free $0 (50 credits/mo); Pro $20/user/mo (1,000 credits); Pro+ $40 (2,000); Pro Max $100 (5,000); Power $200 (10,000); add-on credits $0.04 each
- Pricing checked
- 2026-11-02
- VibeToolRank score
- 6.8/10
- Last tested
- 2026-10-17
- Runs
- 1 (single run)
- Outcome score
- 5/10
- Edition tested
- Zed 1.24.2 Linux, Personal free + BYOK OpenRouter cohere/north-mini-code:free
- Free plan, as measured
- $0: the Personal free plan with our own OpenRouter free-model key (BYOK) built the todo app
- Free plan
- Yes (Personal): free forever, unlimited with your own API keys or external agents
- Price
- Pro $10/mo (unlimited edit predictions, $5 tokens incl.); Business $30/seat/mo
- Pricing checked
- 2026-10-16
Side by side
| Field | Kiro | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | KiroSpec-driven agentic IDE from AWS. | ZedHigh-performance code editor with a built-in Agent; free forever on Personal with your own API keys. |
| Pricing | KiroFree $0 (50 credits/mo); Pro $20/user/mo (1,000 credits); Pro+ $40 (2,000); Pro Max $100 (5,000); Power $200 (10,000); add-on credits $0.04 each | ZedPro $10/mo (unlimited edit predictions, $5 tokens incl.); Business $30/seat/mo |
| Free tier | KiroYes: perpetual Free with 50 credits/mo — Auto, Claude Sonnet 4.5/4.0, and open-weight models (DeepSeek 3.2, MiniMax M2.5/M2.1, GLM-5, Qwen3 Coder Next); flagship Claude Opus / Sonnet 5.5 / GPT-5.6 need a paid plan | ZedYes (Personal): free forever, unlimited with your own API keys or external agents |
| Pricing verified | Kiro2026-11-02 | Zed2026-10-16 |
| Edition tested | Kirokiro-cli 2.37.1, Kiro Free (AWS Builder ID), model auto, agent v3 Default/vibe (not Spec) | ZedZed 1.24.2 Linux, Personal free + BYOK OpenRouter cohere/north-mini-code:free |
| Tested on | Kiro2026-11-02 | Zed2026-10-17 |
| Outcome score | Kiro10 | Zed5 |
| Speed score | Kiro10 | Zed9 |
| Cost score | Kiro10 | Zed9 |
| Developer experience score | Kiro8 | Zed6 |
| Reliability score | Kiro10 | Zed8 |
| Overall score | Kiro9.7 | Zed6.8 |
What our tests found
Kiro
Three Free CLI T3 runs on 2026-11-02: each fixed the seeded cart.js discount bug so node --test passed 4/4 in 17–18s, leaving cart.test.js untouched and self-running the tests. Used about 0.80 of 50 monthly Free credits total ($0 spent) after Builder ID device-flow login; no API key.Free CLI / AWS Builder ID
- 3/3 Free CLI T3 runs fixed the bug in 17–18s with 4/4 tests passing
- Agent edited cart.js and ran node --test itself
- Used only about 0.80 of 50 monthly Free credits for three runs ($0)
- Free Builder ID session supports headless chat without an API key
- Free is 50 credits/mo and excludes Claude Opus, Sonnet 5.5, and GPT-5.6
- Official API keys / documented headless KIRO_API_KEY path need Pro or higher
- First login still needs interactive browser or device flow
- Headless Free runs need --trust-all-tools and --trust-workspace
Who it’s for: Developers who want a spec-driven agentic IDE/CLI from AWS, with a usable free tier for small tasks — and paid tiers that put several flagship models on one credit pool.
Zed
We ran Zed's Agent on the free Personal plan with our own OpenRouter key pointed at the free model cohere/north-mini-code:free (Pro trial was refused because the GitHub account was under 30 days). In about 3 minutes it wrote a single-file todo app. As delivered, two broken HTML tags stopped the UI from mounting, so every check failed until we fixed those two lines; after that, add, complete, delete, filters, reload persistence and mobile all passed. Zed still showed update and sign-in banners.Desktop, BYOK free
- Personal plan is free forever with your own API keys (BYOK)
- OpenRouter free model worked for a full todo app in about 3 minutes
- After two one-line HTML fixes, every T1 check passed including mobile
- No card and no paid Zed plan required for this test
- Generated HTML had two broken tags that made the app non-functional until fixed
- Agent tried to start a blocking http.server twice
- Linux needed a software-Vulkan launch script; update and sign-in banners cluttered the UI
- Pro trial unavailable for GitHub accounts under 30 days
Who it’s for: Developers who want a fast editor and are happy to bring their own model keys, including free OpenRouter models.
Verdict
Scores use rubric v0.1 from separate runs. Editions and tasks can differ (see Edition tested and What our tests found); some tests were a single run, which caps reliability scores. Overall: Kiro 9.7, Zed 6.8. Check the free-tier limits above against your project before choosing.
FAQ
Which is better, Kiro or Zed?
In our tests Kiro scored higher overall (9.7/10 vs 6.8/10). Scores use the same rubric (v0.1) but came from separate runs; editions and tasks may differ (see Edition tested and test summaries), so check the per-dimension scores for what matters to you.
Is Kiro free?
Yes: perpetual Free with 50 credits/mo — Auto, Claude Sonnet 4.5/4.0, and open-weight models (DeepSeek 3.2, MiniMax M2.5/M2.1, GLM-5, Qwen3 Coder Next); flagship Claude Opus / Sonnet 5.5 / GPT-5.6 need a paid plan (pricing checked 2026-11-02).
Is Zed free?
Yes (Personal): free forever, unlimited with your own API keys or external agents (pricing checked 2026-10-16).
How much does Kiro cost compared with Zed?
Kiro: Free $0 (50 credits/mo); Pro $20/user/mo (1,000 credits); Pro+ $40 (2,000); Pro Max $100 (5,000); Power $200 (10,000); add-on credits $0.04 each. Zed: Pro $10/mo (unlimited edit predictions, $5 tokens incl.); Business $30/seat/mo.
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Scores come from our own tests and are never for sale; sponsored placements are always labelled. Some links are affiliate links (currently Railway). Disclosure