Zed vs UltraEdit

Zed8.8Visit UltraEdit8.4Visit

Higher score Zed #7 in Text Editors 8.8/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Zed

vs

UltraEdit #11 in Text Editors 8.4/10 7-day trial Free trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit UltraEdit

• Zed fits best

  Modern teams wanting collaborative editing

• UltraEdit fits best

  Professionals handling very large files

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Side by side

Feature	Zed 8.8/10 Visit ↗	UltraEdit 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	8.4
Ranking	#7 in Text Editors	#11 in Text Editors
Best for	Modern teams wanting collaborative editing	Professionals handling very large files
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$10/mo	$94.96/user/yr
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	14 days	7 days
Free trial length	14 days · no card needed	7 days · no card needed
Deployment	Cloud, Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	macOS, Windows, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Docs	Community, Docs · 24/7
Integrations	6 integrations	6 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Zed 4/5 · UltraEdit 5/5
Multi-cursor editing	✓	✓
Macro recording	✓	✓
Column editing	✓	✓
Large-file handling	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Extension support	✓	✓
Specs
Supported platforms	macOS, Windows, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Our review
Pros	Free plan includes Git, debugging, extensions, agents, and collaboration Supports macOS, Linux, and Windows with broad developer tooling Native editing, Git, Vim-style, AI, and real-time collaboration features	Handles large files with disk-based file processing Combines macros, JavaScript scripting, and advanced search Supports Windows, macOS, and Linux with FTP and SSH connectivity
Cons	Pro costs $10 per month after the free Personal plan Advanced business controls require the $30-per-seat monthly plan AI usage beyond included Pro capacity is billed based on usage	No free plan is available Starting price is $94.96 per year with annual billing Advanced features may exceed the needs of basic text editing
Our verdict	Zed is a desktop code editor for software developers who want fast editing, collaboration, and integrated AI workflows. It runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows, and combines multibuffer editing, native Git operations, language-server support,… Read the review →	UltraEdit is a commercial text, code, and hex editor for developers, data professionals, IT teams, system administrators, and power users. Its focus is broad but technically deep: large-file editing, multi-caret and column-based editing,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Zed — where it wins

  • Free plan includes Git, debugging, extensions, agents, and collaboration
  • Supports macOS, Linux, and Windows with broad developer tooling
  • Native editing, Git, Vim-style, AI, and real-time collaboration features

  Where it doesn't

  • Pro costs $10 per month after the free Personal plan
  • Advanced business controls require the $30-per-seat monthly plan
  • AI usage beyond included Pro capacity is billed based on usage

• UltraEdit — where it wins

  • Handles large files with disk-based file processing
  • Combines macros, JavaScript scripting, and advanced search
  • Supports Windows, macOS, and Linux with FTP and SSH connectivity

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan is available
  • Starting price is $94.96 per year with annual billing
  • Advanced features may exceed the needs of basic text editing

• Zed8.8/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A capable free editor for collaborative teams, with paid AI tiers that cost more.

  Visit ZedFull verdict →
• UltraEdit8.4/10 · 7-day trial

  A deep, large-file editor for professionals who need automation and remote connectivity.

  Visit UltraEditFull verdict →