VS Code vs Zed for MCP servers
VS Code and Zed differ in 7 of 10 facts: publisher, kind, runs on, licence, connects to, server config, servers that work in it.
| Fact | VS Code | Zed |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Microsoft | Zed Industries |
| Kind | Code editor, Web app | Code editor |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows, Linux, Web | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Licence | MIT | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Connects to | Local (stdio), Remote (HTTP), Remote (SSE) | Local (stdio), Remote (HTTP) |
| Headers for remote servers | Yes | Yes |
| Server config | .vscode/mcp.json | ~/.config/zed/settings.json |
| Servers that work in it | 123,045 | 119,287 |
| What we checked | Matches the official docs | Matches the official docs |
| Add a server | In VS Code | In Zed |
From each client's own documentation and site, as linked on its page. The server counts are today's install configs that work in each.