Agentastic vs Zed
Zed is a fast Rust-based editor focused on real-time collaboration and a clean built-in AI assistant. Agentastic is a workspace around your editor that runs many CLI agents in parallel, each on its own git worktree. They are complementary — many Agentastic users run Zed as their editor inside an Agentastic worktree.
Who should choose each option
Agentastic
Choose Agentastic if you want to manage many agents at once and keep their changes isolated.
Zed
Choose Zed if you want a fast native editor with collaboration and a single integrated AI assistant.
Feature comparison
| Agentastic | Zed | |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | Native macOS workspace (Swift) | Native cross-platform editor (Rust) |
| Editor | Bring your own (Zed, VS Code, Cursor, Xcode) | Zed is the editor |
| Parallel agents | Yes — 30+, each in its own worktree | One assistant per session |
| Real-time collaboration | No (multi-agent, not multi-human) | Yes — channels, shared projects |
| Built-in diff + code review | Yes — Claude / Codex / CodeRabbit | Diff viewer; no managed review |
| Bundle size | ~25 MB | ~150 MB |
Pricing
Agentastic
Free. BYO agent subscriptions.
Zed
Free. Zed AI is a paid add-on.
Using them together
Set Zed as your default editor in Agentastic settings and every worktree opens in Zed by default. You get Zed's editor speed with Agentastic's parallel-agent surface.
Frequently asked questions
Should I pick Zed or Agentastic?
They solve different problems. Zed is your editor. Agentastic is the workspace that runs a fleet of CLI agents around it. Most users keep both.
Does Agentastic support Zed as the open-in editor?
Yes. Agentastic can open any worktree in Zed, VS Code, Cursor, Xcode, JetBrains IDEs, or your terminal of choice.
Why a worktree per agent instead of a Zed channel?
Channels share an editor session. Worktrees give each agent its own checkout, branch, and diff — so you can review and merge them independently.
See also
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