iTerm2 VS Zed

Compare iTerm2 VS Zed and see what are their differences

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iTerm2

A terminal emulator for macOS that does amazing things.

Zed

Zed is a high-performance, multiplayer code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter.

Landing page //
2018-10-29

Landing page //
2024-06-20

iTerm2

Website: iterm2.com
$ Details

Edit details

Zed

Website: zed.dev
$ Details

Edit details

iTerm2 features and specs

Versatility
iTerm2 supports a wide range of features such as split panes, multiple tab management, and hotkey-activated terminal windows, making it highly versatile for different workflows.
Customization
Offers extensive customization options, including themes, color schemes, and key bindings, allowing users to tailor the terminal to their preferences.
Advanced Features
Includes advanced functionality like instant replay, which allows users to rewind their terminal session, and integration with automation tools like AppleScript.
Performance
Designed to be efficient and responsive, ensuring it performs well even with multiple sessions and tabs open simultaneously.
Integrations
Seamless integration with macOS features such as native notifications, fullscreen mode, and support for external editors.
Community Support
Active community and comprehensive documentation, which can be very helpful for troubleshooting and learning advanced configurations.

Possible disadvantages of iTerm2

Mac-Only
iTerm2 is exclusive to macOS, which means users on other operating systems cannot utilize its features.
Complexity
The sheer number of features and customization options can be overwhelming for beginners, requiring a learning curve to utilize efficiently.
System Resource Usage
iTerm2 may consume more system resources compared to simpler terminal emulators, which could be a concern on lower-end hardware.
Update Frequency
Occasional updates can introduce bugs or unexpected behavior, requiring users to adjust settings or find workarounds.

Zed features and specs

Collaborative Editing
Zed offers real-time collaborative editing features, allowing multiple developers to work on the same codebase simultaneously, enhancing team productivity and communication.
Minimalist Interface
The interface is designed to be distraction-free and minimalist, which helps developers focus on coding without unnecessary clutter and distractions.
Speed and Performance
Zed is built with performance in mind, offering fast loading times and a smooth user experience, making coding more efficient.
Cross-Platform Support
Zed is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wide array of users regardless of their operating system.
Innovative Features
Zed includes several innovative features such as advanced search and navigation capabilities, which can significantly enhance the coding experience.

Possible disadvantages of Zed

Limited Extensions
Compared to more established editors like VS Code, Zed currently has a more limited library of extensions and plugins, which might restrict customization and functionality.
Learning Curve
New users coming from other development environments may face a learning curve due to Zed's unique interface and features.
Early Development
As a relatively new tool, Zed may still be in its early stages of development, with potential bugs and missing features that could affect stability and user experience.
Community Size
The community and user base for Zed is still growing, which can mean less community support, tutorials, and shared resources compared to more mature editors.

Analysis of iTerm2

Overall verdict

iTerm2 is regarded as an excellent terminal emulator for macOS due to its robust feature set and usability, making it a top choice for power users.

Why this product is good

iTerm2 is often praised for its advanced features, customization options, and efficiency that enhance productivity for users who work with the command line frequently. It offers split panes, hotkey window, undo close, instant replay, and a highly configurable interface that caters to power users, making it a versatile tool for developers and system administrators.

Recommended for

Developers and programmers who need a highly customizable terminal.
System administrators who require powerful scripting and automation capabilities.
Users who frequently work with command-line interfaces and require multiple sessions handled efficiently.
Anyone seeking an enhanced, feature-rich alternative to the default macOS terminal.

Analysis of Zed

Overall verdict

Yes, Zed is considered a good code editor by many developers.

Why this product is good

Zed offers a modern and efficient code editing experience with features such as real-time collaboration, a clean interface, and high performance. It is built to be fast and responsive, making it suitable for developers who value speed in their editing tools.

Recommended for

Developers looking for a collaborative and fast code editor with a modern interface would benefit from using Zed. It is especially suited for teams that require real-time collaboration capabilities.

iTerm2 videos

+ Add

Customizing iterm2 with ZSH and PowerLevel9k | Z shell Tutorial

Zed videos

+ Add

Zed “kills” VSCode

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to iTerm2 and Zed)

Zed

Developer Tools

70 70%

Developer Tools

30% 30

SSH

100 100%

SSH

0% 0

Productivity

0 0%

Productivity

100% 100

Terminal

100 100%

Terminal

0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using iTerm2 and Zed. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare iTerm2 and Zed

iTerm2 Reviews

KateBlanc

over 2 years ago

Useful

I've had so many problems with terminal in my Mac.. thanks for this tool. It's like really useful

👍 Pros: Fast|Convenience|Fastest, safest, and cheapest

👎 Cons: None

MobaXterm for Mac: Best Alternatives to MobaXterm for Mac

You can choose a Hotkey and register it as a shortcut to open the iTerm2. When you are using other application, just press the Hotkey and it will bring iTerm (terminal) to the foreground of your screen. So the iTerm2 is the best alternative to MobaXterm for Mac which will be always available for you.

Source: www.macoszon.com

30 best PuTTY alternatives for SSH clients for 2020

The iTerm2 system is available for Macs. Specifically, the program can run on Mac OS 10.10 and higher. This interface shows different terminal sessions through a split screen method, allowing you to tile sessions side by side. To lessen confusion, the active panel shows in full resolution, while the others dimmed. You can set up keyboard shortcuts to navigate through the...

Source: www.comparitech.com

Zed Reviews

We have no reviews of Zed yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

iTerm2 might be a bit more popular than Zed. We know about 117 links to it since March 2021 and only 93 links to Zed. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

iTerm2 mentions (117)

The Ultimate Guide to a Smooth Dev Environment
Execute commands using terminals like Windows Terminal, iTerm2, or built-in options on macOS and Linux. Customizing themes, fonts, and shortcuts can optimize your workflow. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
How I Use 4 Terminal Setups with Claude Code Agent Teams
iTerm2 is the classic macOS terminal. It's stable, feature-rich, and supports Agent Teams split-pane mode (requires it2 CLI installation and enabling the Python API). - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
⛓️‍💥 AI Agents broke my Dev setup
I had a setup that worked perfectly for me, 3 screens (Actually 2 screen + Macbook Pro) One with IDE (WebStorm, Vscode and from time to time just sublime). Second with Terminal (started with iTerm2 and moved to Warp with Oh My Zsh and bunch of plugins) And last with Browser (Web or DB). - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
Perfect Claude Code Notifications Setup with Tailscale and ntfy
Claude Code comes with a notification hook. Some terminals support it natively (iTerm2, Kitty, Ghostty) but most don’t, and even when they do, it’s a system notification which is easy to miss if you step away. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
Using iTerm2's new AI Chat features with Azure OpenAI
For the longest time I've used iTerm2 as a replacement for Terminal. It's fast, it's native, it's not yet another lipstick-on-an-Electron-wrapper type of thing. Only Ghostty comes close to it, and even though it's faster and resizes better, it misses some of the features I've grown to depend on. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago

Zed mentions (93)

Elevated error rate across multiple models
With Agent Client Protocol (ACP) you can keep the same UI and switch not models, but entire agents, that means using tools/prompts/compaction/etc that are tailored for the model. Try Zed[1] for GUI and pool[2] for TUI. [1] https://zed.dev/ [2] https://github.com/poolsideai/pool. - Source: Hacker News / 9 days ago
Ask HN: What is your (AI) dev tech stack / workflow? (June 2026)
Devcontainers + Claude + Pi [1] Zed https://zed.dev/ [2] Terminal threads https://zed.dev/blog/terminal-threads As sort of byproduct also replaced Alacritty + Zellij (i just don't have the need to use more, 3 weeks of new setup). - Source: Hacker News / 27 days ago
Ask HN: What is your (AI) dev tech stack / workflow? (June 2026)
The simplest mainstream options for tools: 1) Claude Desktop which includes Claude Code for Anthropic: https://claude.com/product/claude-code (alternatively the terminal based version; either way get the subscription) 2) Codex for OpenAI: https://developers.openai.com/codex/app (same as above, subscription preferred instead of paying per token) 3) OpenCode for a variety of models: https://opencode.ai/ (they also... - Source: Hacker News / 27 days ago
Tools I'm Using in 2026 (and what I've stopped using from 2025)
That said, sometimes you do just want an editor, not a full blown IDE, and for that for the last few months I've been experimenting with Zed. It's okay. I've had some weird issues with their terminal emulator; I don't know what they are doing but my ZSH config doesn't load right so it sometimes gets stuck in what looks like an infinite loop, and then my PATH is all messed up... IDK, I expect my editors to kinda... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
Building a native terminal for AI coding agents in Rust + GPUI
This is a post-mortem, not a launch post. Paneflow is a native terminal workspace, splits, panes, branch-aware workspaces, session restore, built in pure Rust on top of Zed's GPUI framework and the upstream alacritty_terminal crate. It started as a port of cmux, a macOS-only Swift/AppKit project, and the Rust rewrite forced a string of decisions I had no good intuition for at the start. I want to walk through the... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago