Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Zed VS Netbeans

Compare Zed VS Netbeans and see what are their differences

Zed logo Zed

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

Netbeans logo Netbeans

NetBeans IDE 7.0. Develop desktop, mobile and web applications with Java, PHP, C/C++ and more. Runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris. NetBeans IDE is open-source and free.
  • Zed Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-06-20
  • Netbeans Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-13

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.

Netbeans features and specs

  • Open Source
    NetBeans is an open-source Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which means it is free to use and has a large community for support and contributions.
  • Modular Architecture
    Its modular architecture allows users to add or remove features easily, which provides flexibility to customize the IDE as per the developer's requirements.
  • Multi-Language Support
    NetBeans supports multiple programming languages such as Java, PHP, HTML5, JavaScript, and more, making it a versatile tool for developers working in different technologies.
  • Strong Java Support
    Originally developed for Java, it provides excellent support for Java development, including Maven and Ant integration, robust debugging tools, and pre-configured templates.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The IDE boasts an intuitive and user-friendly interface, which helps improve development speed and reduces the learning curve for new users.
  • Rich Set of Features
    NetBeans offers many built-in features like code templates, project management tools, version control integration, and support for various application servers.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    NetBeans can run on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, therefore accommodating a diverse range of development environments.

Possible disadvantages of Netbeans

  • Performance Issues
    Some users experience lagging and slow performance, particularly when dealing with large projects or running on lower-end hardware.
  • Resource Intensive
    NetBeans can be resource-intensive, requiring significant memory and processing power, which may be a limitation for some developers, especially those on older machines.
  • Plugin Ecosystem
    While NetBeans has a good set of built-in features, its plugin ecosystem is not as extensive or actively maintained as some other IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA or Visual Studio Code.
  • Steeper Learning Curve for Non-Java Languages
    Although NetBeans supports multiple languages, the learning curve can be steeper when using it for non-Java languages compared to other IDEs that may offer better out-of-the-box support.
  • Updates and Community
    Since transitioning to Apache, the frequency of updates and the overall maintenance has seen slowdowns, which might affect the availability of the latest features and bug fixes.
  • UI Responsiveness
    Some users have reported that the UI can sometimes become unresponsive, especially during heavy development tasks or when multiple extensions are enabled.

Zed videos

Zed “kills” VSCode

More videos:

  • Review - Zed - The 'Visual Studio Code Killer' - Now on Linux!

Netbeans videos

A Review of the NetBeans Project from Geertjan Wielenga

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to Install & Beautify NetBeans IDE for PHP on Windows

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Zed and Netbeans)
Text Editors
13 13%
87% 87
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
IDE
0 0%
100% 100
Software Development
21 21%
79% 79

User comments

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Reviews

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

Zed Reviews

We have no reviews of Zed yet.
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Netbeans Reviews

The Best IDEs for Java Development: A Comparative Analysis
User Satisfaction: With a user rating of 4.1 out of 5 and user satisfaction of 82%, NetBeans offers a solid development experience.
Source: dev.to
9 Of The Best Android Studio Alternatives To Try Out
NetBeans IDE helps you build HTML5 applications, web applications, Java desktop applications, and mobile applications. If you are a PHP or C++ developer, it offers you great tools. NetBeans IDE has a large number of developers and users all across the globe.
What's The Best C++ IDE? Our Top C++ IDEs & Editors In 2024
Rounding out my list at number ten is NetBeans, a free and open-source integrated development environment. While often thought of as Java IDE, NetBeans also offers robust support for C++ and is favored by developers seeking a comprehensive toolset for larger and more complex projects.
Source: hackr.io
Top 10 Visual Studio Alternatives
NetBeans is another code editor and an alternative to Visual Studio Microsoft. It is regarded as an integrated development environment for Java. Here, the users can develop applications. The development of the applications is from a set of integrated software components that are named modules. NetBeans are operative on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris.
Best Eclipse Alternatives to Use
NetBeans IDE is a free Java Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that enables developers to create, run, debug, and deploy Java applications on all platforms at no cost. The rest of the code is available under the NetBeans Common Public License.
Source: eclipsewin.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Zed should be more popular than Netbeans. It has been mentiond 55 times since March 2021. 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.

Zed mentions (55)

  • Void: Open-Source Cursor Alternative
    > and there is no open source full IDE alternative (besides Void). And Zed: https://zed.dev Yesterday on the front page of HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43912844. - Source: Hacker News / 15 days ago
  • What's Happening in Developer Tools? (OpenAI Just Bought Windsurf for $3B)
    There are other AI agents and text editors out there, including Replit, Zed, and many others, but if you say AI text editor at the moment, most people will think of Cursor/Windsurf/VSCode. - Source: dev.to / 16 days ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (May 2025)
    Zed is a company for developers, by developers. All 3 of our founders have spent years in the trenches writing software and still do it almost every single day. We know the only way to build the world's best code editor is by equipping every single member of the team to do the best work of their career. 1. AI Rust Engineer - https://zed.dev/jobs/ai-engineer. - Source: Hacker News / 22 days ago
  • OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours
    Have you compared helix to zed (https://zed.dev/)? I want something VSCode-ish, could never really get used to vim myself. But definitely don't want something built on Electron, it's too bloated. Zed and Helix are both built in Rust without Electron, which is already promising. - Source: Hacker News / 29 days ago
  • I Use Kate Editor
    TIL about Kate editor, but after 30 years of just using vi in a terminal (Unix, Mac, even Windows in cmd.exe) I switched to Zed editor (https://zed.dev). I had tried other editors in the past, but quickly fell back to vi/vim after a few hours or days, for various reasons. Been using Zed for a couple of months now and no plans to go back. It also uses LSPs, but whenever I connect to some (Linux) dev host from Zed... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
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Netbeans mentions (17)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Zed and Netbeans, you can also consider the following products

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Microsoft Visual Studio - Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft.

VSCodium - Binary releases of Visual Sudio Code without Microsoft branding, telemetry and licensing

IntelliJ IDEA - Capable and Ergonomic IDE for JVM

GitHub Copilot - Your AI pair programmer. With GitHub Copilot, get suggestions for whole lines or entire functions right inside your editor.

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.