Relay.app vs Zed — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Relay.app starts at $38/mo. Zed starts at $10/mo. Zed is $28/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Relay.app.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Relay.app (Hybrid) — Relay.app is hybrid: a fixed subscription from $38/mo plus metered usage on top. Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
- Zed (Per Seat) — Zed bills on a fixed plan from $10/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
AI-native workflow automation platform — workflows can pause for human approval and use AI to draft any step. Pricing: Free (400 runs/mo), Pro $9/user/mo (5K runs), Team $59/mo (5 users, 20K runs), Enterprise custom. Positioned as the AI-native alternative to Zapier and Make for teams that want human-in-the-loop workflows.
Open-source, high-performance code editor with AI features built in. Written in Rust with GPU-accelerated UI. Zed core is free and open source; Zed Pro adds premium AI models + higher usage limits at $20/user/mo. Business plan at $50/user/mo adds team features. Positioned as the fast-native alternative to Electron-based editors (Cursor, VS Code) for developers who care about performance.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Relay.app monthly | Relay.app annual | Zed monthly | Zed annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free / Personal | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Professional / Pro | $38 | $19 | $10 | $10 |
| Teams | Team / Business | $118 | $59 | $30 | $30 |
| Enterprise | Enterprise / — | Custom | Custom | — | — |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Relay.app is worth it if… g. AI drafts a customer email, human reviews before sending.
Zed is worth it if… developers who want a fast-native code editor that feels sub-16ms on every action, with AI features that don't slow it down. Free tier is a real editor (not a demo); Pro at $20/user/mo unlocks Claude Opus and other premium models.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Relay.app is hybrid, Zed is per seat.
Choose Relay.app over Zed if…
Choose Relay.app if…
- You're fine with a base subscription plus metered usage on top (from $38/mo).
- You match the profile Relay.app is built for: Relay.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Zed if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $10/mo).
- You match the profile Zed is built for: developers who want a fast-native code editor that feels sub-16ms on every action, with AI features that don't slow it down.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Relay.app | Zed | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Entry price | $38/mo | $10/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | No |
| Pricing model | Hybrid | Per Seat |
| Last verified | September 20, 2026 | September 20, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 20, 2026. Tracked daily.