# VS Code alternative

> About VS Code: Microsoft's free, extensible code editor. These products list themselves as alternatives to it. Positioning is from each listing, not an endorsement.

People leave VS Code for a few recurring reasons: the bill grew faster than the project, a free tier changed, or they want something they can run locally or self-host. Speed matters too, both how fast the tool itself feels and how quickly you go from install to first result. Check what the alternative stores in your repo versus its own cloud, how it handles teams and secrets, and whether there is a CLI or API for scripting.

## Ranked by swipes

| Product | What it does | Pricing | Score | Categories |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Zed](https://swipetolaunch.com/p/zed.md) | A code editor written for latency, not features | Free plan | 50% of 14 swipes | Developer Tools |

## Questions

### What is the best free VS Code alternative?

The highest-ranked one you can start on for free is [Zed](https://swipetolaunch.com/p/zed.md) (free plan): A code editor written for latency, not features.

### How are these ranked?

By swipes, smoothed for sample size: see https://swipetolaunch.com/about.md.

## Related

- [Replit alternatives](https://swipetolaunch.com/alternatives/replit.md)
- [Bolt alternatives](https://swipetolaunch.com/alternatives/bolt.md)
- [Insomnia alternatives](https://swipetolaunch.com/alternatives/insomnia.md)
- [Lovable alternatives](https://swipetolaunch.com/alternatives/lovable.md)
- [Postman alternatives](https://swipetolaunch.com/alternatives/postman.md)
- [v0 alternatives](https://swipetolaunch.com/alternatives/v0.md)

Page: https://swipetolaunch.com/alternatives/vs-code