Compare modern editors with local process management outside the editor.
VS Code has the largest editor share in recent developer surveys. It is free, MIT-licensed, funded by Microsoft, with 50,000+ extensions, Copilot agent mode, a cloud coding agent for GitHub issues, support for third-party agents (Claude, Codex, others), 27+ AI models, and remote development. It runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, and the web. Copilot pricing: Free tier, Pro at $10/month, Pro+ at $39/month, Business at $19/user/month, Enterprise at $39/user/month. The best VS Code alternatives depend on what you are trying to replace. If the problem is the editor itself, Zed is a faster native editor (Rust-based) and Cursor is a VS Code fork with deeper AI integration. If the problem is that dev processes (servers, watchers, queues, agents) are trapped inside editor terminals with no restart logic or monitoring, Solo is the right tool. Solo is a desktop process dashboard that works alongside any editor.
Start with the capability you want to replace. Each option overlaps with VS Code in a different way.
Recommended option
A lightweight local environment for agents, project commands, shell sessions, and process visibility on macOS and Windows.
Best for teams that want to move agents, shells, and shared project commands out of the editor into a dedicated local workspace.
Best for
Best for workflow separation.
Recommended option
A fast, open source code editor with GPU-accelerated rendering, built-in AI, ACP for external agents, and real-time multiplayer collaboration.
Best for developers who still want a modern editor, but with a faster and more focused feel than a broad extension platform.
Best for
Best for focused editor workflows.
Recommended option
An agent-first coding product with a VS Code-based IDE, cloud agents, Bugbot, automations, and models from Cursor and major providers. Acquired by SpaceX in August 2026.
Best for developers who want a more opinionated AI-first editor instead of a general-purpose editor platform.
Best for
Best for AI-first editing.
Start with Solo if you want to separate the local environment from the editor. Start with Zed if you want a faster editor. Start with Cursor if you want a more AI-first editor.
Compare the products and workflows closest to VS Code, including where Solo fits.
Solo is a lightweight desktop terminal workspace for local agents, project commands, interactive terminals, and long-running services. It sits beside your editor, keeps your stack visible, and gives Claude Code, Codex, and the rest of your tools one shared local control surface.
Solo is built by Aaron Francis, creator of faster.dev and Database School, and VP of Marketing at Laravel. He built Solo after running Claude Code alongside his own dev stack and getting tired of juggling nine terminal tabs just to keep local agents, services, and project commands visible.
He is also a dad to two sets of twins, which tends to create a strong preference for software that reduces chaos instead of adding more of it. That is why Solo keeps showing up in these comparisons as the local workspace around your tools, not another editor or orchestrator trying to absorb the whole workflow.
Free for four projects on macOS and Windows.
Start with a terminal and add the programmable meta-harness when you need to coordinate agents with your local development stack.
“I can't live without it.”
