Google’s multimodal AI assistant Gemini packs serious power, generating text, images, and even videos with some of the world’s most advanced models.
Rivaling the likes of ChatGPT and Claude, Gemini is an advanced AI chatbot that can help you with research, coding and a variety of other tasks. There are tradeoffs between using its free and paid versions, but with our helpful guide, you’ll be able to determine which AI features you find essential and which ones would be more of an added bonus.
The free tier covers most basics, while the paid plans unlock longer context windows, bigger uploads, and premium features that power users may appreciate. In a nutshell, the free tier is likely to get most jobs done but if you’re using it all day, then its usage limits might be hindering your workflow. With two paid tiers to choose from, your budget and requirements will help determine which option is the right one for you.
All the Gemini tiers — what you need to know
Gemini is available in three tiers. It starts off with a free plan with no hidden fees or caveats, apart from naturally being more limited than the paid plans.
The mid-level tier, Google AI Pro, is $19.99/month and grants you access to the more powerful AI models Google has to offer with less usage limits than the free version.
For those who want an all-access pass to all the public models available in addition to the highest usage credits possible, there’s the Google AI Ultra plan, which costs $249 per month..
Gemini free: What do you get?
Don’t let the word free fool you. Your regular Google account gives you access to the 2.5 Flash model that’s great for everyday tasks and even limited usage of 2.5 Pro for when you need that little bit of extra AI brain power for advanced logic, math, and coding.
You can create stunning AI images powered by the Imagen 4 model along with the ability to edit images online using AI, this time with Nano Banana. Google also throws in limited access to the Veo 3 AI video generator along with access to its research assistant NotebookLM.
Gemini Pro: Perks and higher access
Gemini’s cheapest paid plan starts at $19.99 a month which is around the industry standard price for the kind of AI features included in this package.
Pro grants you access to everything in the free version along with higher usage limits. This means 10 times more AI credits for video generation using Flow and Whisk, AI-powered Google Search, and it gives Gemini direct access to Gmail and Docs.
US users also gain access to Google’s AI calling features, allowing you to autonomously place calls to local businesses asking for pricing and availability for services.
That's not all! Google also throws in 2 TB of storage for Photos, Drive and Gmail, which is pretty neat in and of itself.
Google AI Ultra: Your AI all-access pass
If you want to unlock the absolute highest level of access to all the models and tools mentioned so far, plus access to exclusive features, then Google AI Ultra might be for you.
For $249.99 a month, you’ll get 25,000 monthly credits for video generation using Flow and Whish and the highest access to Gemini's agentic capabilities.
The Ultra plan also unlocks access to Jules, the asynchronous coding agent for software developers, as well as Project Mariner, Google’s experimental AI agent that browses and interacts with websites for you.
As an added bonus, you also get 30TB of storage for your Google account (worth around $150 a month) as well as an individual plan of YouTube Premium (worth $13.99 a month).
Should I upgrade?
If you’re an occasional user of Google Gemini and only use it as an extension to Google Search, the free version more than suffices. Free is not a synonym for limited here as you’re even able to play around with image and video generation.
If you’re a Gemini power user and receive frequent notifications that you’ve reached your usage limits, for a reasonable $19.99 a month price, you’ll eliminate that frustration and maintain your levels of productivity.
However, the bar to justify roughly $250 a month for Google AI Ultra is a bit higher. If you're the type of user who wants immediate access to the newest models first and enjoys extra perks such as YouTube Premium, this might be the tier for you. Otherwise, unless you’re a serious software developer who’ll be using 2.5 Pro to generate endless lines of code, or you’re running a film studio that’s heavily experimenting with AI video, then one of the previous plans should be more than enough.
The takeaway
Gemini Pro is a powerful multimodal assistant that can handle text, images and code with speed. The more context and direction you give it, the smarter and more useful its answers become.
With the generous amount of image generation and prompts available in the free tier, it's great for casual users, while the premium subscriptions offer more for those who want more flexibility, access to new features first and more perks.
A free trial of Gemini Advanced is available in the U.S. to give users one month to try features for themselves. Let me know in the comments which features are your favorite.
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