Google Moves Free Gemini Users to Flash Lite as It Reshuffles AI Subscription Tiers
Starting October 9, the full Flash model requires the $4.99 AI Plus plan, and Pro moves up to higher tiers.
Google is changing which Gemini models each subscription tier can use, The Verge reports, with free users losing access to the standard Flash model starting October 9.
The new lineup
- Free: Gemini Flash Lite
- AI Plus ($4.99/month): Gemini Flash. The plan will no longer include Gemini Pro.
- AI Pro ($19.99/month): Gemini Pro
- Ultra ($99.99/month): Gemini Pro and Deep Think
Why the change
Serving frontier AI models to hundreds of millions of free users is expensive, and every major AI company is experimenting with how much to give away. OpenAI has taken the opposite tack this week, extending its new GPT-6 rollout to free ChatGPT users one day after paid subscribers.
Google is also restricting access to its newest frontier model to vetted cyber defenders, following a similar trusted-access approach taken by Anthropic and OpenAI for their most capable security-focused models.