Don’t want to pay for Gemini? So, Google has just left you without access to these two advanced models
Google continues to scale back its AI plans. The company has just updated its support page confirming some changes to access to Gemini models for personal accounts. If you are a free Gemini user, what exactly changes for you?
Well, starting October 9, you will lose access to Flash and Pro. That means you will only be left with Flash-Litewhich is Google’s most basic model. But there is still more. In case you are paying for the AI Plus plan, which is the most basic, then you also lose access to the Pro model.
What model is available according to each plan
The table published by Google makes the distribution clear. Without any contracted plan, only Flash-Lite can be used. With AI Plusthe paid entry plan, access to Flash is added, but Pro is reserved for the higher levels. Only those who pay for AI Pro or AI Ultra will be able to continue using all three models, including Pro, the most powerful in the current catalog.
| Google AI plan | Gemini model | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Flash-Lite | Flash | Pro | |
| No plan | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| AI Plus | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| AI Pro | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI Ultra | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Of course, for each available model, Google allows you to choose a level of effort between low, medium and high, which improves the quality of the answers in exchange for consuming more weekly limit. This means that even if a free user only has access to Flash-Lite, they can ask Gemini to use the maximum computing power for that model.
AI Pro and AI Ultra accounts also add access to Deep ThinkGemini’s most advanced parallel reasoning mode, not available on any other plan.
Usage limits per count and subscription pricing
This adjustment comes after Google changed the Gemini app limits system in May, replacing it with a computing based model which is renewed every five hours until reaching a weekly limit. The calculation takes into account the complexity of each query, the functions used and the duration of the conversation, and came into effect for minors on July 24.
Generating images, video or music, using Deep Research or resorting to extended reasoning consumes the limit much faster than a conventional query. According to Google’s own table, AI Plus doubles the standard limits, AI Pro multiplies them by four, and AI Ultra multiplies them by twenty depending on the contracted modality.
On the other hand, it must be remembered that paid subscriptions start at 4.99 euros per month with AI Plus. It is precisely the plan that has just been left without access to the Pro. Of course, unlike other AI providers, Google adds cloud storage to its plans, with 400 GB on Google Drive included from that same entry price, something that neither OpenAI nor Anthropic offer in their equivalent subscriptions.
The trend is clear. The end of subsidized AI is coming to an end. Companies are reducing free access once the user has become accustomed to the tool in their daily life. None of the big AI companies have yet managed to balance their accounts with as broad a level of free usage as they initially offered, and the cuts confirm that the situation has not changed. The models are more efficient, yes, but reality is much more stubborn.
