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Gemini vs ChatGPT
Google Gemini and ChatGPT cost about the same at the main tier, $19.99 for Google AI Pro and $20 for ChatGPT Plus, but Google’s plan comes with 5 TB of storage and YouTube Premium Lite, and its cheapest paid plan is $4.99. ChatGPT is used far more. Through the API, Gemini 4 Argon costs a fifth of GPT-6 Astra until December 1. Here is the full comparison.
Checked October 18, 2026 against Google’s Gemini plans and ChatGPT’s pricing page
| Gemini | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0: Flash-Lite model, image generation and editing, Deep Research | $0: Includes image generation, OpenAI’s app listing says |
| Low-cost plan | Google AI Plus: $4.99 a month | Go: $8 a month |
| Main plan | Google AI Pro: $19.99 a month | Plus: $20 a month |
| Top plans | Google AI Ultra: $99.99 or $199.99 a month | Pro: from $100 a month, with tiers of $100, $200 and $500 in Apple’s App Store |
| Newest model | Gemini 4 Argon, on AI Pro and Ultra | GPT-6 Astra |
| Images | Image generation and editing on the free plan | Image generation and editing: limited on Free, more on Go and Plus, unlimited on Pro |
| Video | Video generation from AI Plus | Not in the app listing |
| Extras | Cloud storage (15 GB free, 400 GB on Plus, 5 TB on Pro); Gemini in Gmail from Plus, and in Docs on Pro | Advanced Voice Mode, photo upload |
| Share of chatbot visits to websites | 10.91% | 80.48% |
Through Apple’s App Store, ChatGPT Plus costs $19.99. Share of visits: Statcounter, September 2026.
Gemini and ChatGPT plans by price
- FreeChatGPTFree
- FreeGeminiFree
- Google AI PlusGemini$4.99 a month
- GoChatGPT$8 a month
- Google AI ProGemini$19.99 a month
- PlusChatGPT$20 a month
- Google AI UltraGeminifrom $99.99 a month
- ProChatGPTfrom $100 a month
US prices a month before tax. Google AI Ultra and ChatGPT Pro are the lowest of several tiers.
What the plans include
Gemini. The free plan uses Google’s Flash-Lite model and already includes image generation and editing, Deep Research, Gemini Live and Canvas, with 15 GB of storage. Google AI Plus, at $4.99, moves to the Flash model with twice the usage and adds video generation and 400 GB. Google AI Pro, at $19.99, adds Gemini 4 Argon and the Pro model with four times Free’s usage, Gemini in Gmail and Docs, higher limits for the Jules coding agent, YouTube Premium Lite and 5 TB of storage. Google AI Ultra costs $99.99 for five times AI Pro’s usage or $199.99 for twenty times.
ChatGPT. OpenAI’s app listing describes image generation, Advanced Voice Mode and photo upload in the free app. Its plans are Go at $8, Plus at $20 and Pro from $100 a month, with Pro tiers of $100, $200 and $500 in Apple’s App Store. Free and Go use GPT-6 Luna, and GPT-6 Astra comes with Plus and Pro. Go may include ads, OpenAI says.
Gemini 4 Argon vs GPT-6 Astra through the API
Google launched Gemini 4 Argon on the API at an introductory $2.00 per million input tokens and $10.00 per million output tokens; from December 1, 2026 it rises to $4.00 and $20.00. GPT-6 Astra costs $10.00 and $50.00. Even after December, Argon costs less than half as much per token.
| Model | Input | Cached input | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 4 Argon (until December 1, 2026) | $2.00 | $0.10 | $10.00 |
| Gemini 4 Argon (from December 1, 2026) | $4.00 | $0.20 | $20.00 |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.75 | $0.075 | $3.75 |
| GPT-6 Astra | $10.00 | $1.00 | $50.00 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $2.00 | $0.10 | $10.00 |
Prices side by side
US dollars per 1 million tokens, standard tier, from each company’s pricing page. The month: 30,000 requests of 2,000 tokens in (half read from cache) and 500 out. Set your own numbers in the calculator below.
What the top models cost in a month
Gemini vs GPT for your use
Choose models
- Turn on JavaScript to see the costs. The price tables below work without it.
What people say
The Gemini 4 Argon launch discussion on Hacker News drew about 1,200 comments. Developers were struck by how often the top labs now overtake each other, and by Google’s note that Argon agents are moving large C and C++ codebases to Rust inside Google. Paying subscribers were less happy that new models reach the Gemini app later than the API, and some found Google’s benchmark tables hard to compare, since they show the highest reasoning setting only.
In September 2026, ChatGPT sent 80.48% of the visits that AI chatbots referred to websites and Gemini 10.91%, according to Statcounter: Gemini is the clear second.
Privacy in the Gemini app
Google’s Gemini privacy hub says that depending on your settings, your chats can be used to improve Google services. Even with the Keep Activity setting off, Google keeps chats for 72 hours and may use them, with help from human reviewers, to keep the service safe. Google advises not to enter login or payment information in Gemini chats.
Which to choose
- The cheapest paid plan: Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month, against $8 for ChatGPT Go.
- The main plans: $19.99 for Google AI Pro, $20 for ChatGPT Plus. Google AI Pro adds Gemini 4 Argon, 5 TB of storage, YouTube Premium Lite and Gemini in Gmail and Docs; compare what Plus includes on OpenAI’s site.
- Video: Gemini, from AI Plus. ChatGPT’s app listing mentions images, not video.
- Building with the API: Gemini 4 Argon costs less per token than GPT-6 Astra, before and after its price rise on December 1, 2026.
Questions
Is Gemini better than ChatGPT?
It depends what you pay for. At $19.99, Google AI Pro bundles storage, YouTube Premium Lite and Gemini in Google’s apps; ChatGPT has the larger user base and more plan sizes, up to $500. Through the API, Gemini 4 Argon is cheaper per token than GPT-6 Astra. Both free plans include image generation, so you can test both.
Is the $200 ChatGPT plan worth it?
It is built for heavy use: ChatGPT Pro 200 costs $200 a month in the App Store, ten times Plus. Google’s nearest plan, AI Ultra with twenty times AI Pro’s usage, costs $199.99. Whether either pays off depends on how often you hit the limits of the $20 plans.
How much is Google AI Pro vs ChatGPT Plus?
Google AI Pro is $19.99 a month and ChatGPT Plus $20 ($19.99 through Apple’s App Store).
Is Gemini free?
Yes. The free plan includes the Flash-Lite model, image generation and editing, Deep Research and 15 GB of storage. Gemini 4 Argon needs Google AI Pro or Ultra.
Sources
- Google: Gemini subscriptions (plans, prices, features)
- Google: Gemini Apps Privacy Hub
- ChatGPT pricing (plan prices) and ChatGPT on the App Store (app features, Pro tiers)
- Google: Gemini API pricing and our Gemini API pricing, OpenAI API pricing
- Statcounter Global Stats, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0