Google Gemini's free tier drops to Flash-Lite on October 9

If you use Gemini without paying, the chatbot is about to get noticeably less capable. From October 9, free accounts will be limited to Flash-Lite, Google's smallest and cheapest model. The $4.99-a-month AI Plus plan also loses its top model, Pro. Anyone who relies on Gemini for longer, harder tasks will need to pay more or accept simpler answers, according to Google's help page.

Who gets what

Google splits Gemini into three models. Flash-Lite is the fastest and lightest. Flash sits in the middle. Pro is the most capable.

- Free: Flash-Lite only. - AI Plus ($4.99/month): Flash-Lite and Flash. Pro is removed. - AI Pro ($19.99/month; £18.99 in the UK): all three models, plus Deep Think. - AI Ultra (from $99.99/month): all three models and Deep Think.

Deep Think is a mode that runs several lines of reasoning in parallel before it answers. Until now it was limited to the most expensive plan. AI Pro subscribers get it too.

Plus subscribers will not all lose Pro on the same day. T-Break reports that Google will email each account with its own cutoff date later in October.

The reason

The change follows Google's switch in May to usage limits based on computing cost instead of a fixed number of messages. A heavy model burns through that allowance faster than a light one. Cutting access to the heavy models is a blunt way to control costs.

It is also a sales pitch. Flash-Lite is fine for quick questions, and it makes the paid plans look better by comparison. Google's gentler move in the same direction was Google Chrome gets Gemini quizzes, cross-device sync, and podcast summaries, where the free features are still broad.

Reports from 9to5Google say Gemini will also get low, medium and high effort settings for each model in October. Low is meant for quick replies. High gives more accurate answers but uses more of your allowance. Those settings have not launched yet.

What to do

Free users have until October 9 to finish any work that needs Pro or Flash. After that, a rival's free tier may be the better option. Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI all run free plans of their own, though each has limits.

Plus subscribers should watch their inbox for the date their Pro access ends. If you use Pro regularly, the jump to AI Pro is $15 a month in the US. Google has not announced any discount for people who are downgraded.