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Google limits free Gemini users to Flash-Lite from 9 October

Free accounts lose Flash and Pro, AI Plus loses Pro, and AI Pro gains Deep Think in the Gemini app.

By Alexandre S. , 05:40 UTC

Google is narrowing the models free and AI Plus subscribers can use in the Gemini app from Friday 9 October 2026, 9to5Google reported on Saturday 3 October. Free users keep only the 3.5 Flash-Lite model and lose Flash and Pro. AI Plus, at $4.99 a month, keeps Flash-Lite and Flash but loses Pro, and subscribers are being emailed before it takes effect.

Retro-futurist illustration: a striped sunset over a grid horizon under a starry sky, with a smartphone showing an app standing on the horizon.
Drawn by adtestbench from Gemini app limiting what models free & AI Plus users can access, AI Pro adding Deep Think,

Higher tiers gain. AI Pro, at $19.99 a month, keeps all three models and adds Deep Think, the parallel-reasoning mode that until now sat only on the $99.99 and $199.99 Ultra plans, which do not change. Every model also gets low, medium and high effort settings; higher settings spend more of a user’s allowance on longer, more detailed replies, according to 9to5Google.

OfficeChai says Flash and Pro are the models that cost Google most to run, and ties the change to Google’s move in May from fixed daily prompt caps to compute-based usage limits. 9to5Google notes that Google has not said where Gemini 4 Argon, released on 30 September, fits in the line-up.

For marketers who draft copy, briefs or image prompts on free Gemini accounts, the default model drops a tier on 9 October, and Pro-level output in the app now starts at $19.99 a month.

Sources

  1. 9to5Google: Gemini app limiting what models free & AI Plus users can access, AI Pro adding Deep Think. Checked
  2. OfficeChai: Gemini Flash And Gemini Pro Models To No Longer Be Available To Free Gemini Users. Checked

Alexandre S.

Alexandre S. is a creative ad strategist and copywriter with ten years' experience in digital marketing across multiple channels.

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