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Gemini CLI vs Claude Code in 2026 (and Where Antigravity CLI Fits)

Gemini CLI stopped serving free, Google AI Pro and Ultra users on June 18, 2026. Who still has it, where Antigravity CLI fits, and how Claude Code compares.

By Engineer Foodie Desk Oct 20, 2026 ✓ Sources checked Oct 20, 2026

9 min read

Checked Oct 20, 2026 on Google’s Developers Blog, the Gemini CLI quota page, Google AI plans and Antigravity pricing, plus Claude’s pricing page on Oct 19, 2026. All sources are listed at the end. No affiliate links on this page (how we work).

If you searched “Gemini CLI vs Claude Code” expecting a free tool against a $20 one, I have bad news. On June 18, 2026, Google did a Thanos snap. Gemini CLI stopped serving requests for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers and for everyone using it free through Gemini Code Assist for individuals. Those users were pointed to a new tool, Antigravity CLI.

Gemini CLI still exists. It still works for companies on Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise, and with paid Gemini API keys. But for most people asking this question, the real matchup in late 2026 is Antigravity CLI vs Claude Code, and this page covers both.

We haven’t tested Gemini CLI, Antigravity CLI or Claude Code. Everything below comes from Google’s and Anthropic’s own pages, with dates. Where two Google pages disagree, we say so.

TL;DR: by situation

Free: Gemini CLI’s free individual path is gone. Google’s replacement, Antigravity, has a $0 plan for individuals with “basic weekly rate limits”, and Google doesn’t publish the number. Claude Code has no free option. Claude’s Free plan doesn’t include it.
You already pay Google (AI Pro $19.99 or Ultra): use Antigravity, not Gemini CLI. Your plan stopped working in Gemini CLI on June 18.
You already pay Anthropic: stay in Claude Code. It comes with every paid Claude plan, from Pro at $20.
Your team is on Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise: Gemini CLI still works, at 1,500 or 2,000 requests per user per day. Google says that access “remains unchanged.”

The wider field: AI coding tools compared and Claude Code alternatives.

What happened to Gemini CLI

Google announced it on May 19, 2026 on its Developers Blog: “On June 18, 2026, Gemini CLI and Gemini Code Assist IDE extensions will stop serving requests for Google AI Pro and Ultra, as well as those using it free of charge using Gemini Code Assist for individuals.”

The same post says:

Organizations on Code Assist Standard or Enterprise: “your access remains unchanged.”
“Gemini CLI will remain accessible via paid Gemini and Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform API keys.”
Antigravity CLI is “available to everyone”, is “Built in Go”, and carries over “Agent Skills, Hooks, Subagents, and Extensions (now as Antigravity plugins).”

Gemini CLI’s own quota page now opens with a banner: “Unpaid tier and Google One users: Gemini CLI was replaced by Antigravity CLI on June 18th, 2026.” It adds: “Gemini CLI has not been optimized for Gemini 4 Argon. To use Gemini 4 Argon, please use Antigravity.” So Google’s newest model doesn’t really belong in Google’s old CLI anymore.

Here’s the part that annoys me. Below that banner, the quota table still lists Code Assist Individual at 1,000 requests a day, Google AI Pro at 1,500 and Ultra at 2,000. The blog says those users aren’t served anymore. The docs page got cryogenically frozen in May, Austin Powers style, and nobody has thawed it out. If you read that table and thought your AI Pro plan gets you 1,500 Gemini CLI requests a day, that’s on Google, not you.

Gemini Code Assist’s own site (checked Oct 15, 2026) says the same: its free individual tier was “replaced by Antigravity CLI and Antigravity on June 18th 2026.”

Quotas and price, side by side

Plan	Daily cap	Price	Source
Code Assist Individual	1,000 listed, no longer served	Was $0	Blog, quota page
Google AI Pro	1,500 listed, no longer served	$19.99/mo	Blog, Google AI
Google AI Ultra	2,000 listed, no longer served	$99.99 or $199.99/mo	Blog, Google AI
Google AI Plus	Not supported	$4.99/mo	Quota page
API key, free	250, Flash only (see note)	$0	Quota page
API key, paid	Varies	Per token	Quota page
Code Assist Standard	1,500	$22.80, or $19 annual	Quota page, Code Assist
Code Assist Enterprise	2,000	$54, or $45 annual	Quota page, Code Assist

Daily caps are max requests per user per day from the quota page (checked Oct 19 and Oct 20, 2026). “No longer served” follows Google’s May 19 blog. Google AI prices from gemini.google/subscriptions (checked Oct 20, 2026). Code Assist prices are per user per month from codeassist.google (checked Oct 15, 2026). The quota page also lists Workspace AI Ultra at 2,000 a day. The blog doesn’t mention it, so check with your admin, and check the current price.

Note on the free API key row: the quota page still lists it, but the blog only promises continued access through paid API keys, and the banner says unpaid-tier users were moved. We couldn’t confirm the free key still works in Gemini CLI, so don’t build a workflow around it.

There’s no standalone Gemini CLI price. The quota always comes from something else: a Code Assist seat, a Google plan or an API key.

What Claude Code costs and how its limits reset

Anthropic’s side is simpler, if less transparent about numbers. Claude Code comes with every paid Claude plan and isn’t on Free (claude.com/pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026):

Pro: $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually ($200 up front)
Max 5x: $100 a month for 5x Pro usage
Ultra (formerly Max 20x): $200 a month for 10x Pro weekly usage with no five-hour limit

Google gives you a number and Anthropic gives you a pattern. Gemini CLI quotas are a fixed count of requests per user per day. Claude’s limits reset on a rolling five-hour window, paid plans add a weekly cap, and your Claude chats and Claude Code share the same pool. Anthropic doesn’t publish a message count.

Then put Claude’s price list next to Google’s. Google AI Ultra is $99.99 for “5x higher usage limits vs. AI Pro” and $199.99 for “20x higher”. Claude Max is $100 for 5x Pro and Claude Ultra is $200 for 10x Pro weekly with no five-hour limit. Same multipliers, a penny apart. Coincidence or not, premium AI plans clearly have a house style now. Full Claude plan maths are on Claude Code pricing.

Antigravity CLI vs Claude Code

Briefly, and only what Google prints. From Antigravity pricing, checked Oct 20, 2026:

For Individuals, $0/month: “Access to a variety of agent models”, “Unlimited Tab completions”, “Unlimited Command requests” and “Basic weekly rate limits”. The number isn’t published.
Google AI Pro ($19.99): “More rate limits” and a “Flexible AI credit pool”. Google’s plans page calls it “Entry rate limits to agent model in Google Antigravity.”
Google AI Ultra ($99.99 / $199.99): “Even more rate limits” plus the credit pool. “Higher” and “Highest” rate limits, respectively, on the plans page.
Gemini 4 Argon: “available for Google AI Pro and Ultra in Google Antigravity.”
Business: API with consumption-based pricing, or for eligible Gemini Enterprise customers, Standard/Plus plans “starting at $30 USD per seat per month” or pay-as-you-go with a $0 seat fee.
The desktop app is “Available on macOS, Windows, Linux, and Googlebook” (antigravity.google).

Next to Claude Code, the clearest difference is the price floor. Antigravity starts at $0 and Claude Code starts at $20. The clearest weakness is that every Antigravity limit is vague: “basic”, “more”, “even more”. Anthropic doesn’t publish counts either, but at least its Claude Code plans come with stated multipliers.

Regina George would have a line for Google’s naming: Gemini CLI, Gemini Code Assist, Antigravity, Antigravity CLI. Stop trying to make fetch happen. Pick a name and keep it for two years.

Using an API key instead

Both companies let you skip the subscription and pay per token.

Gemini API (pricing, checked Oct 18 and Oct 19, 2026). The free tier is “Free of charge” for listed Flash models and Gemini 2.5 Pro, and free-tier content is “Used to improve our products”. Gemini 4 Argon isn’t on the free tier. Google doesn’t publish fixed free-tier RPM/TPM numbers. It says limits show in AI Studio and “are not guaranteed”, and daily request counts reset at midnight Pacific. On the paid tier, Gemini 3.8 Flash is $0.75 in / $3.75 out per 1M tokens through Dec 31, 2026 ($1.50 / $7.50 from Jan 1). Gemini 4 Argon is $2 / $10 through Nov 30, then $4 / $20 from Dec 1. Full table: Gemini API pricing.

Claude API (pricing, checked Oct 18, 2026). Sonnet 5.5 is $2 / $10 and Opus 5.5 is $4 / $20 per 1M tokens. Anthropic’s VS Code extension for Claude Code accepts a Claude Console account as an alternative to a subscription (IDE docs, checked Oct 20, 2026). More on Claude API pricing.

One date to circle: Argon’s intro price ends Dec 1, when it doubles to Opus 5.5’s level, $4 / $20. Gemini 3.8 Flash’s intro price runs to the end of the year. If you’re budgeting an API-key setup, use the post-promo numbers.

Here’s what I’d do

Free user who loved Gemini CLI: move to Antigravity’s $0 plan. It’s Google’s official path. Expect a weekly limit Google won’t quantify.
Google AI Pro subscriber: you’re already paying $19.99. Use Antigravity before spending $20 on Claude Pro, and only add Claude if you hit the wall.
Claude Pro or Max subscriber: nothing to do. Claude Code is in your plan.
Team on Code Assist Standard or Enterprise: keep Gemini CLI. Google says access is unchanged, at 1,500 or 2,000 requests per user per day.
Starting from scratch with $20: Google AI Pro ($19.99) with Antigravity, or Claude Pro ($20) with Claude Code. Choose the model family you trust. We can’t rank the agents without testing them.

Weighing a third lab? Codex vs Claude Code is the OpenAI matchup.

Using Gemini CLI on the free tier? Gemini CLI free tier limits covers what changed on June 18, 2026 and what still works.

Choosing the subscription rather than the CLI? Google AI Pro vs Claude Pro compares the two $20-tier plans for coding.

For Google’s IDE plugin, see Is Gemini Code Assist free?

If Gemini CLI keeps stopping with a 429, Gemini CLI “429 RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED” walks through what it means and how to get past it.

Stuck on Request contains an invalid argument in Gemini CLI? The Gemini CLI 400 fix covers it.

FAQ

Is Gemini CLI still free? Not for individuals: Google stopped serving free Code Assist users on June 18, 2026, and the free API-key path isn’t confirmed; Antigravity has a $0 plan instead.

What replaced Gemini CLI? Antigravity CLI, which Google says is available to everyone and carries over Agent Skills, Hooks, Subagents and Extensions (as plugins).

Is Gemini CLI better than Claude Code? We haven’t tested either; Gemini CLI now mainly serves Code Assist Standard/Enterprise teams and paid API keys, while Claude Code comes with any paid Claude plan.

Does Google AI Plus include Gemini CLI? No, Gemini CLI’s quota page says Google AI Plus ($4.99) isn’t supported for these quotas.

Antigravity vs Claude Code? Antigravity starts at $0 with unpublished “basic weekly rate limits” and scales with Google AI Pro or Ultra; Claude Code starts with Claude Pro at $20.

Sources

Google Developers Blog, “An important update: transitioning Gemini CLI to Antigravity CLI” (May 19, 2026): https://developers.googleblog.com/an-important-update-transitioning-gemini-cli-to-antigravity-cli/ (verified 2026-10-20)
Gemini CLI quota and pricing (banner, daily caps, AI Plus not supported, Argon note): https://geminicli.com/docs/resources/quota-and-pricing/ (verified 2026-10-19, re-verified 2026-10-20)
Google AI plans (Plus, Pro, Ultra prices, Antigravity limits): https://gemini.google/subscriptions/ (verified 2026-10-20)
Antigravity pricing (Individuals, Pro, Ultra, business): https://antigravity.google/pricing (verified 2026-10-20)
Antigravity homepage (platforms): https://antigravity.google/ (verified 2026-10-20)
Gemini Code Assist (Standard and Enterprise prices, free tier replaced): https://codeassist.google/ (verified 2026-10-15)
Gemini API pricing: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing (verified 2026-10-18 and 2026-10-19)
Gemini API rate limits: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits (verified 2026-10-19)
Claude pricing (Pro, Max, Claude Code on paid plans, shared pool, limits): https://claude.com/pricing (verified 2026-10-19)
Anthropic Claude API pricing: https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing (verified 2026-10-18)
Claude Code docs, IDE integrations: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/ide-integrations (verified 2026-10-20)