Google tightens Gemini tiers: free users limited to Flash-Lite from Oct 9
Google has updated a support page saying that from October 9 it will change Gemini access for personal accounts: free users will only get Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and lose access to Gemini 3.6 Flash and newer models, while the $4.99/month AI Plus tier is limited to Flash and Flash-Lite and no longer includes higher-end reasoning models such as Gemini 3.1 Pro. The $19.99-and-up Google AI Pro and Ultra tiers are unaffected and keep Deep Think and advanced model access. Google is also introducing low, medium and high Effort modes that deduct quota based on task compute complexity, with higher modes draining the allowance faster.
It signals that leading vendors are ending generous free access and reserving high-compute models for higher-paying users.