Google has spent 2026 changing how much of Gemini you get. The next change is about which Gemini you get. A help page titled “Changes to Gemini model access and limits” sets out a new ladder in which the model picker itself depends on what you pay: one model with no plan, two on the cheapest plan, three from Google AI Pro upwards. Until now the free app has listed access to Flash and “varying access” to Pro.
Below: the ladder as Google’s own help and plans pages showed it on 4 October 2026, the dates, how the change sits on top of the usage limits Google introduced in May, the US and UK prices of each step, and what it means if the free tier or the $4.99 plan is how you use Gemini today.
What Google changed, plan by plan
The help page gives a four-row table: which of three model families each plan can select once the changes take effect. It names the families only as Flash-Lite, Flash and Pro. 9to5Google’s Abner Li, who reported the update on 3 October, identifies them as Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, 3.6 Flash and 3.1 Pro, and Google’s plans page uses the same “3.6 Flash” and “3.1 Pro” labels. The table below adds the monthly prices from Google’s US and UK plans pages and the usage multipliers from the same help page.
| Plan | US / UK monthly price | Flash-Lite | Flash | Pro | Deep Think | Usage limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No plan | $0 / £0 | Yes | No | No | No | Standard |
| Google AI Plus | $4.99 / £4.49 | Yes | Yes | No | No | 2x standard |
| Google AI Pro | $19.99 / £18.99 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4x standard |
| Google AI Ultra | $99.99 or $199.99 / £79.99 or £189.99 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5x or 20x AI Pro |
Sources for the table: Google’s Gemini Apps Help page for model access, Deep Think and usage limits; Google’s US and UK subscriptions pages for prices. All were read on 4 October 2026.
Two rows lose something. Accounts with no plan drop from three selectable families to one. Google AI Plus drops from three to two, losing Pro. Nothing is removed from AI Pro or AI Ultra, and the help page says both “will also have access to the Deep Think option for maximum parallel reasoning”. 9to5Google reports that Deep Think has until now been limited to the $99.99 and $199.99 Ultra plans, which makes its arrival on the $19.99 plan the one addition in the announcement.
When the changes take effect
There are two timetables. For accounts without a subscription the help page gives a date: the changes “will start to take effect” on 9 October. For Google AI Plus it gives none. Subscribers “should receive an email that explains when these changes will take effect for you”, so a Plus subscriber should watch the inbox attached to their Google Account for the date that applies to them.
The page applies to Gemini Apps used with a personal account. It does not describe work or school accounts, and it does not say that the change is limited to particular countries.
Model access is not the same as usage limits
It helps to keep two things apart. Since 17 May 2026 (24 July for users under 18), the same help page says, Gemini has run on compute-based usage limits that refresh every five hours until a weekly limit is reached. How quickly you use the allowance depends on the complexity of the prompt, the features used and the length of the chat, and Google lists media generation, Deep Research, the Pro model, extended thinking and Deep Think as things that use it faster. Paid plans multiply the allowance: 2x for AI Plus, 4x for AI Pro, and 5x or 20x the AI Pro level for the two Ultra prices.
October’s change is a different kind of limit. It does not alter those multipliers; it decides which models appear in the picker at all. A free account that never came close to its weekly allowance still loses Flash and Pro.
The two systems meet in one new control. The help page says that for each available model you can also choose an effort level of low, medium or high, which “will increase the model’s ability to complete tasks and provide more thorough answers to queries, but will also use more of your limit”. 9to5Google notes that the app currently offers a single extended-thinking option, and that three levels would match what Google already offers in AI Studio and Antigravity. For a free user the practical reading is that the remaining lever for a better answer is effort on Flash-Lite, and that pulling it spends the allowance sooner.
One earlier detail softens that. When Google adjusted the limits in late May after complaints, 9to5Google reported the company saying that Flash-Lite prompts were “free and won’t count against your quota”. The current help page does not repeat that sentence, so treat it as the position in May, not a promise about October.
Who loses most: AI Plus subscribers
Free users lose more models, but they are not paying. The awkward position belongs to Google AI Plus. On 4 October Google’s plans page still sold it at $4.99 in the US and £4.49 in the UK, described as “2x higher usage limits than Free” with 400 GB of storage and extras such as video generation, and nothing on that page indicated a lower price to go with the smaller model list. After the change, the cheapest plan that includes the Pro model is AI Pro, four times the monthly price in dollars.
What Plus keeps is the middle model. If Flash is what you use day to day, and our running guide to the Gemini 3 line describes it as the workhorse, Plus becomes the lowest plan that still has it. That is a narrower pitch than before, but a clear one: $4.99 or £4.49 a month is now the price of keeping Flash.
For AI Pro subscribers the news runs the other way. They keep everything and gain Deep Think, the reasoning mode Google’s plans page was still describing on 4 October as something Ultra subscribers get “first access” to. Deep Think is also on Google’s list of features that use the allowance faster, so it is an extra option on the same 4x limit, not extra capacity.
US vs UK: prices and what Pro includes
The US and UK versions of the help page carry the same table and the same 9 October date, so the model ladder is identical in both countries. The prices and the bundles are not. Google’s US page lists AI Plus at $4.99, AI Pro at $19.99 and AI Ultra at $99.99 or $199.99 a month; the UK page lists £4.49, £18.99 and £79.99 or £189.99. The step that now matters, from Plus to Pro, costs an extra $15 a month in the US and an extra £14.50 in the UK.
What that step buys differs. Both pages give AI Pro 5 TB of storage, the 4x usage limit, entry-level access to Google Antigravity and the YouTube Premium Lite plan. The US page also lists higher limits in the Jules coding agent, Gemini in Chrome and the Google Home Premium Standard plan; the UK page read on 4 October lists none of those three under AI Pro. A UK reader weighing the upgrade for the Pro model alone is therefore paying a similar price for a shorter list.
What this changes if you use Gemini
Start from the model you select today. If you use the free app and leave it on its default, the visible change may be small. If you switch to Pro for harder questions, that option goes on 9 October, and the choice becomes a Flash-Lite answer, a higher effort setting that uses more of your limit, or $19.99 / £18.99 a month.
If you pay for AI Plus because it was the cheap route to Pro, wait for Google’s email, note the date, and decide before the next renewal whether Flash plus the storage is worth the fee on its own. Our Google Gemini review sets out who gets real value from Gemini’s Workspace integration, which is the part of the product this change does not touch.
It also changes how Gemini compares. Several of our guides, including ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini and the best AI chatbots round-up, advise trying the free tiers before paying. That advice stands, but from 9 October the free Gemini you try is Flash-Lite only, so a free trial no longer shows you what the paid plans’ Pro model does. The same question we ask in Is ChatGPT Plus worth it? now applies here: pay when you can name the specific thing the free tier stops you doing.
What Google has not said
The help page leaves four gaps. It gives no reason for the change. It does not say when AI Plus subscribers lose Pro, only that an email will. It does not say whether the standard usage allowance changes for accounts that are left with Flash-Lite. And it does not mention Gemini 4 Argon, the model Google announced on 30 September. 9to5Google reports that Argon is going first to AI Ultra subscribers and paid API customers, and that Google has not said whether it will be classed as a Pro model or sit in a new tier above it. Where Argon lands will decide what the word “Pro” in that table is worth, and it is the next thing to watch in the AI model race.
FAQ
What is changing in the Gemini app on October 9?
From 9 October 2026, people using the Gemini app without a Google AI subscription can select only the Flash-Lite model; Flash and Pro are removed. Google AI Plus subscribers ($4.99 / £4.49 a month) keep Flash-Lite and Flash but lose Pro on a date Google will email to them. Google AI Pro ($19.99 / £18.99) and AI Ultra keep all three models, and AI Pro gains the Deep Think option.
Which Gemini models can free users use after October 9?
Only Flash-Lite. Google’s help page shows accounts without a Google AI plan keeping Flash-Lite and losing both Flash and Pro once the change starts to take effect on 9 October 2026. 9to5Google identifies the models as Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, 3.6 Flash and 3.1 Pro.
Is Google AI Plus losing Gemini Pro?
Yes. After the change Google AI Plus includes Flash-Lite and Flash but not Pro. Google has not published a date for Plus subscribers; its help page says they should receive an email explaining when the change takes effect for them.
Is Deep Think coming to Google AI Pro?
Yes. Google’s help page says AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers will have access to the Deep Think option. 9to5Google reports that Deep Think was previously limited to the $99.99 and $199.99 AI Ultra plans. Google lists Deep Think among the features that use your usage limit faster.
Do the Gemini changes apply in the UK?
The UK version of Google’s help page carries the same table and the same 9 October date as the US version, and the page does not limit the change to particular countries. UK prices on 4 October 2026 were £4.49 a month for AI Plus, £18.99 for AI Pro and £79.99 or £189.99 for AI Ultra.
Are Gemini’s usage limits changing too?
Not according to the help page. The compute-based limits introduced on 17 May 2026 still refresh every five hours until a weekly limit is reached, with AI Plus at 2x the standard limit and AI Pro at 4x. The new low, medium and high effort levels use more of that limit when set higher.
How much do Google AI plans cost?
On 4 October 2026 Google’s US page listed AI Plus at $4.99 a month, AI Pro at $19.99 and AI Ultra at $99.99 or $199.99. The UK page listed £4.49, £18.99 and £79.99 or £189.99. After the change AI Pro is the cheapest plan that includes the Pro model.
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