Google tightens Gemini app model access, free users lose Pro from October 9
On October 5, Google announced changes to Gemini app model availability: from 10 February 9, free users lose Pro and only retain Flash and Flash-Lite, with quotas scaling 2x/4x/5-20x for AI Plus/Pro/Ultra.
On October 5, Google published changes to Gemini app model access on its official support page. From October 2026, model availability and quota behavior for personal accounts will differ. Non-subscribers will be affected from February 9, and AI Plus subscribers will be notified by email about their effective date.
After the change, non-subscribers and AI Plus users will only be able to use Flash and Flash-Lite, losing access to Pro. AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers retain Pro model access. AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers can also use Deep Think for the highest level of parallel reasoning.
On quotas, Gemini already switched to compute-based limits that refresh every five hours until a weekly cap. The system computes usage based on prompt complexity, features used and conversation length. AI Plus gets 2x the standard limit, AI Pro gets 4x, and AI Ultra gets 5x or 20x of AI Pro (depending on the plan). The most quota-hungry features include media generation (image, video, music), Deep Research, Pro model, extended thinking and Deep Think. For the best experience, Google recommends updating the Gemini mobile app to the latest version.