ChatGPT Plus vs Gemini
ChatGPT Plus and Gemini side by side: what each one is, what it costs to start, and whether you can try it free. Everything below comes from the vendors' own sites and other public sources, not from hands-on testing.
At a glance
| ChatGPT Plus | Gemini | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Writing & Copy | Writing & Copy |
| Starting price | $20/mo (checked October 2026) | $4.99/mo (checked October 2026) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Profile | Read profile | Read profile |
Prices are in US dollars unless shown otherwise. Confirm the current price on the vendor's site before you buy.
Key differences
Both list a free tier, so you can try each before paying.
Gemini has the lower starting price ($4.99/mo against $20/mo for ChatGPT Plus). The cheapest plan rarely has the same limits or features, so compare plans before choosing on price.
Both are in our Writing & Copy category.
About each tool
ChatGPT Plus
OpenAI's paid personal ChatGPT plan with expanded chat, deep research, image creation, voice, projects, custom GPTs and Codex. Plus is $20 a month, billed monthly; the Free and Go plans are separate.
Who it is for
Individuals who want more usage and tools than the Free or Go plans give them. OpenAI sells Business and Enterprise plans separately for organizations.
Strengths
- OpenAI lists projects, scheduled tasks and custom GPTs on Plus
- OpenAI lists expanded deep research, memory and context, and Codex usage over Free and Go
- Codex on the web, command line, IDE extension and iOS is included, and extra usage can be bought with ChatGPT credits
- OpenAI says Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts will not have ads
- You can turn off Improve the model for everyone in Settings under Data controls, and OpenAI says Temporary Chats are not used to improve models
Limitations
- Higher Codex, memory, image and deep research allowances are reserved for Pro, which OpenAI states as 5x Plus usage at $100 a month and 20x at $200 a month
- OpenAI says ads can appear on the Free and Go plans, which is a plan difference rather than a Plus limit
- The pages we read were inconsistent on agent mode, so we do not list it as a Plus feature
Gemini
Google's AI assistant app for text, image and voice tasks, with a free plan and paid Google AI plans that add higher usage limits and Google storage.
Who it is for
People who already use a Google Account and want an assistant for summarising, drafting, coding help and image generation. Paid Google AI plans add higher usage limits and bundled Google storage.
Strengths
- Free plan with a Google Account, including Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas, Gems and image generation and editing
- Paid plans raise usage limits: 2x the free allowance on Google AI Plus and 4x on Google AI Pro
- Larger context window on paid plans: 32k tokens on Free, 128k on AI Plus, 1M on AI Pro and Ultra
- Paid plans bundle Google storage: 400 GB (AI Plus), 5 TB (AI Pro), from 20 TB (AI Ultra)
Limitations
- Free usage is compute-based rather than a fixed prompt count; limits reset every 5 hours until a weekly cap is reached
- Features that need more compute, such as Deep Research, can be unavailable to free users at busy times
- Plan availability and age requirements vary by country
