Gemini free or AI Pro: Which one should you choose?

Gemini can learn from past chats and connect with Google apps such as Gmail, Drive, Photos, YouTube and Search

By Pareesa Afreen
|
January 25, 2026
Gemini free or AI Pro: Which one should you choose?

All Gemini users are given access to the fast model, called Gemini 3 Flash, which helps users access answers quickly. The Thinking model, which allows users to have more time to think through complex queries, is available to the free users, though the limits might vary per day. The Gemini 3 Pro, also called the Pro model, is available in small amounts to the users of the free tier.

With Google AI Pro, limits can be further raised with its subscription plan, where one can have 300 thinking prompts per day as well as 100 pro prompts per day.

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One of the largest differences is in the window size, which affects the amount of data Gemini is allowed to process at any given time. For free users, the window size is capped at 32,000 tokens, or approximately 50 pages of text. For an AI Pro user, the window is increased to one million tokens, or approximately 1,500 pages of text or 30,000 lines of code.

This also includes file upload, with free users being restricted to five-minute videos and 10-minute audio files, and Pro users being allowed to upload one-hour videos and audio files of up to three hours.

Access to the fast model, Gemini 3 Flash, is provided to all the users of the Gemini application, which helps the users access the answers faster.

The Thinking model, which gives users a chance to think before initiating a complex search, is accessible to the free users, though the amount of usage can vary per day. AI Pro also unlocks Personal Intelligence features. Gemini can learn from past chats and connect with Google apps such as Gmail, Drive, Photos, YouTube and Search to deliver more personalised responses.

With Google AI Pro, the limit may even rise for a subscription service, in which case you may have as many as 300 thinking prompts per day as well as 100 pro prompts per day.

The largest differences lie in the size of the window; this affects the amount of data Gemini is permitted to process at a particular time. For a free user, the size of the window is set so that it is no larger than 32,000 tokens, or 50 pages of text.

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