Is Gemini CLI Free for Pro Users? Explained

Is Gemini CLI free for Pro users? No. Since June 18, 2026, Gemini CLI no longer serves Google AI Pro or Ultra subscribers, or anyone signing in with a free personal Google account. If you pay for Google AI Pro, the terminal agent included in your plan is now Antigravity CLI, which runs on your subscription quota at no extra charge. Gemini CLI itself still works, but only with a paid Gemini API key, Google Cloud credentials or a company Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise license, and those are billed separately from your Pro subscription.

This explainer goes plan by plan: what changed, what each Google plan gets in the terminal today, what you pay if you want to keep using Gemini CLI, and how to move to Antigravity CLI. Facts were checked on October 21, 2026 against Google's announcement, the Gemini CLI team's notice and the Antigravity and Gemini API docs linked below. For the install and command walkthrough, see our separate guide on how to use Gemini CLI in terminal.

What changed on June 18, 2026

Google announced on May 19, 2026 that Gemini CLI would stop serving requests for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers and for people using it free through Gemini Code Assist for individuals, and that those users should switch to Antigravity CLI. The cutoff took effect on June 18, which the Gemini CLI team confirmed in a GitHub discussion that day. The same notice said users with a Code Assist license or an API key were not affected.

So the old answer you'll still find in forum posts and older tutorials, that Gemini CLI is free with a Google login and more generous with Pro, describes a setup that no longer exists. Parts of the Gemini CLI README still mention the personal login flow. Google's announcement and the June 18 notice are the newer sources.

Is Gemini CLI free with Google AI Pro?

Not through Gemini CLI. Signing in to Gemini CLI with a Google AI Pro account no longer gets you served. What your Pro subscription does include is Antigravity, Google's agentic coding product, and its terminal agent, Antigravity CLI. According to the Antigravity plans page, every plan gets Gemini models, including Gemini 3.8 Flash, unlimited Tab completions and access to all product features, the CLI included. What differs between plans is quota.

What each plan gets in the terminal

The plans page puts it in relative terms rather than numbers: Pro gets a "high" quota refreshed every five hours until you hit a weekly cap, Ultra gets the highest quota on the same five hour cycle with the highest weekly limits, and accounts without a paid plan get a "meaningful" quota refreshed weekly. Google doesn't publish request counts for these tiers, so be wary of any post that quotes exact numbers.

One more Pro detail: Google lists Gemini 4 Argon as available in Antigravity for AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, so the newest model comes with the subscription there.

What happens when Pro runs out of quota

On Pro and Ultra you can keep working past your quota by spending AI credits that you buy from Google, charged at Gemini Enterprise consumption rates. Antigravity has an overage setting that controls this, with options to never or always use credits, and the Antigravity CLI credits page explains that a useG1Credits setting in settings.json (also in the CLI's /config panel) decides whether the CLI falls back to your credits when plan quota runs out, and the /credits command shows and manages your balance. If you want the subscription to be a hard ceiling, leave overages off.

Antigravity does not take your own API key. If you want per token billing on your own key, that is what Gemini CLI is still for.

What Gemini CLI costs now

Gemini CLI is open source under Apache 2.0 and costs nothing to install. The model calls are what you pay for, and the routes that still work are all paid or organizational:

• A Gemini API key on the paid tier. Google's billing docs say new accounts start on the free tier, and moving to the paid tier needs a linked billing account and at least $5 of prepaid credit. Google's announcement names paid API keys as the supported route.
• Google Cloud credentials through Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform (formerly Vertex AI), billed to your Cloud project.
• A Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise license from your employer, including Code Assist for GitHub through Google Cloud.

On the API, per the Gemini API pricing page, Gemini 4 Argon is not on the free tier. It costs $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens through November 30, 2026, then $4 and $20 from December 1. Coding agents read a lot of files, so input tokens often make up most of the bill. Check the pricing page for the model you plan to use before you leave an agent running overnight.

For a single developer with Google AI Pro, that makes the trade simple. Antigravity CLI is already paid for, while Gemini CLI on an API key is a second bill. Gemini CLI makes sense when your company provides a Code Assist license, when you need per token billing tied to a Cloud project, or when you want an open source agent you can modify.

How to use Gemini CLI features in Antigravity CLI

Google publishes a migration guide for people coming from Gemini CLI. The main points:

1. Install Antigravity CLI with Google's script: curl -fsSL https://antigravity.google/cli/install.sh | bash on macOS and Linux, or irm https://antigravity.google/cli/install.ps1 | iex in Windows PowerShell. It runs as agy.
2. Run agy plugin import gemini to bring over your Gemini CLI setup.
3. Your GEMINI.md and AGENTS.md instruction files keep working.
4. Workspace skills move from .gemini/skills/ to .agents/skills/.
5. MCP server config moves to ~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json for global servers or .agents/mcp_config.json per project, and remote servers use a serverUrl field instead of url or httpUrl.

Google said at the announcement that Antigravity CLI did not yet have full feature parity with Gemini CLI. If a script or extension depends on a specific Gemini CLI behavior, test it before you rely on the switch.

Alternatives if neither fits

If you don't want to buy into Google's tools, other terminal agents follow similar plan models. Claude Code is included with Claude Pro and Max, and Codex comes with ChatGPT plans. Our Claude Code vs Codex vs Gemini CLI comparison covers how they differ, and best open source coding agents lists agents you can point at any model key. If you'd rather build your own agent on Gemini models, Google's Agent Development Kit uses the same API keys.

FAQ

Is Gemini CLI free with Gemini Pro?

No. Since June 18, 2026, Gemini CLI doesn't serve Google AI Pro subscribers. Your Pro subscription covers Antigravity CLI instead, which runs on the plan's quota without an extra charge.

Can I still use Gemini CLI for free at all?

Not with a personal Google sign in. The CLI itself is free open source software, but the supported routes are a paid Gemini API key, Google Cloud credentials or a Code Assist Standard or Enterprise license, all of which are billed.

Is Antigravity CLI free?

It's included with every Antigravity plan, including accounts without a paid Google AI plan, which get a smaller quota that refreshes weekly. Pro and Ultra get larger quotas that refresh every five hours, and they can buy AI credits for overages.

Does Google AI Ultra still work with Gemini CLI?

No. Ultra lost Gemini CLI access on the same date as Pro. Ultra subscribers get the highest Antigravity quotas and access to third party models there.

Will my GEMINI.md and MCP servers work in Antigravity CLI?

Your GEMINI.md files are honored, and agy plugin import gemini imports your setup. MCP servers move to a new config file location and use serverUrl for remote servers, so check them after the import.

Is Gemini CLI being discontinued?

Not for paid and organizational users. Google said it keeps supporting API key and Code Assist users, and the project is still open source and updated. Only the personal and consumer plan access ended.