🪦 Dead
Gemini Flash & Pro for Free Users
Feature removed · Monetization Pivot · shut down October 9, 2026
- Born
- Died
- Lifespan
- 2y 8m
- Cause of death
- Monetization Pivot
- Killed by
- Type
- Service
Since the Gemini app replaced Bard in February 2024, a personal Google account got Google's mainstream models for free, within usage limits. On October 9, 2026 that ended: free users were cut down to a single model, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, with Gemini 3.6 Flash now behind the $4.99 AI Plus plan and 3.1 Pro behind AI Pro and Ultra. AI Plus subscribers lose Pro too, on a date Google emails them. It is the second free-tier squeeze in five months, after the May 2026 move to compute-based usage limits.