Is Gemini 4 Argon free? No. Google’s new frontier model arrived in the Gemini app on October 13, 2026, and Google says “Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers can now access Gemini 4 Argon”. The free plan does not get it, and neither does Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month. The cheapest way in is Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month in the US.
This guide covers what a free or Plus account actually shows, what Argon is for, what each plan costs, and the catch nobody puts on the plan cards: Google publishes no Argon message count for any plan. Everything here comes from Google’s own pages, read on October 13 and 14, plus two screenshots from our own Google AI Plus account. If you are weighing the plans more broadly, our Google AI Ultra vs Pro comparison and Google AI Plus review go deeper on everything besides Argon.
⚡ TL;DR: Is Gemini 4 Argon Free?
🔓 Free? No. Argon is in the Gemini app for Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) and Ultra (from $99.99 a month). Plus ($4.99) shows it with a lock, and Free does not include it.
🧠 What it is: Google’s first Gemini 4 model, built for long, complex jobs like financial reports, research and multi-step projects.
⚖️ Pro or Ultra: Both get Argon in the app. Ultra adds Argon in Google Antigravity and AI Studio, plus 5x or 20x Pro’s usage.
💡 Our take: Pro is the sensible way in if you do hard, long tasks. Ultra only makes sense for heavy users and developers.
⚠️ The catch: Google publishes no Argon message count on any plan. Limits are compute-based, Argon and higher thinking levels use more, and at the limit your chat drops to Flash-Lite.
📑 Quick Navigation
🔓 Is Gemini 4 Argon Free? The Short Answer
Google’s own pages agree on the basic line. The Gemini subscriptions page opens with “Looking for Gemini 4 Argon? Select AI Pro or AI Ultra below to get access starting today.” The Pro and Ultra cards both list “Access to Gemini 4 Argon”. The Free card names only 3.5 Flash-Lite and the Plus card names 3.6 Flash.
| Plan (US price) | Argon in the Gemini app | Argon in Antigravity and AI Studio | What else to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free ($0) | No | No | Runs on Auto or Flash-Lite since October 9 |
| Google AI Plus ($4.99 a month) | No (shows a lock) | No | Card names 3.6 Flash; 2x Free’s usage |
| Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) | Yes, rolling out | No | Cheapest plan with Argon; 4x Free’s usage |
| Google AI Ultra ($99.99 a month) | Yes | Yes | 5x Pro’s usage |
| Google AI Ultra 20x ($199.99 a month) | Yes | Yes | 20x Pro’s usage |
Google’s About Gemini models help page says the same in its model table: Argon appears in chats on Google AI Pro and Ultra only, and Plus gets Flash-Lite, Flash and Pro. Argon also comes to AI Mode in Search for Pro and Ultra subscribers, according to Google’s launch post.
One wrinkle for Pro: the release notes say Argon is “rolling out globally”, while the Google One plans page says it is “rolling out to Google AI Pro subscribers in select countries.” No page lists the countries. If you pay for Pro and Argon is not in your menu yet, it may simply not have reached your account.
🔒 What You See on Free and Plus
Here is what the upgrade wall looks like. On our own Google AI Plus account, in the Gemini desktop app on October 13, the model menu listed 3.5 Flash-Lite, 3.6 Flash (ticked), 3.1 Pro, and 4 Argon with a lock next to it. Google’s help page explains the icon: “Higher-tier models marked with a lock icon require an eligible plan upgrade.”
Clicking the locked Argon opens a sheet titled “Unlock Gemini 4” with three lines (“Frontier performance for complex tasks”, “Solves multi-step workflows end to end”, “Turns ambitious ideas into real projects”) and two buttons, Upgrade and Not now. The sheet names no plan and no price.
Upgrade opened Google One with our current plan, Google AI Plus, and two offers: Google AI Pro, marked recommended, and Google AI Ultra. Nothing below Pro was offered. That matches the plan table above, and it matches what Android Police reported on launch day.
🔍 REALITY CHECK
The claim: "Unlock Gemini 4" (Google’s in-app sheet).
The fine print: The sheet sells three benefits and shows no price. The upgrade page it opens offers Pro and Ultra, the two plans whose cards list Argon. Google’s pages publish no Argon message count for either.
✅ Verdict: The lock is a plan wall, not a bug. Unlocking it means $19.99 a month at minimum in the US.
🧠 What Gemini 4 Argon Actually Gets You
Google’s help page describes Argon in one line: “Top-tier intelligence, dynamic deep reasoning, and the highest performance for complex workflows.” In plain words, it is the model you hand a long, messy job to, not the one you ask for a quick fact. Google’s examples are analyzing a complex financial report, building a deck from scattered sources and creating an interactive 3D model, and its launch post names coding, finance, legal, cybersecurity and science as Argon’s strengths.
Google also says Argon “answers questions more directly with less hedging”, skips clichés and shares its progress more often on longer tasks. Those are Google’s claims about style. The model card is more sober: Argon may still hallucinate, there may be occasional slowness or timeouts, and its knowledge cutoff is March 2026.
Google’s own scores (and where Argon loses)
Google’s DeepMind model page puts Argon first on the Vals Index, which covers work in finance, coding, legal and tax, at 68.9%, ahead of Claude Opus 5.5 at 67.0%, Claude Fable 5.1 at 65.8% and GPT-6 Astra at 63.1%. On DeepSWE v1.1, a coding test, Google lists 77.9%. These are Google’s numbers on Google’s chosen tests, so read them as a claim, not a verdict.
📊 Google’s Own Benchmark Table: Three Tests Argon Leads (Vendor-Reported %)
The chart shows the three rows where Argon’s lead is clearest. The full table tells a more mixed story.
🔍 REALITY CHECK
The claim: Google’s launch post says Argon ranks "#1 on the Vals Index".
The fine print: True in Google’s own table. But counting all 19 results in that table, Argon comes first on 13, ties on 1 and is beaten on 5. GPT-6 Astra wins FrontierSWE v2 (65.5% against 55.0%) and Claude Opus 5.5 wins Terminal-bench 4.0 (66.4% against 57.4%).
✅ Verdict: A top model, not a clean sweep, even by Google’s count. If your work is mostly coding in a terminal, the rivals are close or ahead.
If you are comparing the $20 plans across companies, our Gemini review, ChatGPT review and Claude Opus 5.5 vs Sonnet 5.5 guide cover what each one includes.
⏱️ What Your First Five Minutes on Pro Look Like (Per Google)
Nobody on our team has a Pro account, so this is the first five minutes as Google’s help pages describe them, once Argon reaches a Pro or Ultra account:
- Pick the model. Open the model menu under the text box and choose 4 Argon, which the app labels “Complex tasks”. Google’s help table lists Argon for Pro and Ultra, so the lock you see on Plus should not be there.
- Choose a thinking level. Every plan offers Low, Medium and High, and Google says the app defaults to Low when you do not pick one. Google’s tip: “More advanced models and higher thinking levels require more of your usage.” Save High for the hard jobs.
- Switch from chat to task. Below the text box there is now a Task option. Google says that with tasks, Gemini can work for you even when you are not at your computer, and the help page lists Flash and Argon as the task models on Pro and Ultra.
In practice, a long Argon job at High uses more of your allowance than a quick Flash question. Google gives no number for how many Argon messages that allowance holds.
📋 Tasks, 40+ Apps and Antigravity on the Mac
Argon was not the only change on October 13. Google’s Gemini app post bundled three more, and they come with their own rules.
Tasks in Gemini (Pro and Ultra)
Google’s Tasks help page lists the requirements: a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription, age 18 or over, a personal Google Account, Keep Activity on and Personal Intelligence turned on. Tasks works in the mobile app, the Mac app and gemini.google.com, with up to 15 running at once, and Google calls the feature experimental. It is not available in the European Economic Area, Nigeria, Switzerland or the UK. On the plans pages, Tasks in Gemini now sits where Gemini Spark used to be listed; our Gemini Spark review covers the earlier agent.
More than 40 connected apps (all plans)
Google says Gemini now connects to more than 40 apps, such as Instacart, OpenTable, Adobe and Shopify. The release notes add that most connected apps are in English in the US, with some in other English-speaking regions, Brazil and India. This one is not tied to Argon or to a paid plan.
Antigravity inside the Gemini Mac app
Google Antigravity, Google’s coding tool, is now built into the Gemini app for macOS, according to the release notes. The notes do not say which plan that tab needs, but Argon inside Antigravity is a different matter: Google’s Antigravity blog says Argon is rolling out “for Google AI Ultra subscribers” in the Antigravity desktop app and CLI. Our Google Antigravity review covers the free and paid tiers.
💳 Gemini 4 Argon Pricing: What You’ll Actually Pay
There is no separate price for Argon in the app. You pay for the plan, and the plan decides whether you see Argon at all. US monthly prices from Google’s own pages on October 14:
| Plan | Monthly (US) | A year at the monthly price | Argon | Usage | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | No | Standard | 15 GB |
| Google AI Plus | $4.99 | $59.88 | No | 2x Free | 400 GB |
| Google AI Pro | $19.99 | $239.88 | Yes (app, AI Mode) | 4x Free | 5 TB |
| Google AI Ultra | $99.99 | $1,199.88 | Yes (app, AI Mode, Antigravity, AI Studio) | 5x Pro | 20 TB |
| Google AI Ultra 20x | $199.99 | $2,399.88 | Yes (app, AI Mode, Antigravity, AI Studio) | 20x Pro | 30 TB |
The real-world cost math:
- Plus to Pro: $19.99 minus $4.99 is $15.00 a month more, or $180.00 a year at the monthly price
- Pro to Ultra: $99.99 divided by $19.99 is 5 times the price, for 5 times Pro’s usage
- Ultra 20x: about 10 times Pro’s price ($199.99) for 20 times Pro’s usage
- Per Argon message: impossible to work out, because Google publishes no message count for any plan
💸 A Year on Each Google AI Plan at the Monthly Price (USD)
Neither US plans page lists an annual price, and the free-trial link on the subscriptions page states no terms, so we quote neither here. Google’s footer says you can cancel anytime, with no refunds for partial billing periods except where the law requires them. Students should check our Google AI Pro free guide for the offers that do exist.
The API price (developers only)
If you build apps, Argon is also in the Gemini API as gemini-4-argon. Google’s AI Studio pricing page lists $2.00 per million input tokens and $10.00 per million output tokens (thinking tokens included) through November 30, 2026, then $4.00 and $20.00 from December 1. The launch price ends on November 30, after which both prices double. There is no free API tier for Argon, and one request can use up to a million tokens, shared between what you send and what it writes. This is separate from any app subscription; our Google AI Studio review explains the free and paid tiers.
🔍 REALITY CHECK
The claim: Google’s plan cards promise Pro "4x higher usage access than Free" and Ultra "up to 20x higher usage limits" than Pro.
The fine print: Those multipliers have no base number. Google’s footnote says the limits are compute-based and that "Your limit refreshes every 5 hours until you reach your weekly limit." Its help page adds that advanced models and higher thinking levels use more, and that on a paid plan "your chat will continue with Flash-Lite" once you hit the limit.
✅ Verdict: You are buying a share of an unpublished allowance. Heavy Argon use at High can run out, and the fallback to Flash-Lite is quiet.
⚖️ Google AI Pro or Ultra for Argon?
In the Gemini app, both plans get Argon, so the difference is everything around it.
| Google AI Pro | Google AI Ultra | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (US, monthly) | $19.99 | From $99.99 | Pro |
| Argon in the Gemini app and AI Mode | Yes (“Expanded access”) | Yes (“Higher access”) | Tie on access, Ultra on volume |
| Argon in Antigravity and AI Studio | No | Yes | Ultra |
| Usage | 4x Free | 5x or 20x Pro | Ultra |
| Storage | 5 TB | From 20 TB | Ultra |
| Google Flow credits a month | 1,000 | 10,000 or 25,000 | Ultra |
| YouTube | Premium Lite | Premium individual | Ultra |
| Tasks in Gemini | Yes | Yes | Tie |
Our read: Pro is the right plan for most people who want Argon in the chat window. Ultra earns its 5x price only if you keep running into Pro’s limits or you need Argon inside Google’s developer tools.
🔍 REALITY CHECK
The claim: The Google One Pro card says "Expanded access to Gemini 4 Argon in Google Antigravity."
The fine print: Google’s Antigravity blog says Argon in Antigravity is for Ultra subscribers, the Antigravity docs table shows a cross for Pro, and AI Studio’s pricing page says Argon is "not available on the Free tier or on the Google AI Pro plan." The Pro card line was still there on October 14.
✅ Verdict: Do not buy Pro for Argon in Antigravity. Trust the product’s own pages until Google fixes the card.
🎯 Who Should Pay (And Who Shouldn’t)
Choose Google AI Pro if: you do long, hard work in the chat window, such as reports, research or planning, and want Argon for $19.99 a month. Pro also carries 5 TB of storage and YouTube Premium Lite, which some households already value. See our NotebookLM review and Gmail AI features guide for the rest of what Pro unlocks.
Choose Google AI Ultra if: you hit Pro’s limits regularly or you want Argon in Google Antigravity or AI Studio. Our Ultra vs Pro breakdown runs the full comparison.
Stay on Plus if: your day is quick questions, drafting and summaries. Argon is not on Plus, and Google’s changes page shows Plus moving to Flash-Lite and Flash. Our Plus review covers where that plan stops.
Skip it if: you only need a free chatbot, or you live where Tasks is not offered and Tasks was your reason to upgrade. If you build apps, compare the API price instead, and try it before December 1.
🆓 What Changed for Free and Plus
Argon arrived in the same week Google changed the cheaper plans. Google’s model access changes page says changes for users without a subscription started on October 9, and the help table now shows no-plan users on Auto or Flash-Lite. With auto model selection off, every answer uses Flash-Lite.
For Plus, the same page says you should receive an email that explains when the changes take effect, and its table shows Plus with Flash-Lite and Flash but not Pro after the change. Our own Plus account still had 3.1 Pro unlocked on October 13, so the change had not reached it yet. If Pro disappears from your Plus menu, that is why.
💡 Key Takeaway: Free and Plus are not getting Argon today. Free has already moved to Auto or Flash-Lite, and Plus users get the date of their change by email. If you relied on 3.1 Pro through Plus, check your email from Google before you decide on Pro.
💬 What People Are Saying
The “finally in the app” camp. Thurrott reported the news plainly: Argon is “now available in the Gemini app for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers”, a step on from the September announcement, which put developers and Ultra first.
The “not for Plus yet” camp. Android Police stressed who is left out, writing that the new model “isn’t available to Google AI Plus subscribers or free users just yet.” The words “just yet” are theirs, not Google’s: Google has announced no date for Plus or Free.
The “show me what it builds” camp. Launch-day YouTube coverage, such as Matt Wolfe’s first look, focused on demos rather than plans. The top results we read on October 13 focused on demos, not on which plan you need, which is the question this post and our video answer.
The common thread: the model is impressive on Google’s own numbers, and the price of admission is a Pro plan.
🔭 The Road Ahead
Short term (next 3 months): the API launch price ends on November 30 and doubles from December 1, per Google’s pricing page. Pro rollout should spread beyond the first countries, based on Google’s “rolling out” wording, and Plus users should get Google’s email about the model change.
Medium term (6 to 12 months): Google says “Gemini 4 Argon is just the beginning” and promises the rest of the Gemini 4 family, with no names or dates. Expect cheaper Gemini 4 models to be the ones that reach Plus or Free, if any do. That is our reading, not Google’s plan.
Long term: watch whether Google publishes real Argon limits. Until it does, the 4x, 5x and 20x multipliers are the only measure you get. We will update this post if Argon comes to Plus or Free.
❓ Gemini 4 Argon: FAQs
Q: Is Gemini 4 Argon free?
A: No. Gemini 4 Argon is available in the Gemini app only on Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month in the US) and Google AI Ultra (from $99.99 a month). The free plan runs on Auto or Flash-Lite, and there is no free API tier for Argon either.
Q: Do Google AI Plus subscribers get Gemini 4 Argon?
A: No. Plus ($4.99 a month) shows 4 Argon with a lock in the model menu, and clicking it offers an upgrade to Pro or Ultra. Google’s plan cards and help table list Argon only for Pro and Ultra.
Q: How much does Gemini 4 Argon cost?
A: In the app, the cheapest route is Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month, or $239.88 a year at the monthly price. Through the API it costs $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens until November 30, 2026, then $4 and $20 from December 1.
Q: I pay for Google AI Pro. Why don’t I see Argon?
A: It may not have reached your account yet. Google’s release notes say Argon is rolling out globally to Pro and Ultra, while the Google One page says it is rolling out to Pro subscribers in select countries. Ultra is listed as available.
Q: What does Ultra add over Pro for Argon?
A: Both plans get Argon in the Gemini app and AI Mode. Ultra adds Argon in Google Antigravity and Google AI Studio, plus 5x or 20x Pro’s usage, more storage and more Flow credits, for $99.99 or $199.99 a month.
Q: How many Argon messages do I get?
A: Google does not publish a number for any plan. Limits are compute-based, refresh every 5 hours until a weekly limit, and Argon and higher thinking levels use more. On a paid plan, your chat continues with Flash-Lite when you hit the limit.
Q: Can I use Tasks in Gemini in the UK or EU?
A: Not yet. Google’s help page says Tasks needs Pro or Ultra and an age of 18 or over, and is not available in the European Economic Area, Nigeria, Switzerland or the UK.
Q: Is Gemini 4 Argon the same as Gemini 4?
A: Argon is the first model in the Gemini 4 family. Google says it is looking forward to bringing the rest of the family, but has given no names or dates.
🏆 Final Verdict: Not Free, and Pro Is the Sensible Door
Verdict: DEPENDS. Gemini 4 Argon is not free and not on Plus. If you do long, complex work in the chat window, Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month is the cheapest and most sensible way in. Ultra costs 5 times as much for 5 times Pro’s usage, so it is only for people who hit Pro’s limits or need Argon in Antigravity and AI Studio. If your day is quick questions, stay where you are.
Our rating for Argon’s value on Pro is 4 out of 5. It loses a point because Google publishes no Argon message count, and the fallback to Flash-Lite at the limit is easy to miss.
✅ Where Argon Wins
- ✓ Included in Pro at $19.99, no add-on price
- ✓ Leads 13 of 19 results in Google’s own table
- ✓ Tasks and AI Mode in Search come with it on Pro
- ✓ API launch price of $2 / $10 until November 30
⚠️ Where It Falls Short
- ✗ Not on Free or Plus
- ✗ No published message count on any plan
- ✗ Argon in Antigravity and AI Studio is Ultra only
- ✗ Pro rollout is "in select countries"
Upgrade to Pro if Argon would do work you would otherwise do by hand. Stick with Plus or Free if you mostly ask quick questions. Try it: Google’s Gemini plans page. Related: our Nano Banana Pro review and AI Studio review cover the other Google tools behind these plans.
Founder of AI Tool Analysis. Reads every pricing page, help article and footnote so you don’t have to. Covering AI tools since 2025. See how we research →
Related Reading
- Google AI Ultra vs Pro 2026: Is $99.99 Worth It Over $19.99?
- Is Google AI Plus Worth It? Google AI Plus Review (2026)
- Google AI Pro Free for Students (2026)
- Google Gemini Review 2026
- Google Antigravity Pricing and Review 2026
- Google AI Studio Review: What Is Still Free
- Gemini Spark Review
- NotebookLM Review 2026
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Last Updated: October 14, 2026 | Facts checked: October 13-14, 2026 (plans, prices, rollout and API pricing against Google’s own pages) | Next Review Update: October 21, 2026, when the Pro rollout, the Antigravity card conflict and the Plus model change are re-checked.
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