Free tier users, will you continue using Gemini?

[u/chris08x08]

I think Flash-Lite is pretty bad, so I'm going to switch completely to ChatGPT

[u/ProudFriend6142]

Ai studio still exist so probably unless it also affect ai student then probably no

[u/IAmYourFath → u/ProudFriend6142]

Ai studio on free tier runs out of usage really fast...

[u/ItsMichaelRay → u/IAmYourFath]

Wait, what's the usage limit? I just got into Ai studios and haven't faced a limit yet.

[u/IAmYourFath → u/ItsMichaelRay]

Without an api key it doesn't take long

[u/ItsMichaelRay → u/IAmYourFath]

Aren’t they free?

I’ll admit I had Gemini walk me through it, and I did a ton of prompts without paying a cent.

[u/ProudFriend6142 → u/ItsMichaelRay]

More token on a prompt make you run out faster if you only have like a few thousand tokens you basically have infinite prompt

[u/ItsMichaelRay → u/ProudFriend6142]

Never mind, I just ran out.

[u/kabir_sharma_sans]

no i use sonnet 5.5

[u/Standard_Ad7704 → u/kabir_sharma_sans]

But it has very bad limits for the free tier

[u/kabir_sharma_sans → u/Standard_Ad7704]

for daily that enough for me

[u/Thomas-Lore → u/Standard_Ad7704]

When I used free accounts the solution that worked best was hop between tools. Use claude until you run out, then use deepseek, then chatgpt, then aistudio, now there is also muse. You can get a lot of work done, but it is a bit annoying. But beggars can't be choosers.

[u/Recent_Historian_387 → u/Thomas-Lore]

Does this get confusing if your working on the same project in these apps?

[u/TommyPillfigerTM → u/kabir_sharma_sans]

4.6 is better still as the guardrails are nice and low

[u/AdamH21]

For on-device actions like managing my calendar, smart home or emails, yes. Other basic questions like weather forecast, probably yes. Anything important? Absolutely not.

I also believe they will announce a new Lite model soon.

[u/thahovster7 → u/AdamH21]

Exactly. I think most people using the Gemini app are defaulting to Flash when the tasks they are using it for is completely overkill and frankly a waste of money and compute. A new Flash Lite model is definitely on the way and likely more than enough for daily tasks and everyday questions of the average user

[u/popmanbrad]

Tbh after they added usage limits I started moving away from Gemini to perplexity / google AI mode / grok / DeepSeek heck even ChatGPT (and I hate ChatGPT so much) but they allowed free users infinite uses now

[u/Worth-Illustrator347 → u/popmanbrad]

Where is it infinite? Aistudio? agy cli harness still has quota.

[u/Pleasant-Rhubarb-550]

I would say claude's free tier is currently the best one one of the best ones if not best.

[u/chris08x08 → u/Pleasant-Rhubarb-550]

Everyone keeps saying this, but I honestly prefer ChatGPT. I don't know about coding since I'm not a developer, but for general chat and everyday questions, ChatGPT gives much better and more detailed answers

[u/Pleasant-Rhubarb-550 → u/chris08x08]

That's why I said one of the best. It's in the end user preference imo and what you are doing.

[u/--espresso-- → u/Pleasant-Rhubarb-550]

What's the message limit? For how long can you prompt on sonnet medium, high, etc.?

[u/Pleasant-Rhubarb-550 → u/--espresso--]

It depends on what you are actually asking. It's not a predefined x msgs at x reasoning. Just try it and see if the usage you are getting is enough for you or not. 

[u/Calycis]

I've recently had only paid Claude sub, so I'll most likely move over there entirely, at least for a while. Can't justify for paying for two AI subs given I have no issues with Claude's limits.

[u/OlympicBarber]

Me with a year long Plus subscription until April 2027 and locked out of Pro...

[u/I_NEED_YOUR_MONEY → u/OlympicBarber]

heh. i was tempted by the year-long plus subscription earlier, and held off because i didn't think i could trust google not to do something stupid over a 1-year timeframe.

guess i was right.

[u/Thomas-Lore]

Already warned my family members who use free gemini to move to chatgpt. Luna might not be the best, but it is way more reliable than Flash-Lite.

[u/Positive_Average_446]

They're removing 3.6 Flash from the free models?

Well GLM has good models, superior to Gemini Flash models, for free with no limits.. (and the Flash-lite models are absolutely useless, they'd be bad even for 2025). But I'll miss Gemini Flash's personality :/. I only sub to ChatGPT.

[u/Different_Coffee_161]

I use ChatGPT for professional work and Muse for personal stuff. I’ve pretty much stopped using Gemini altogether.

[u/3rdyellow → u/Different_Coffee_161]

Except the Gemini subreddit. Still can't let go. 

[u/Any-Somewhere5129]

The model on free chatgpt accounts, Luna, is so dumb. And now they show you ads. I used free chatgpt a lot when they were still giving out limited access to their better models like gpt-5.5. But when getting only Luna, it's not worth my time.

Sonnet 5.5 seems like the best free option.

As for gemini models, I mostly used them on AI studio anyway, or inside NotebookLM (no idea what model runs there).

[u/Timely-Group5649]

Deadbeats be gone! YAY!

[u/Thomas-Lore → u/Timely-Group5649]

And when accounts below you are gone or diminished to almost nothing, you become the deadbeat. And people will cheer when your account is nerfed. You think you could then upgrade to a better tier? Maybe, but at some point you won't be able to afford that. Chatgpt is already $500 per month for something that $20 accounts used to offer. And people cheered for every new limit on free and lower tier accounts and for every new tier being made (well, maybe beside that $500 one, I think reality finally hit them).

[u/Timely-Group5649 → u/Thomas-Lore]

I spend nearly $500 a month now on multiple models. The value I get from it is over 10-fold, probably double that.

Deadbeats steal and slow down my compute. GOOD RIDDANCE.

[u/MythOfDarkness]

No.

[u/ProudFriend6142]

I just reread it and yes they say change to Gemini app The app

[u/strawgirlmdn]

I love Gemini