Gemini vs Claude: which free plan is better?
Which one to pick
Both use limits that refresh every 5 hours. Gemini opens without an account and creates images; Claude requires an account (18+) and focuses on text, code and documents.
| Free plan | Gemini | Claude |
|---|---|---|
| What's free | Standard usage limits refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap, with no usage numbers published. Context window of 32k tokens. Deep Research may be unavailable at peak demand. | A usage limit per session that resets every 5 hours; the exact number isn't published. Pro gives at least 5× more usage. No image generation. |
| Account | only for some features | required |
| Minimum age | 13+ | 18+ |
| What it does | text, images, files, voice, code, web search | text, files, voice, code, web search |
| Paid plan | AI Plus / AI Pro: $4.99 / $19.99 | Pro: $20 ($17 billed yearly) |
| Checked on | October 17, 2026 | October 16, 2026 |
We compare what the official pages say about each free plan; we don't rate which AI is "smarter".
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