Which to choose
| Use case | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Coding with an agent | Claude | Claude Code is included from Pro at USD 20 a month |
| Long documents on a free plan | Claude | Free lists up to 1M tokens of context (varies by model); free Gemini lists 32K |
| Working inside Gmail, Docs and Drive | Gemini | Google AI Pro adds Gemini in Gmail and Docs for USD 19.99 a month |
| Cheapest paid upgrade | Gemini | Google AI Plus costs USD 4.99 a month with 128K tokens of context |
| Image and video generation | Gemini | Image generation is on every plan; video generation starts at AI Plus |
| A team that needs no training by default | Claude | Claude Team lists no model training on your content by default from USD 25 a seat |
| Low-cost API calls at scale | Gemini | Gemini 3.8 Flash costs USD 0.75 per 1M input tokens through 2026 |
Side by side
| Field | Claude | Gemini |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | USD 0; Sonnet and Haiku models; up to 5 projects | USD 0; Flash-Lite model; 32K token context |
| Paid individual plans | Pro USD 20 a month (USD 17 billed annually); Max from USD 100 | AI Plus USD 4.99; AI Pro USD 19.99; AI Ultra USD 99.99 or USD 199.99 |
| Context window | Up to 1M tokens on every plan, varies by model | 32K free, 128K AI Plus, 1M AI Pro and Ultra |
| Usage limits | Five-hour windows, plus weekly limits on paid plans | Refresh every five hours until a weekly limit; Plus 2x, Pro 4x standard |
| File limits | 500 MB per file, 20 files per chat, PDFs up to 1,000 pages | 100 MB per file (video 2 GB), 10 files per prompt |
| Platforms | Web, desktop, iOS and Android | Web, Mac, Windows, iOS and Android; Gmail and Docs on paid plans |
| Training default (consumer) | You choose; listed as opt-out | Used with Keep Activity on; not used with it off or in temporary chats |
| Team plan | Team USD 25 a seat monthly (USD 20 annually) | Gemini Enterprise Business edition from USD 21 a seat a month |
Prices are the US list prices as shown on 17 October 2026, in USD, before tax. Google notes that prices differ by country.
Context windows and files
Context is the clearest documented gap, and it runs in Claude's favor on free plans.
Google's Gemini Apps limits page lists the context window by plan: 32K tokens without a Google AI plan, 128K on AI Plus and 1 million tokens on AI Pro and AI Ultra. Google says a 1M token window covers about 1,500 pages of text or 30,000 lines of code. Deep Think runs with a smaller 192K window.
Anthropic's pricing page lists the context window as "up to 1M, varies by model" on Free, Pro and both Max tiers. Through the API, all four current Claude models take 1M tokens, as our Anthropic profile records. For anyone weighing gemini vs claude on context alone, the gap closes once you pay for AI Pro.
File handling differs too. Claude's file upload guide allows 500 MB per file and 20 files per chat, with PDFs up to 1,000 pages. Claude reads charts and images inside PDFs of 100 pages or fewer and reads only the text above that. Project files are capped at 30 MB each. Google's file upload guide allows up to 10 files per prompt, 100 MB per file and 2 GB per video, plus one code folder or GitHub repository of up to 5,000 files. Gemini also accepts audio and video: up to 10 minutes of audio and 5 minutes of video on free accounts, rising to 3 hours and 1 hour on AI Pro and Ultra.
Google's Gemini Apps help page listed a 32K token context window without a Google AI plan and 1 million tokens on AI Pro, as checked 17 October 2026.
Claude vs Gemini on price
At the main paid tier, the two cost the same to within a cent: Claude Pro at USD 20 a month and Google AI Pro at USD 19.99. The difference is what the money buys.
Claude Pro adds more usage, Claude Code, Research, Projects, more Claude models including Opus, and Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365. Annual billing drops it to USD 17 a month. Max costs from USD 100 a month for 5x or 20x Pro usage, and includes USD 100 to USD 200 a month in API credits.
Google's US plans page bundles Gemini with Google One benefits. AI Pro includes Gemini 4 Argon and Google's Pro and Flash models, 4x the free usage limits, Gemini in Gmail, Docs and Vids, the Jules coding agent, entry limits in Google Antigravity and 5 TB of cloud storage. AI Ultra costs USD 99.99 a month for 5x the AI Pro limits or USD 199.99 for 20x, with storage starting at 20 TB.
Gemini has one tier Claude lacks: AI Plus at USD 4.99 a month, with the Flash model, 2x free usage, 128K context, video generation and 400 GB of storage.
Google AI Pro cost USD 19.99 a month on Google's US plans page on 17 October 2026, including 5 TB of storage and Gemini in Gmail and Docs.
Coding and agents
Both companies now sell coding agents inside their consumer plans, but they are built differently.
Claude Code is included on every paid Claude plan and runs in the terminal, VS Code, JetBrains, a desktop app and the browser. Usage is shared with Claude chat. Our Cursor and Claude Code comparison covers it in detail.
Google AI Pro lists Jules, an asynchronous coding agent that Google describes as in beta, plus entry rate limits in Google Antigravity, Google's agentic development platform. The Gemini app also accepts a GitHub repository as an upload.
For developers on the API, the price gap is wider than on the consumer plans. Anthropic lists Claude Opus 5.5 at USD 4 input and USD 20 output per 1M tokens, and Claude Sonnet 5.5 at USD 2 and USD 10. The Gemini API pricing page lists Gemini 4 Argon at USD 2 input and USD 10 output through 30 November 2026, rising to USD 4 and USD 20 from 1 December 2026, with no free tier. Our Anthropic provider profile and Google provider profile list every current rate.
Gemini 4 Argon API pricing doubles on 1 December 2026, to USD 4 input and USD 20 output per 1M tokens, per Google's Gemini API pricing page on 17 October 2026.
Data and privacy
The two companies follow different default rules on consumer plans.
Claude. Anthropic's pricing page lists model training as opt-out on Free, Pro and Max, and "none by default" on Team and Enterprise. Anthropic's consumer data rules say that if you allow training, data is kept for five years, and if you do not, retention is 30 days. API use is not trained on by default.
Gemini. The Gemini Apps Privacy Hub says that with Keep Activity on, Google uses your activity to provide and improve its services, including training generative AI models, with help from human reviewers. Activity auto-deletes after 18 months by default, adjustable to 3 or 36 months. With Keep Activity off, or in a temporary chat, chats are kept for 72 hours and are not used to train Google's AI models unless you send feedback. Chats read by reviewers are disconnected from your account and kept for up to three years, even after you delete your activity. Work and school accounts follow Workspace terms.
Do not paste confidential material into any consumer AI chat until you have checked its training and retention settings. Our AI tool privacy checklist walks through each setting.
How we compared them
On 17 October 2026 we read Anthropic's pricing page and Claude file upload guide, Google's US Google AI plans page, the Gemini Apps limits page, the Gemini file upload guide, the Gemini Apps Privacy Hub and the Gemini API pricing page. We compared free and paid plans, prices, context windows, file and media limits, usage limits, coding features, API rates and training defaults. Model prices match HumanRank's Anthropic and Google provider profiles. Our full Claude review and full Gemini review cover each assistant alone, and our ranking method explains how verdicts are made.
Frequently asked questions
Is Claude better than Gemini for coding? Yes, for most developers on a consumer plan. Claude Code is included from Claude Pro at USD 20 a month, while Google's Jules coding agent is still in beta.
Which has the bigger context window, Claude or Gemini? On free plans, Claude: up to 1M tokens (varies by model) against 32K on free Gemini. On AI Pro and Ultra, Gemini also lists 1 million tokens.
Is Gemini cheaper than Claude? At the entry paid tier, yes. Google AI Plus costs USD 4.99 a month, and Claude has no plan between Free and Pro at USD 20.
Does Claude work inside Gmail and Google Docs? Not natively in the way Gemini does on paid Google AI plans. Claude Pro lists Claude for Microsoft 365, and Anthropic also offers Claude for Google Workspace as a separate extension.
How many files can I upload to Gemini at once? Up to 10 files per prompt, at up to 100 MB each, or 2 GB for a video. Claude allows up to 20 files per chat at up to 500 MB each.
Does Gemini train on my chats? With Keep Activity on, Google says your activity can be used to train its generative AI models. Turn Keep Activity off or use temporary chats to stop that.
Does Claude train on my chats? Only if you allow it on Free, Pro and Max. Team, Enterprise and API data are not used for training by default.
Which is better for a small team? Claude Team, if training defaults matter most: it lists no model training on your content by default at USD 25 a seat monthly. Gemini Enterprise Business edition starts at USD 21 a seat a month.
Do Claude and Gemini usage limits reset the same way? Nearly. Both reset on five-hour windows with weekly caps, and neither publishes fixed message counts.