Gemini API Pricing (2026): Gemini 4 Carbon, Argon, Hydrogen and 3.8 Flash Prices, Free Tier, Billing Tiers and the 1 December Price Change

Last updated: 13 November 2026. All prices checked on the vendors’ official pages that day.

Gemini API pricing changes more often than most. In November 2026 Google lists four headline text models for developers: Gemini 4 Carbon (most capable), Gemini 4 Argon (efficient frontier reasoning), Gemini 4 Hydrogen (fast everyday model with a 1M-token context) and Gemini 3.8 Flash. Two of them have scheduled price increases: Carbon and Argon double on 1 December 2026, and 3.8 Flash doubles on 1 January 2027. This guide lays out the current and future prices, the free tier, the billing tiers and what else gets billed.

All numbers come from Google’s Gemini Developer API pricing page and billing guide, checked on 13 November 2026. For a cross-vendor view, see LLM API pricing comparison.

Gemini API prices per 1M tokens

Important details:

• Thinking tokens are output. Google bills output “including thinking tokens”, so reasoning-heavy prompts cost more than the visible answer suggests.
• Carbon and Argon are paid-only. Neither is available on the Free tier. Google also notes that every token they process is billed, including internal tool instructions and function declarations when grounding is used.
• Caching. Context caching on Carbon and Argon is $0.10 per 1M tokens until 30 November and $0.20 from 1 December (implicit caching only). Gemini 3.8 Flash caching is $0.075 per 1M plus $0.50 per 1M tokens per hour of storage until 31 December 2026.
• Older models. Gemini 2.5 Pro is $1.25 input / $10.00 output for prompts up to 200K tokens and $2.50 / $15.00 above that. Gemini 2.5 Flash is $0.30 / $2.50.

Standard, Batch, Flex and Priority

Like OpenAI, Google sells the same model at different service levels. Batch and Flex are half of Standard; Priority costs 1.8× Standard.

If you are budgeting for Q1 2027, use the post-December prices for Carbon and Argon and the post-January prices for 3.8 Flash. A workload that costs $1,000 a month on Argon in November will cost about $2,000 in December at the same volume.

Free tier vs paid tier

• Free tier: limited access to certain models (Hydrogen, 3.8 Flash and Flash-Lite, not Carbon or Argon), free input and output tokens within free rate limits, and Google AI Studio access. Google states content on the free tier is used to improve its products.
• Paid tier: higher rate limits, context caching, Batch API at 50% off, access to the most advanced models, and content not used to improve Google’s products.
• Enterprise: through Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, with provisioned throughput, dedicated support and volume-based discounts. Its prices can differ from the Developer API prices above.

For any business handling customer data, the paid tier is the realistic choice because of the data-use difference.

Billing tiers and spend caps

To move from Free to Paid you link a Cloud billing account and prepay at least $5 (or the local equivalent) in Google AI Studio. Tiers rise with cumulative spend and account age, and each tier has a billing cap, so a fast-growing product should plan its tier upgrades in advance. Getting the key itself is covered in how to get a Gemini API key in Google AI Studio.

Tool charges

• Grounding with Google Search (Gemini 3 and newer): 5,000 free search requests per month shared across models, then $14 per 1,000 requests, with a default cap of 1,500 requests per day per project.
• Grounding with Google Maps: 5,000 free requests per month, then $14 per 1,000.
• Code execution, URL context and computer use: billed as normal tokens.
• File search: embeddings at $0.15 per 1M tokens (Gemini Embedding), plus retrieved tokens at model rates.

Gemini API cost calculator

Worked example

A multilingual product-description generator processes 80M input and 20M output tokens a month. On Gemini 3.8 Flash in November: 80 × $0.75 + 20 × $3.75 = $135. From 1 January 2027 the same job costs $270, and on Batch it would be $135 again. On Gemini 4 Argon after 1 December: 80 × $4 + 20 × $20 = $720. Test whether Hydrogen ($270 at 80 × $1.50 + 20 × $7.50) is good enough before paying for Argon.

Access and regions

Google AI Studio and the Gemini API are only available in Google’s listed regions. Account holders must meet Google’s terms. PandaWM helps companies use Gemini through their own Google Cloud billing account, or the account of a legitimately established overseas entity, and can combine Gemini with GPT and Claude behind one compliant unified API: Overseas AI Token service: account setup + API access (PandaWM). Compare with OpenAI API pricing and Claude API pricing.

FAQ

Is the Gemini API free?

There is a Free tier with limited models and rate limits, and Google AI Studio usage is free in available regions. Production apps usually need the paid tier for limits, caching, Batch and data-use terms.

How much does Gemini 4 Argon cost?

$2.00 input and $10.00 output per 1M tokens until 30 November 2026, then $4.00 and $20.00 from 1 December 2026 on the Standard tier.

What is the cheapest Gemini model?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite at $0.10 input / $0.40 output per 1M text tokens; among newer models, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is $0.25 / $1.50 and 3.5 Flash-Lite is $0.30 / $2.50.

Are thinking tokens charged?

Yes. Output prices include thinking tokens.

Why did my Gemini bill jump?

Check whether you moved to a post-increase date, crossed 200K tokens on 2.5 Pro, used grounding beyond the free allowance or switched from Batch to Standard.

Can PandaWM give us cheaper Gemini prices?

No. Prices here are Google’s list prices. We help you set up and manage your own account or a compliant unified API, and keep usage under control.

Compliance note: Each model vendor only serves customers in its supported countries and regions and requires accurate account, identity and billing information. PandaWM helps companies use AI models through their own accounts or overseas entities that are legitimately established in supported regions, or through a compliant unified API. We do not sell, rent, share or transfer accounts or API keys, and we do not help anyone bypass regional restrictions, KYC, sanctions or payment controls. We are not an official partner or reseller of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or any other vendor. Prices on this page are the vendors’ public list prices, not PandaWM prices.

Related guides

• Overseas AI Token service: account setup + API access (PandaWM)
• OpenAI API pricing (GPT-6) + cost calculator
• ChatGPT API pricing vs ChatGPT plans
• Claude API pricing: Opus, Sonnet, Haiku
• LLM API pricing comparison: cheapest providers
• How to get a Gemini API key in Google AI Studio
• What is a token in AI? Token cost explained
• 繁體中文：Gemini API Key 申請教學

Official sources

• Google: Gemini Developer API pricing
• Google: Gemini API billing
• Google: available regions for Google AI Studio and Gemini API
• Google: using Gemini API keys

All official pages checked on 2026-11-13. Prices are in USD per 1 million tokens (MTok), before tax. Vendors change prices; the official pages prevail.