Google just undercut OpenAI with a $4.99 Gemini plan — here’s what’s included | Daily Reports Online
- Google has cut the price of Gemini AI Plus from $7.99 to $4.99 per month
- Subscribers now get 400GB of Google storage instead of 200GB
- Here’s how Gemini AI Plus compares with OpenAI’s $8 ChatGPT Go plan
Google just slashed the price of its Google AI Plus plan to $4.99/month (£4.99 /AU$7.99), down from $7.99, and at the same time doubled the included cloud storage from 200GB to 400GB. This makes Google AI Plus significantly cheaper than its main rival, ChatGPT Go, which costs $8 a month. But which one offers the better value? Let’s find out.
The first thing to note is that both of these offerings sit on the bottom rung of OpenAI’s and Google’s and paid subscription ladders. They’re the first step toward the more fully featured ChatGPT Plus on one hand, and Google AI Pro subscription on the other, both of which cost around $20 a month (Google’s is slightly cheaper at $18.99).
That said, both plans offer significant improvements over their free counterparts. The free versions are great for occasional use, but you’ll soon start running into limits, particularly when it comes to image generation and other advanced features.
Usage improvements
Everything with AI models is measured in usage. Once you’ve used up your daily allocation, you start to lose access to the better parts of the models, meaning things can slow down considerably or, in the case of image generation, stop working altogether.
To make matters more confusing, neither company is particularly transparent about exactly how much usage you get each day. That’s because limits are often dynamic, and can vary depending on demand.
Google AI Plus comes with usage limits that are up to “twice as high” as those on the free version of Gemini. You also get access to additional features, including video generation.
ChatGPT Go, on the other hand, simply promises “more” access than the free version of ChatGPT without specifying exactly how much more. OpenAI says subscribers get more access to GPT-5.5 Instant, along with higher limits for messaging, uploads, image creation, and memory.
If you look at the small print of OpenAI’s offer, you’ll also notice it states that “this plan may include ads”, which is an immediate red flag for me.
What else do you get with Gemini?
Gemini does seem to offer more than ChatGPT. As well as the increased usage limits, you also get a few extras, including access to Nano Banana, Gemini’s image generator in Google Search, and 200 Google Flow credits for creating cinematic video scenes.
But the really interesting addition is NotebookLM, Google’s AI-powered research and writing assistant. Subscribers get higher limits for Audio Overviews, the feature that automatically generates podcast-style summaries, along with more notebooks for organizing projects and research.
And let’s not forget the 400GB of cloud storage, which can be shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. That’s almost worth the price alone, and you’re getting more Gemini access thrown in.
The story Google AI Plus starts to tell is one of integration. If you already rely on Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos, and other Google services, the subscription feels less like a standalone AI chatbot and more like an upgrade for your entire Google account.
That’s where ChatGPT Go starts to look a little less compelling. ChatGPT remains one of the best AI assistants available, but at this price point, Google is offering a broader package that combines AI tools, research features, video generation, and a substantial amount of cloud storage.
Whether that’s enough to tempt existing ChatGPT users away from OpenAI is another question. But if you’ve been curious about paying for AI and didn’t want to spend $20 a month, Google’s new $4.99 price point makes Gemini AI Plus one of the most affordable ways to get access to a premium AI experience.
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