Claude is sold as an assistant with a coding tool attached. Free is $0 and includes chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation and code execution, memory across conversations, connections to your apps and tools, and Artifacts. Pro is $17 per month with an annual subscription discount, billed as $200 up front, or $20 if billed monthly, and includes Claude Code, hand-off and scheduled tasks, Claude Design, Slides and Docs, Claude Science, Projects, more Claude models, more usage and Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365. Max is from $100 per month and includes everything in Pro with either 5x or 20x the usage, higher output limits on all tasks, early access to advanced features and priority access at high traffic times. Anthropic states usage limits apply and prices exclude tax.
TL;DR
The paid tiers land within a few dollars of each other: Claude Pro is $17 a month with an annual subscription discount ($200 billed up front) or $20 billed monthly, while Google AI Pro, which carries Gemini, is $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year. Above that they diverge: Claude Max starts at $100 a month with 5x or 20x Pro usage, and Google AI Ultra is $99.99 a month, billed monthly only, with up to 20x Gemini access, Gemini Agent and Deep Think. What you actually buy differs more than the price: Claude's paid tiers include Claude Code and the Claude apps for Chrome and Microsoft 365, while Google's bundle includes Gemini inside Gmail, Docs and Sheets, 5 TB of storage on Pro and 20 TB on Ultra, and YouTube Premium.
Gemini is sold as part of a Google subscription. The assistant itself is free to use, and the paid tiers are Google AI plans. Google AI Pro is $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year and includes four times the Gemini access of a non-subscriber, expanded access to Gemini 3.1 Pro and Deep Research, Gemini 3 Pro in AI Mode for Search, Gemini inside Gmail, Docs and Sheets, Gemini Notebook, image, music and video generation models, 5 TB of cloud storage, YouTube Premium Lite, Google Health Premium and a Google Home Premium plan. Google AI Ultra is $99.99 a month, billed monthly only, and includes up to 20x Gemini access, higher access to Gemini 3.1 Pro, Deep Research, Gemini Agent and the Deep Think reasoning mode, Gemini Notebook features, Project Genie for interactive world creation, 20 TB of storage, the full YouTube Premium individual plan, Google Home Premium Advanced and $40 a month in Google Cloud credits. A Google AI Plus tier sits between Free and Pro with 400 GB of storage and 2x Gemini access.
The decision is less about the $2.99 difference between Claude Pro at $17 and Google AI Pro at $19.99 and more about which ecosystem you already pay for. If your work lives in Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Drive, Google AI Pro folds Gemini into those products and adds 5 TB of storage, YouTube Premium Lite and health and home bundles, which often pays for itself against subscriptions you already hold. If your work is code, documents and long-form writing, Claude Pro includes Claude Code, Claude Design, Slides and Docs and the Claude apps for Chrome and Microsoft 365, and its Max tier at $100 a month competes directly with Google AI Ultra at $99.99 on price while offering a choice of 5x or 20x Pro usage. Both vendors meter usage rather than selling unlimited access, both state that limits apply, and both price the annual commitment below the monthly equivalent.
| Feature | Claude | Gemini |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | $0 with chat, web search, code execution, memory and Artifacts | Free to use as an assistant |
| Entry paid plan | Pro at $17 per month with annual billing ($200 up front), or $20 monthly | Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year |
| Top consumer plan | Max from $100 per month, with 5x or 20x Pro usage | Google AI Ultra at $99.99 a month, billed monthly only |
| Annual option | $200 up front for Pro | $199.99 a year for Pro; Ultra is monthly only |
| Meaning of the tier | More usage plus feature access, with Claude Code included | Multiples of Gemini access plus a bundle of Google subscriptions |
| Coding tool | Claude Code included on Pro and Max | Gemini assistance in Android Studio and Google Cloud; no separate coding subscription |
| Office integration | Claude in Chrome and Claude for Microsoft 365 and Outlook on Pro | Gemini inside Gmail, Docs and Sheets, and in AI Mode for Search |
| Extras in the bundle | Claude Design, Slides and Docs, Claude Science, Projects | 5 TB storage on Pro, 20 TB on Ultra, YouTube Premium, Health and Home plans, Google Cloud credits |
| Usage model | Plan-based usage limits, with priority access on Max | Access expressed as multiples of the non-subscriber baseline, 4x on Pro and up to 20x on Ultra |
| Best fit | Writers, researchers and developers who want the assistant plus Claude Code | People already paying for Google storage, YouTube and Workspace |
Pick Claude if
Claude Pro at $17 per month with annual billing, or $20 monthly, buys an assistant plus a writing and coding toolkit rather than a bundle of subscriptions. Claude Code is included, along with Claude Design, Slides and Docs, Claude Science, Projects, more models, more usage and Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365. Free is genuinely usable, with memory, web search, file creation, code execution and Artifacts. Max starts at $100 per month if you want 5x or 20x Pro usage, higher output limits and priority at peak times. The trade is that there is no storage, video or office-suite entitlement in the price, and usage is capped by plan rather than unlimited.
Pick Gemini if
Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a year, is cheaper than twelve monthly payments and folds Gemini into Gmail, Docs, Sheets and AI Mode for Search, with four times the Gemini access of a non-subscriber, 5 TB of storage, YouTube Premium Lite, Google Health Premium, a Google Home Premium plan and $10 a month in Google Cloud credits. At the top, Google AI Ultra is $99.99 a month, billed monthly only, with up to 20x access, Gemini Agent, Deep Think, Project Genie, 20 TB of storage, the full YouTube Premium individual plan and $40 a month in Cloud credits. If those bundled subscriptions are things you already buy, the effective cost is far below the sticker; if they are not, you are paying for entitlements you will not use.
Neither vendor publishes third-party review data we are willing to restate as fact, and we did not run either assistant against a benchmark of our own. Access multiples such as 4x and 20x are the vendors' own descriptions relative to a non-subscriber baseline. Every price here comes from the two vendors' own pricing pages as published when this comparison was written.
Claude Pro is $17 a month if you take the annual subscription, billed as $200 up front, or $20 billed monthly. Google AI Pro is $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year. Monthly billing is $20 against $19.99, so the two are almost identical; the annual plans are $200 against $199.99. The difference is what comes with each, not the headline figure.
Claude Max starts at $100 a month and offers 5x or 20x Pro usage, higher output limits, early access and priority access at high traffic times. Google AI Ultra is $99.99 a month, billed monthly only, and adds up to 20x Gemini access, Gemini Agent, Deep Think, Project Genie, 20 TB of storage, full YouTube Premium and $40 a month in Google Cloud credits.
Claude. Claude Code is included on the Pro plan at $17 a month with annual billing and on Max from $100 a month, alongside Claude Science and the Claude design and document tools. Google's developer access is through Gemini assistance in Android Studio and expanded Google Cloud credits rather than a separate coding subscription.
Yes. Claude's Free plan is $0 and includes chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation, code execution, memory across conversations, app connections and Artifacts. Gemini is free to use as an assistant, and Google's paid tiers are the AI plans, with Google AI Plus sitting between Free and Pro at 400 GB of storage and 2x Gemini access.
Pro is a bundle as well as an AI plan: 5 TB of cloud storage, YouTube Premium Lite, Google Health Premium, a Google Home Premium Standard plan at no cost, Gemini Notebook features, image, music and video generation models, and $10 a month in Google Cloud credits from the Google Developer Program. Ultra raises storage to 20 TB, adds the full YouTube Premium individual plan, Google Home Premium Advanced and $40 a month in Cloud credits.
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