Google’s Best Gemini 2.5 AI Chatbot Is Now Free—But With Limitations
In a surprise move, Google has made its most advanced AI chatbot, Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental, available for free. This means users can now experience Google’s most intelligent AI model without a paid subscription. However, there are key limitations to consider.
Just days after launching Gemini 2.5 Pro for premium users on March 25, Google announced that all Gemini users—whether subscribed to the Google One AI Premium plan or not—can now access the experimental model.
The official Google Gemini App account confirmed the update on social media, stating:
“Gemini 2.5 Pro is taking off 🚀🚀🚀
The team is sprinting, TPUs are running hot, and we want to get our most intelligent model into more people’s hands asap.
Which is why we decided to roll out Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) to all Gemini users, beginning today.”
Users can now select Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental within the Gemini app or at gemini.google.com.
What Makes Gemini 2.5 Pro Stand Out?
Since its debut, Gemini 2.5 Pro has outperformed competitors in various benchmarks, particularly in reasoning and coding tasks. Google states that the model “leads common benchmarks by meaningful margins,” with strong results on the LMArena leaderboard.
Compared to Gemini 2.0, the latest version offers significant improvements in response quality and code generation. This has made it a favorite among developers and AI enthusiasts.
What’s the Catch?
While Google has made Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental free, there are notable restrictions for non-paying users.
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Usage Limits: Free users face rate restrictions, limiting how often they can interact with the model.
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Context Window: Premium users benefit from a larger context window, allowing them to process more extensive documents, images, and videos at once. Currently set at 1 million tokens (equivalent to the complete works of Shakespeare), this limit will soon expand to 2 million tokens.
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Canvas Feature: Only Gemini Advanced subscribers can use Canvas, an interactive space where users can create and edit documents or code collaboratively. Many of the model’s most powerful features, such as AI-assisted coding and app development, rely on this tool.
Additionally, Google’s API pricing limits free users to five requests per minute and 25 requests per day, while paid users can make up to 20 requests per minute and 100 requests per day, with twice the speed.
Should You Upgrade?
Google’s decision to offer Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental for free is a major step in expanding AI accessibility. However, users seeking unrestricted access, enhanced processing capabilities, and the Canvas feature may still find value in upgrading to Gemini Advanced.
Despite the free access, some paying subscribers have expressed concerns about the unclear distinction between free and premium benefits. As Google continues refining its AI offerings, clearer communication regarding these differences could help users decide whether to maintain their subscriptions.
For now, free users can explore Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental, but to unlock its full potential, upgrading remains the best option.
