Google Limits Gemini 4 Carbon in AI Mode to $99.99 Ultra Subscribers
TLDR
Gemini 4 Carbon is available in AI Mode only to subscribers of the $99.99 Google AI Ultra plan, while the cheaper Argon model is priced at $2 input and $10 output per million tokens for developers.
What this Google Search launch means for your site
- Status
- Available
- Platform
- Google Search
- Affects
- Gemini 4 Carbon in AI Mode
- Who
- Google AI Ultra subscribers
- Effective
- Not specified in the source
- Action needed
- Not specified in the source
Optimixed Overview
Optimixed's original report on this story.
PPC Land reports that Gemini 4 Carbon has reached AI Mode, but only for the $99.99 Ultra subscription tier. The piece also compares developer pricing, noting that Argon costs $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, and that Carbon uses more tokens to reason, which raises the question of whether a given task will cost more than on Argon.
How we got here: earlier Google Search coverage
On October 13, Google made its Gemini 4 Argon model available through AI Mode to paid subscribers, developers, and enterprises, and the same day it released Argon pricing of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens for paid users. By October 23, Argon had reportedly consumed 25 trillion tokens in its first 72 hours, straining compute infrastructure as demand ran three times higher than Gemini 3. Now, Gemini 4 Carbon is available in AI Mode only to subscribers of the $99.99 Google AI Ultra plan, while the cheaper Argon model is priced at $2 input and $10 output per million tokens for developers.
Summary of earlier coverage
- Oct 23Google's Gemini 4 Argon overwhelms compute infrastructure with 25 trillion tokens consumed in 72 hours
Google's Gemini 4 Argon reportedly consumed 25 trillion tokens in its first 72 hours, straining compute infrastructure as demand runs 3x higher than Gemini 3.
- Oct 13Google launches Gemini Tasks Mode for paid subscribers, integrating with 40+ apps
Google rolled out a Tasks Mode for Gemini app users, available at $19.99/month and up, integrating with 40+ services including Shopify.
- Oct 13Google prices Gemini 4 Argon at $2 per million input tokens, output at $10M, restricts free access
Google released pricing for Gemini 4 Argon, a paid-only model with input costs of $2 per million tokens, output at $10M, and aggressive discounts for cached input.
- Oct 13Google adds Gemini 4 Argon model to AI Mode for Pro and Ultra subscribers
Google made its Gemini 4 Argon model available through AI Mode for paid subscribers and to developers and enterprises.