Google Reshapes Gemini Pricing With a New Mid-Tier AI Ultra Plan
Google is restructuring its Google Gemini pricing by launching a new USD 100 (approx. RM460) per month AI Ultra plan that slots between its existing USD 20 (approx. RM92) and high-end subscription options. At the same time, Google has reduced the cost of its former USD 250 (approx. RM1,150) AI Ultra tier to USD 200 (approx. RM920), making its top plan one of the rare premium AI services to become cheaper rather than more expensive. This move gives Google a clearly tiered ladder: an USD 8 (approx. RM37) AI Plus entry plan, the widely adopted USD 20 (approx. RM92) tier, and now USD 100 (approx. RM460) and USD 200 (approx. RM920) AI Ultra options for heavier users. Strategically, this widens the on-ramp for users who have outgrown basic AI subscription plans but are not ready to commit to the absolute top tier.
From Prompt Limits to Compute-Based Metering: A New Way to Pay for AI
Alongside new pricing, Google is changing how it meters access to its models, moving from simple daily prompt limits to a compute-based metering system. Instead of counting how many questions you ask, Google now tracks how many tokens you consume and how complex your tasks are. A short text request uses far less compute than a long coding session or a video-related prompt, so the new model aims to match cost more closely to actual resource usage. Limits reset every five hours until a weekly cap is reached, smoothing out short-term spikes in activity. Importantly, when users hit the cap on flagship models, Google will automatically route them to smaller models rather than cutting them off completely. Power users can go further by paying token-based API fees once their bundled usage in an AI subscription plan is exhausted.
Competitive Pressure: Everyone Now Has a USD 100 AI Plan
Google’s new USD 100 (approx. RM460) AI Ultra tier also signals how synchronized pricing has become across the generative AI market. Major AI providers now cluster around USD 20 (approx. RM92), USD 100 (approx. RM460), and USD 200 (approx. RM920) monthly tiers, effectively creating industry-standard waypoints for premium AI services. The fact that Google cut its former USD 250 (approx. RM1,150) plan to USD 200 (approx. RM920) underscores intensifying price competition as providers fight for developers and prosumers who drive high usage. While many core features look similar across platforms, Google leans on exclusive access to products gated behind its higher tiers, including early access to Gemini Spark, a 24/7 AI agent, and Gemini Omni, its multimodal model. This mix of familiar price points and differentiated capabilities shows that the real battle is now about value at each tier, not just raw access.
What Google’s Tiered Strategy Means for Budget and Power Users
For consumers choosing between AI subscription plans, Google’s tiered pricing plays two roles at once. Budget-conscious users can climb from the USD 8 (approx. RM37) AI Plus and USD 20 (approx. RM92) tiers to the new USD 100 (approx. RM460) plan, gaining roughly five times higher usage limits in tools like the Gemini app and the Antigravity development platform, plus extras such as 20TB of cloud storage and a bundled YouTube Premium individual plan with YouTube Music. At the top, the reduced USD 200 (approx. RM920) AI Ultra tier targets power users who want earlier access to cutting-edge models and more consistent performance. Because compute-based metering tends to favor longer, more intensive sessions, heavy users may find better value than under rigid prompt caps, while lighter users can safely stay in lower tiers without paying for capacity they rarely touch.