Claude Code vs Gemini CLI
Read from each vendor’s own pages last night, so it does not go stale the way a written comparison does.
Before you read on · Sunset since 18 June 2026
Gemini CLI has had an access tier withdrawn; check what is still available before choosing it.
Free consumer access ended 18 June 2026; users were directed to Google Antigravity. The tool still exists for API-key and paid use, so this is a withdrawn access tier rather than a shutdown — a distinction almost every ranked page gets wrong.
CLI agent
Claude Code
Anthropic's terminal coding agent. The highest-adoption CLI agent by developer survey share.
Free, then $20 / mo
CLI agent
Gemini CLI
Google's open-source terminal agent. Consumer free tier withdrawn in June 2026.
Not read
| Compared on | Claude Code | Gemini CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Asserted — what each vendor publishes about itself | ||
| Category | CLI agent | CLI agent |
| Vendor | Anthropic | |
| Status | Active | Sunset |
| How it charges | Subscription | Usage |
| Entry price | Free, then $20 / mo | Not read |
| Plans |
| No named tier on Google's pricing page could be read with a price beside it. |
| Default model | anthropic/claude-opus-4.8 | google/gemini |
| Your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Source | Proprietary | Open source · Apache-2.0 |
| Measured — counted on the last nightly run | ||
| Stars | 140.1K | 106.3K |
| Maintenance | 92/100 | 100/100 |
| Days since last push | 9 | 0 |
| Top model in it | Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.8 · $10.00 | not measured |
| Its volume | 747B tokens | not measured |
What has changed on either of them
2 entries| What changed | Kind | Was, and is now | Confidence | Occurred |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code changed the quota wording on its pricing pageClaude Code | Quota change | limits 24 hourslimits 20x more usage, 20x the usage, 24 hours, 5x more usage, unlimited projects to organize chats | low | |
| Gemini CLI free consumer access endedGemini CLI | Tier withdrawn | Sunset | high |
