Cline 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Gemini CLI has had an access tier withdrawn; check what is still available before choosing it.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 The tool still exists for API-key and paid use, so this is a withdrawn access tier rather than a shutdown — a distinction almost every ranked page gets wrong.
IDE extension
Cline
The bring-your-own-key VS Code agent extension. Users pay providers directly, not Cline.
Free
CLI agent
Gemini CLI
Google's open-source terminal agent. Consumer free tier withdrawn in June 2026.
Not read
Measured — counted from real repositories, nightlyAsserted — read from the vendor docs, dated
| Compared on | Cline | Gemini CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Asserted — what each vendor publishes about itself | ||
| Category | IDE extension | CLI agent |
| Vendor | Cline | |
| Status | Active | Sunset |
| How it charges | Free | Usage |
| Entry price | Free | Not read |
| Plans |
| No named tier on Google's pricing page could be read with a price beside it. |
| Default model | None — you choose | google/gemini |
| Your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Source | Open source · Apache-2.0 | Open source · Apache-2.0 |
| Measured — counted on the last nightly run | ||
| Stars | 65.5K | 106.3K |
| Maintenance | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Days since last push | 0 | 0 |
| Top model in it | StepFun: Step 3.7 Flash · $0.44 | not measured |
| Its volume | 759B tokens | not measured |
What has changed on either of them
1 entry| What changed | Kind | Was, and is now | Confidence | Occurred |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini CLI free consumer access endedGemini CLI | Tier withdrawn | Sunset | high |
