Gemini CLI and Code Assist Review 2026: Pricing, Features and Verdict

What it is

There are two pieces under one name:

• Gemini CLI, an open source (Apache 2.0) AI agent for the terminal. It can query and edit large codebases, generate apps from PDFs, images or sketches, debug with natural language, automate tasks such as pull request queries and rebases, connect MCP servers, and run non interactively in scripts. It has about 107,400 GitHub stars and ships stable releases weekly; v0.64.0 came out on October 13, 2026.
• Gemini Code Assist, Google's paid coding assistant, which includes IDE extensions with completions, chat, smart actions and agent mode (in preview), access to Gemini CLI, and AI help inside Google Cloud services such as Firebase, BigQuery, Apigee and Application Integration.

What changed in 2026

On May 19, 2026, Google announced it was unifying its consumer agent tools into Google Antigravity and a new Antigravity CLI. From June 18, 2026, Gemini CLI and the Code Assist IDE extensions stopped serving requests for:

• the free Gemini Code Assist for individuals tier,
• Google One subscribers,
• Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

Gemini Code Assist for GitHub also stopped new installations for those users. What stayed: organizations with Code Assist Standard or Enterprise licenses, Code Assist for GitHub through Google Cloud, and anyone using paid Gemini API or Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform keys. Google says it will keep supporting Gemini CLI for them with the latest Gemini models.

The README now carries two warnings: that unpaid and Google One users were moved to Antigravity CLI, and that "Gemini CLI has not been optimized for Gemini 4 Argon," with Antigravity recommended for the best coding experience with the newest Gemini models. If you read an older review promising a generous free tier, that offer is gone.

Pricing explained

Option	Price	Agent and CLI quota
Gemini CLI software	Free, open source	Depends on how you sign in
Code Assist Standard (monthly)	$22.80 per user per month	1,500 requests per user per day
Code Assist Standard (annual)	$19 per user per month, paid up front	1,500 requests per user per day
Code Assist Enterprise (monthly)	$54 per user per month	2,000 requests per user per day
Code Assist Enterprise (annual)	$45 per user per month, paid up front	2,000 requests per user per day
Gemini API key or Vertex AI	Usage based at API rates	Set by your API tier

Prices as listed on codeassist.google and quotas from Google's Code Assist quota docs in October 2026. Code Assist is also offered through the Google Developer Program.

What a request means. Agent mode and the CLI share one daily pool, aggregated across every Gemini model you use. In agent mode or the CLI, one prompt can turn into several model requests, so 1,500 requests is not 1,500 prompts. When the daily maximum is reached, no further requests go through until the quota resets. There are also per minute limits subject to service demand.

Code review quota. Gemini Code Assist on GitHub, through Google Cloud, has its own quota of at least 100 pull request reviews per day per installation.

Team math. Ten developers on Standard cost $2,280 a year on annual billing, or $228 a month on monthly billing. Ten on Enterprise cost $5,400 a year annually. For reference, ten GitHub Copilot Business seats are $190 a month and ten Claude Team Standard seats are $250 monthly or $200 annually. See the Price Index.

Key features

Terminal agent

Gemini CLI reads your project, edits files, runs shell commands and troubleshoots in a loop. It supports multimodal input, MCP servers (including Google's media generation servers for Imagen, Veo and Lyria), and a non interactive mode for scripts and CI. Install with npx, npm, Homebrew, MacPorts or conda.

Agent mode in the IDE

Code Assist's agent mode, in preview, does multi file edits with full project context, built in tools and MCP, with human in the loop approvals.

Completions, chat and smart actions

Inline completions and whole function generation, chat in every supported IDE, and one click smart actions for test generation, fixes and explanations.

Google Cloud integration

Code Assist works inside Firebase (including Crashlytics crash summaries), BigQuery, Colab Enterprise, Apigee API design with an Enterprise Context capability, and Application Integration flows. No other agent in this category goes as deep into a cloud console.

Enterprise code customization

Enterprise can ground suggestions in your private repositories, with quotas listed up to 20,000 code customization repositories.

What users say

• VS Code Marketplace, Gemini Code Assist: 1.9 from 905 reviews, with about 5.5 million installs. That is the lowest rating among the major coding assistants on the marketplace; GitHub Copilot is 4.1 from 1,058 and Claude Code 3.7 from 829.
• GitHub: over 100,000 stars, 6,000 merged pull requests and hundreds of contributors, per Google, which shows strong community interest in the CLI itself.

The gap between a popular open source CLI and a poorly rated IDE extension is worth noting: the terminal tool has a loyal following, while the extension draws complaints.

Privacy and security

Google's data governance policy for Gemini Code Assist says customer code, customer inputs and generated recommendations are not used to train shared models or develop products, and that customers own their data and IP. Security features include Private Google Access, VPC Service Controls and IAM based Enterprise Access Controls. Code Assist cites sources when suggestions quote at length, and Google offers IP indemnification for licensed users. Certifications listed: SOC 1, 2 and 3, ISO/IEC 27001, 27017, 27018 and 27701.

If you run Gemini CLI on a Gemini API key instead of a Code Assist license, the Gemini API terms for that key apply instead.

Who it is for

• Companies standardized on Google Cloud, especially Firebase, BigQuery or Apigee users.
• Security and procurement teams that want published daily quotas, IP indemnity and a long certification list.
• Developers scripting automation on a paid Gemini API key who like an open source CLI they can read.

Who should skip it

• Individuals and hobbyists. The free and consumer routes are closed; Google points you to Antigravity CLI.
• Anyone who wants the newest Gemini model in a terminal agent; Google itself says to use Antigravity for Gemini 4 Argon.
• Teams that want several labs' models; Code Assist is Gemini only. GitHub Copilot covers Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and xAI for $10 to $19.
• Budget buyers. At $19 to $22.80 a seat, it costs about double Copilot Pro for fewer model choices.

Alternatives

• Claude Code: terminal agent included with Claude Pro at $20.
• Codex: terminal agent included with ChatGPT Plus at $20.
• GitHub Copilot: $10, includes Gemini models plus others, with a free CLI tier.
• Cline: open source, and can use Gemini through your own key.
• Kiro: AWS's agent with an IDE and CLI and published credits.

Verdict

Gemini CLI remains a well built, actively released open source agent, and Code Assist has the strongest compliance story and the deepest cloud console integration in the category. But Google has moved its own consumers to Antigravity, the README says the CLI is not tuned for Google's newest model, and the IDE extension is rated 1.9 from 905 reviews. Buy Code Assist if your company runs on Google Cloud and wants the paperwork; otherwise pick a $10 to $20 agent elsewhere.