Google Gemini switches to compute-based limits as user backlash forces quota increases

Google's latest attempt to fix token quotas is here: Say hello to Gemini 3.5 Flash Low

Alongside the new model, Google has reset the Gemini quota across all paid and free plans to assist users with software engineering tasks. Google's latest Gemini 3.5 Flash model has been quite a success. However, the company paired it with a quietly nerfed AI Pro plan, and the tighter Gemini usage limits ended up frustrating users, especially those who used it for coding in Antigravity. Google reacted by increasing Antigravity's limits by 9x (across two increases), but that still doesn't seem enough. Now, Google has introduced a new Gemini model that uses even fewer tokens than Gemini 3.5 Flash.

Google is changing how Gemini usage limits work

I've been writing about Android since 2011, with a focus on device reviews, Samsung and Google Pixel hardware, and the latest happenings in the ecosystem. In my entire writing career, I've reviewed more than 75 Android phones. Carrying both a Samsung or Pixel flagship and an iPhone as a daily driver provides me with deep insight into how Android works and how it compares to iOS. I have been writing for Android Police since 2021, covering news, how-tos, and features. You can find my previous work on Neowin, AndroidBeat, Times of India, iPhoneHacks, MySmartPrice, and MakeUseOf. When not working, I tend to mindlessly scroll through X, play with new AI models, or go on long road trips. You can reach out to me on X or drop a mail at [email protected]. Unlike ChatGPT, Claude, and most other AI services, Gemini has so far used a daily prompt limit. This was far more generous than what competing AI services offered. But at I/O 2026, Google announced it's switching away from the daily prompt limit to a "compute-used" model. Until now, Gemini calculated its daily usage limit based on the number of prompts. This differed from ChatGPT and Claude, which calculated daily usage limits based on token consumption. Going forward, Google says Gemini prompt limits will use a "compute-used" model. This means that instead of prompts, your usage limit will be calculated based on the prompt's complexity, the features used, and the chat length. For example, a video generation prompt will use more tokens and compute than a simple text prompt. If you use Gemini for basic tasks, the new usage limit should not affect your workflow. But if you use it heavily for complex tasks, including video generation or coding, you might hit the limit sooner than you think. Similar to ChatGPT and Claude, Gemini will now feature both five-hour and weekly usage limits. If you use too much compute, you'll first hit a five-hour limit. The weekly limit will kick in after that. Google's support page has more details on the new usage limits. Without a plan, it says "standard limits" will apply. The AI Plus plan bumps that to 2x, while the AI Pro offers 4x higher limits. The AI Ultra plan offers 20x higher usage than the AI Pro plan. It also notes that the following activities and actions will eat into your usage limit. Premium models and features require more usage and may cause you to reach your limit faster. This would include things like: Media generation Images, videos and music Deep Research Pro Model Extended thinking and Deep Think You can view your Gemini usage limits through the Gemini app or from the web. Buy credits to continue working Once you hit the limit, Google will switch you to a smaller model, so you can continue working. AI Pro and Ultra subscribers can purchase PAYG AI credits to bypass the limit and continue working. These credits will work in Google Antigravity, Google Flow, and the Gemini app in the near future. Subscribe to our newsletter for AI compute-limit clarity Want clearer coverage of Gemini's compute-used limits? Subscribe to the newsletter for focused breakdowns of what consumes compute, how plan tiers stack up, and concrete examples that explain the tradeoffs around usage. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. The changes to Google's Gemini usage limits come as the company launched a new $100 AI Ultra plan while dropping the price of the top-tier by $50 to $200 per month.

Google has tripled Gemini usage limits for Antigravity, twice

New usage limits have hit Google's Gemini AI models and, following user concerns, Google has raised those limits specifically for Antigravity - twice. Alongside plenty of Gemini-related announcements this week at Google I/O, it was also revealed that Gemini would be getting compute-based usage limits for its various tools and abilities. Users are a bit frustrated by this, but Google is hearing the feedback in one specific area. Within Antigravity - Google's AI-powered coding tool - Gemini's usage limits have been raised twice since they kicked in earlier this week. On Wednesday, Google raised Gemini model rate limits for Antigravity by 3x, as well as resetting the weekly quotas for all users. This happened quickly after new limits were put in place, largely due to users hitting their limits shortly after they were enacted. Some were finding they could hit the limits within just an hour of working in Antigravity, a pretty drastic change from what was available before. Tonight, Google has again 3x'd usage limits for Gemini models in Antigravity, this time for the weekly quota. Google's Varun Mohan, a Director within DeepMind working on Antigravity, acknowledged that users could hit their weekly limits "after a couple work sessions," and also confirmed that Google has reset quotas for all paid plans for the second time this week. The higher quotas on Antigravity will likely help many to continue getting the most out of these tools, but limits will inevitably still have an impact, especially seeing as they're still lower than they were before, as users quickly pointed out. That's going to be the case for Gemini's suite of tools as a whole, since usage limits haven't changed anywhere outside of Antigravity at this time.

Google just made big changes to Gemini usage limits

Paid plans offer significantly higher usage allowances, with Ultra providing 20x standard limits compared to free tier access. Google is changing how it calculates your weekly Gemini usage limits, and it's another reflection of how powerful agentic AI features have broken flat-rate consumer AI plans. As of now, Google says it's switching to "compute-based" usage rather than a fixed number of requests per day. As detailed in a Google support document, the new compute-based usage limits include factors such as the complexity of your prompt, the features you use (like image and video generation, deep research, and the use of Pro and extended-thinking or Deep Think models), and the length of your chat. Details on the new compute-based usage limits are vague, with Google noting that paid users will have higher limits than free users. Users on the $8-a-month Google AI Plus plan will get usage limits that are twice as high as the "standard" limits offered to users without a plan, according to the Google support document. Usage limits for those on the $20-a-month AI Pro plan will be four times as high as standard limits, while $250-a-month AI Ultra plans will boast 20 times the standard usage limits. The compute-based limits for Gemini will refresh every five hours until you reach a weekly limit. Previously, Gemini usage limits were based on the number of requests per day. For example, Google AI Pro users got up to 100 Gemini Pro 3.1 prompts per day, regardless of how complicated the prompts were. Google's move comes less than a month after GitHub overhauled its Copilot plans, switching from its old "premium request units" model to "AI Credits" based on the actual tokens used during AI exchanges. The changes come as the big AI providers are struggling to keep up with the demands of ever more powerful agentic features, which can spawn sub-agents capable of gobbling up tens of thousands of tokens over multiple turns from a single request. Bucking the trend, Anthropic recently doubled the Claude Code limits for its Claude Pro and Max plans, but only after inking a deal with SpaceX to boost its compute capacity. Just last month, an Anthropic exec admitted that the current Claude Pro and Max plans "weren't built" for features like Claude Code and Cowork, the Claude desktop feature that unleashes AI agents on your PC.

Google gives Antigravity users another major Gemini quota boost as backlash refuses to die down

The higher limits apply only inside Antigravity for now, while broader Gemini usage caps remain unchanged -- and many users say the limits are still lower than before the original rollback. Two days ago, we reported that Google quietly nerfed the AI Pro plan, and the backlash was immediate. Over on Reddit, frustrated users accused the company of pulling a bait-and-switch after noticing tighter Gemini usage limits than before. For users who depend on Gemini for coding, deep research, or hours-long workflows, hitting weekly limits so quickly made the AI Pro plan feel unnecessarily restrictive, especially for something people are actively paying for.

I could probably generate hundreds of Gemini images before hitting the limit -- but the new AI meter still changed my behavior

Seeing every AI image chip away at a monthly allowance made Gemini feel less like magic and more like a resource Google just introduced new Gemini usage limits and a usage meter to go with them that shows a graph of how much you've used -- and despite never getting close to my limit, it's still changed the way I use AI. AI tools have spent the last couple of years trying to feel frictionless. You type a prompt, generate an image, ask another question, and the responses keep flowing with almost no sense of limitation behind the scenes. Of course, there were always limits, but they were never visible. You just somehow stumbled into them and went off to do something else instead. While generating images in Gemini this week, I noticed each creation quietly shaving a percentage off my current limit, and this time I could actually see how much I was using. Generating one image dropped the meter by 1%. Another chipped away a little more. I was nowhere near running out -- realistically, I'd need to generate a huge number of images to hit the cap -- but something about seeing the graph filling up changed the way I used Gemini almost instantly. The new Gemini usage limits, and how to game the system Google explained its new usage policies on its support site, and a new Usage option has appeared in the Gemini Settings menu, where you can see how much you've got left until the next refresh. Essentially, Gemini has taken a leaf out of Claude's book and shifted from daily limits to a usage window that refreshes every five hours until you reach your weekly limit. "Calculation of your usage will factor in the complexity of your prompt, the features you use, and the length of your chat," explains the support article. The clue in that sentence is that the "length of your chat" increases the amount of processing Gemini uses, so a good tip is to keep opening new chats instead of doing everything in one long conversation. One of the quirks of Gemini is that it considers everything in the current chat window when it processes a request, which increases usage. What really makes you reach your limits faster is using premium features like media generation -- including images, video, and music -- alongside Deep Research and the Pro model, especially in Extended Thinking and Deep Think modes. So, if you don't need to solve especially complex problems, settling for Standard instead of Extended Thinking will stretch your limits further. You might also want to think about upgrading, as paid users have higher limits than free Gemini users. It currently looks like this: Free: standard limits AI Plus ($7.99/£6.99 per month): 2x higher than standard AI Pro ($19.99/£18.99 per month): 4x higher than standard AI Ultra (from $99.99/£79.99 per month): 5x higher or 20x higher than standard I'm on the AI Pro plan, and I don't think I'm ever going to hit my limits, but I'd describe myself as a casual user. If you were using Gemini constantly for generating images, video, and code, you might find yourself hitting the cap much faster. Why seeing the meter changes everything Even though the new limits themselves are fairly generous, the fact that I can see them counting down in graph form -- next to the exact time they'll refresh -- makes every prompt I type now feel like it's carrying weight. I also found myself hesitating before generating alternate versions of an image. Instead of casually experimenting, I started asking whether I really needed another variation or whether the current result was 'good enough'. People behave differently when consumption becomes visible, and perhaps that's a good thing. Battery percentages change how we use our phones. Screen-time reports make us reconsider scrolling habits. Mobile data meters encourage restraint even when we have plenty remaining. The Gemini counter taps into the same instinct: once you can see depletion happening in real time, you become more aware of every action. Seeing AI as less like a limitless resource running on my laptop, and more like what it really is -- a limited resource that uses electricity and is housed inside a huge data center, consuming vast amounts of water for cooling -- is probably a healthier way to interact with it. We all know that our current access to AI is being massively subsidized by investors, and none of these AI companies are making meaningful profits yet. At some point, AI will need to start paying its own way, and when that happens, we can probably expect it to become less available and more expensive than it is right now. Perhaps getting into that mindset early is better for all of us in the long run. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

Google's Gemini might be testing weekly limits, and free users won't love it

Right now, almost every major AI chatbot follows the same playbook: hook people with a surprisingly capable free tier, then gently nudge them toward a subscription once they start relying on it too much. And honestly, for most users, the free versions are already good enough. You can ask questions, generate images, summarize documents, and even brainstorm ideas without constantly hitting a paywall. That is why a newly spotted change inside Google's Gemini app feels particularly interesting. A user on X has shared a screenshot suggesting Google may be testing stricter usage tracking and possible weekly limits inside Gemini. The screenshot shows a new section that explains, "Plan limits determine how much you can use Gemini over time." This means Google could be preparing a more aggressive system that measures how frequently free users interact with Gemini, especially when using heavier AI models. The screenshot also includes a usage bar that tracks how much of the quota has already been consumed. In this particular case, the user had reportedly used around 5% of the available allowance, with the limit resetting later in the day. While that may not sound alarming yet, it does point toward Gemini becoming far more structured about how much free access people actually get. This was always inevitable Running large AI models is absurdly expensive. Every prompt, generated image, or long conversation costs money in computing power, and tech companies have spent the last few years conditioning users to expect near-unlimited AI for free. That honeymoon phase was never going to last forever. Google, like practically every other AI company right now, ultimately wants people to pay for premium access. The challenge is figuring out how hard it can push before users simply move elsewhere. Because, unlike traditional software lock-ins, AI tools are painfully easy to abandon. If Gemini suddenly feels restrictive, people can switch to ChatGPT, Claude, or another free alternative within minutes. That said, it is important not to overreact just yet. At the moment, this appears to be limited to a single user report, and Google has not officially announced weekly caps for Gemini's free tier. There is always the possibility that this is part of a small-scale test or an experimental rollout that never expands further. Still, Google has a long history of quietly testing features with limited audiences before rolling them out more broadly. So even if this is only visible to a handful of users today, it would not be surprising to see stricter Gemini limits slowly appear for more people over the coming months. The bigger question is whether users will tolerate it once it happens. Because people have gotten very comfortable treating AI chatbots like infinite digital assistants. The moment those assistants start saying, "You've hit your limit for the week," the relationship between users and AI platforms could start to feel very different.

Gemini's new usage limits are live, and users already seem frustrated about it

As a part of a massive slate of new AI announcements, Google this week also announced new compute-based usage limits for Gemini - existing users don't seem too happy about it. Limits haven't really been much of a thought for Gemini users to date, but that's changing following I/O 2026. Google has updated usage limits that take into account the length of chats, features used, and the overall complexity of a prompt. In other words, the more power that goes into your prompt, the more it counts towards your usage limits. There's an overall weekly limit, as well as usage limits that reset every five hours. The change, Google says, is a "better way to allocate limits, because a simple text prompt uses far less compute than a complex video or coding prompt." There's still a powerful, arguably generous free tier, but paid tiers are seeing the most shift. The $7.99/month AI Plus plan doubles your usage limits over the free plan, while the $19.99/month AI Pro plan doubles that again, 4x the limits of the free plan. The higher AI Ultra plans then 5x and 20x the limits of the Pro plan for $100 and $200, respectively, per month. Previously, Google didn't give actual figures for the difference in usage limits on its AI plans, instead just using words like "more" and "higher." Google sent out an email to remind users of the change, which took effect on May 20. The email reads in part: Usage limits in the Gemini app: For the Gemini app, we're introducing compute-based usage limits that factor in the complexity of your prompt, the features you use, and the length of your chat. Your limit refreshes every 5 hours until you reach your weekly limit. As an AI Pro subscriber, you'll enjoy a 4x higher usage limit than non-subscribers. Early reactions to these limits are mostly opposed to the change. Some users take issue with the wording Google has settled on here, specifically in that the section quoted above compares Pro to the free plan, rather than what the Pro plan previously offered, which did have a higher limit. Others are frustrated in the value, with AI Pro technically buying less usage per dollar compared to Plus - though the various other perks that come with AI Pro should absolutely be taken into account there. For some, the fact that these usage limits are just stricter is the problem, despite that being an overall trend in the industry. As AI services see broader rollouts, the resources powering them are increasingly under strain, something not helped by the supply shortages around hardware used in AI (which, of course, were caused by AI in the first place). With that in mind, it's not really a surprise that Google felt the need to impose these new limits, but it's a big shift for those who were using the service before. You can check Gemini's usage limits at gemini.google.com/usage. Google seems to have partially acknowledged the tighter restrictions and has raised rate limits in Antigravity by 3x permanently.

Gemini's new limits are already frustrating users

Several users have reportedly canceled their subscriptions. Google just changed up its subscription AI offerings, and while it may have tried to make users focus on the new reduced pricing for its AI Ultra plan, the company also sneakily nerfed the limits for people subscribed to Gemini AI Pro and Ultra. Now users are feeling the impact of those changes first-hand, and they are not happy. The Gemini subreddit is full of people dunking on Google for the suddenly tighter limits. One user said that they're canceling their Pro subscription after exhausting 50% of their usage limit with a simple five prompt back-and-forth with the AI (via PiunikaWeb). Worse yet is the fact that Google is now using five-hour windows to restrict usage, with limits clearing after each cycle until a user reaches their weekly limit. This basically locks out users from using Gemini until the window resets. These limits aren't unheard of, either. Claude already uses five-hour windows to restrict usage and it also uses an exponentially larger number of tokens in longer threads. On Anthropic's AI, users often have to break their tasks into smaller subtasks and create new chats to reduce token usage. The same is now happening with Gemini, and users are understandably upset. Some users are also reporting that Gemini sometimes automatically switches to using the Flash model even when the Pro model is selected, simply because of high demand. There are many people chiming in, and nearly every one is upset with the new usage limits. Another user claimed that the personalization feature drastically affects limits as well. Some users are also upset that Google didn't inform them of the changes. It seems that the emails weren't sent to all users. I haven't received any email informing me about changes to the Pro plan. However, Android Authority's Managing Editor, Adamya Sharma, did get an email informing her of the new compute limits and changes to the credit system.

Gemini's new token limits are just as bad as Claude's, and maybe even a little dumber

Quentyn is a career tech journalist with nearly two decades of experience. He has written thousands of stories for publications such as The Verge, Forbes, Consumer Reports, and Business Insider. Quentyn specializes in reporting about mobile technology (including smartphones, tablets, wearables, and accessories), home theater, gaming, computing, and cameras. In his free time, you can find him abusing any variety of gaming controllers or learning about his latest muses (most recently, drones and cooking). Summary Gemini subscription tiers have been adjusted; some get more value, while others lose out. New compute-based quotas throttle heavy users. Widespread reports suggest Gemini 3.5 Flash feels less reliable than 3.1 Pro. After announcing sweeping changes to Gemini and AI-powered Search at Google I/O this week, Google announced overhauled Gemini AI usage limits and subscription tiers, sparking immediate backlash from users throughout communities and social media sites like Reddit who report restrictive throttling and a noticeable drop in output quality. The latest 3.5 Flash model fails to live up to Google's claims, early testers say, and new compute-based usage limits heavily restrict access to older, yet seemingly more reliable models like 3.1 Pro. Related Google Search is getting a complete AI overhaul -- here's what's actually changing AI... AI everywhere Posts By Dave Schafer New Gemini Plans are here It's a better deal for some, and a little worse for others Google's update introduces a revised subscription hierarchy that alters the value proposition for early adopters. The new structure includes Gemini 3.5 Flash, Omni, Flow, Daily Brief, and Gmail AI features for all plans. AI Plus: Starts at $7.99 per month, but doesn't include Pro 3.1 AI Pro: The standard tier remains $19.99 per month, and now includes YouTube Premium Lite, a new Google Pics image creation experience, and voice capabilities in Gmail, Docs, and Google Keep later this summer. AI Ultra: Google lowered the price of its highest-tier plan from $250 to $200 per month and introduced a new $100-per-month option for advanced access with lower limits. It will include full YouTube Premium access and will be the only plan that includes Gemini Spark. Project Genie, which lets you create interactive 3D worlds, will only be available on the $200 per month Ultra plan. Users on older promotional plans, such as the $100-per-year 5TB Pro plan offered during Black Friday, anticipate that those deals won't return. The new usage limits are a lot more prohibitive Most users should be fine, but power users are burning through allowances Google shifted from a daily prompt allowance to measuring total compute used. Quotas now refresh every five hours, with an overarching weekly limit. The system dynamically grades the complexity of a user's request, the active features involved (generating Omni videos would use a lot more than figuring out an Instant Pot chili recipe), and the historical length of the chat thread. This change seems to target intensive workflows, and many feel Gemini's new usage limits are now as restrictive as Claude's. When testing their workflows on Gemini 3.1 Pro, some users report hitting the limit after just 40 minutes to an hour, or eating up as much as 60 percent after a few messages. resulting in a forced four-hour wait. The revised structure effectively limits the paid platform for prolonged, continuous work sessions. Those working with abnormally large context windows, such as heavy researchers and coders, seem to be burning through their allocations the fastest. Some suggest that starting new chats for each session can help curb usage, rather than continuing in a single long thread, as Gemini processes all previous context each time it receives new instructions. Is Gemini's intelligence actually regressing? AI is supposed to improve over time, but this update feels worse Google claims the reasoning capabilities of the new 3.5 Flash model match the older 3.1 Pro standard while delivering faster speeds. The Gemini community at large begs to differ, and I concur with that consensus based on my own direct testing. Subscribe to the newsletter for Gemini coverage Get deeper context by subscribing to the newsletter: clear, expert breakdowns of Gemini's model and quota changes, practical takeaways for casual and power users, comparisons across AI platforms, and what to watch next. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Users broadly report 3.5 Flash hallucinates data, sometimes more than it did on 3.1 Flash in some cases. It can still fail the basics, such as extracting accurate information from documents, and often struggles with basic logic. The default experience forces users onto the lighter 3.5 Flash model once quotas are reached. While Gemini 3.1 Pro (especially Extended mode) remains capable for deep research and vibe coding, the new rate limits can make it prohibitive for some. Paying customers are already exploring local LLM hosting options or migrating to competitors like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude. Those are fine reprieves for now, but something tells me we should brace ourselves for further belt-tightening from major AI players as the monetary and logistical costs of deploying and supporting generative AI platforms continue to climb.

Google's latest Gemini test could frustrate free users fast

Screenshots shared online suggest Google is already quietly trialing the change with some users. Google may be preparing to significantly restrict the free tier of Gemini, and we're seeing the first signs that the company is changing how access limits work behind the scenes. A new leak from AshutoshShrivastava on X reveals that Google is quietly testing weekly usage limits for some Gemini features instead of the shorter rolling limits users are used to. The leaker posted a screenshot that appears to show some free users are now seeing weekly limits attached to Gemini use instead of the usual daily or hourly restrictions. So far, Gemini's limits have mostly worked like a replenishing meter. Once you reach your limit, you can wait a few hours or a day, and you will be able to resume your activities. A weekly system changes the math entirely. Burn through your allowance in one weekend, and you could be locked out for days. The larger change here is that Google appears to be testing more adaptable throttling systems based on server demand. Its support pages now explicitly warn that Gemini's limits "may change frequently" and can be tweaked during testing or periods of high usage. Earlier this year, Google already imposed weekly rate limits on its Antigravity AI coding platform, noting that the weekly quotas helped users get through bigger projects without running into shorter cooldown windows all the time. The company's also feeling increasing pressure from the huge expense of running modern AI systems. Heavy reasoning models, image generators, and video tools all take a lot of compute power, especially when millions of free users flood in at once. Infrastructure costs are increasing, as well. Recently, competitor platforms like ChatGPT and Sora have also restricted free-tier access. If these weekly caps are implemented widely, casual users won't even notice, while heavy users might hit walls much sooner than they used to.

Gemini Users Left Frustrated as Google Shifts to Compute-Based Usage Limits

Many users have claimed they are hitting the 5-hour limit quicker Google is quietly restructuring the Gemini app's usage limit. After adding a weekly limit and releasing the new usage dashboard earlier this week, the Mountain View-based tech giant is now adopting a compute-based usage limit approach. Ditching the existing message-based count means users' usage will now be measured by the number of tokens they consume, which can significantly reduce their actual usage. Just hours after the change was rolled out, several users took to social media to complain that they hit the rate limit much sooner than before. Gemini Shifts to a Compute-Based Usage Limit The tech giant informed users of the change in usage limit measurement by sending them emails, rather than announcing it on its blog or social media. Gadgets 360 staff members also received the email, which mentioned that the Gemini app will now use "compute-based usage limits that factor in the complexity of your prompt, the features you use, and the length of your chat." The email also officially mentioned the addition of a weekly limit. The email, however, did not provide any standardised measure of compute consumption per response or per media generation. In a support page, Google only vaguely refers to the usage for different tiers as standard limit (free tier), 2x standard limit (AI Plus), 4x standard limit (AI Pro), 5x standard limit (AI Ultra $100), and 20x standard limit (AI Ultra $200). Since the company is not providing any official measurements to go by, we tried to use the chatbot and find out exactly how much usage is exhausted when using the "premium models and features." In our testing, we found that generating one Nano Banana Pro image consumed one percent of 5-hour usage, while one deep research using the Gemini 3.1 Pro (Extended) consumed five percent of 5-hour usage. On the other hand, generating a single video using Veo 3 consumed 26 percent of five hourly limit. These usage consumptions were observed on a Gemini account with an AI Pro subscription. Do note that we used a basic prompt for each of these outputs, and the results may vary with a more complicated request. We also did not include text prompts in this test since they are very subjective and are influenced by factors such as web access, agentic tools, third-party connectors, using Google's data hubs (Gmail, Drive), length of the conversation, and more. Based on the brief test, we believe most users will experience higher usage consumption than before. Users posting on social media platforms also corroborated our findings. A Reddit user, u/EatandDie001, who is on the Pro plan, said, "Just one single prompt that includes referencing my NotebookLM + Google Doc already ate 47 percent of my current usage. One prompt. Not even a long one." X user @TimJayas shared similar feedback and said, "Google RUINED Gemini with these new rate limits. Just used 5 prompts with Pro 'standard thinking' model and already used 54% of the limit. And if you use Gemini Omni, then you're cooked." Another Reddit user, u/ClumpofCheese, said, "It's like they gamified it with micro transactions. Now you have to keep coming back every five hours to work a little more, wake up in the middle of the night to get the most from your credits."

Google Takes the Anthropic Route With Weekly Usage Limits for Gemini

* The dashboard shows a 5-hour limit and a weekly limit * Different Gemini tiers have different usage limits * Anthropic popularised the weekly usage limit system Google is now rolling out the usage dashboard for Gemini to all users. This new space, which is slowly rolling out globally, acts as a space to let users know how soon they will hit their rate limits and plan their usage accordingly. The dashboard brings more transparency to users who frequently exhaust their usage and have to wait for the bar to reset. However, as a downside, the Mountain View-based tech giant has implemented a weekly rate limit alongside its five-hour limit, which places broader restrictions on the usage one can get out of their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. Gemini Gets a Usage Dashboard While Google has not made any official post about the usage dashboard or the weekly limit, it has started becoming available for many users. According to Android Authority, a new button is being added to the app and the website client that will let users see the dashboard. Gadgets 360 staff members did not see the button, but this URL shows the dashboard (as long as you're logged into your Google account in the browser). Gemini usage dashboard The new webpage is titled "Usage limits," and it says, "Your plan's limits determine how much you can use Gemini over time. Advanced models and features can take up more usage." Underneath, users will see two bars -- one labelled "Current usage" and the second labelled "Weekly limit". The first resets every five hours, and the second, as the name explains, on a weekly basis. Both bars show the amount of the assigned usage limit (out of 100 percent) used by the users. The five-hour rate limit has been there since Gemini was rolled out. The weekly limit is a new addition, which will add a broader restriction to likely offset compute costs. However, this also means that, similar to other major AI companies, Google is also throttling access to the chatbot across tiers. Notably, the weekly quota system was first introduced by Anthropic last year, shortly after the release of Claude Code. Needless to say, the lowest usage or tokens will be available to the free tier, then progressively higher access will be given to the Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers. In a support page, the company has shared basic guidelines on the daily limits. Those on the free tier will get basic access to Gemini 3.1 Pro and Thinking models, and general access to the Fast model. They will also get five screen automation requests, 20 audio overviews, five Deep Research reports, 20 image generations (with Nano Banana 2), 10 music tracks (30-second long), and more. Google also mentions that access is subject to change and can be limited based on testing, experimentation, or availability.