Claude Code vs Gemini CLI
Claude Code and Gemini CLI side by side: what each one is, verified plan pricing and install commands where we have them, and the full review of each.
Claude Code
Daily DriverAnthropic's agentic coding CLI. Runs in your terminal, edits files autonomously, spawns sub-agents, and maintains memory across sessions. Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on paid plans as of October 2026.
Gemini CLI
Open sourceGoogle's open-source (Apache 2.0) terminal agent for Gemini models. Paid Gemini API, Vertex AI, and Code Assist Standard or Enterprise users keep access; unpaid tier and Google One users moved to Antigravity CLI on June 18, 2026.
At a glance
| Field | | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Coding | AI Coding |
| Website | docs.anthropic.com | github.com |
| Pricing | Pro - $20/mo, or $17/mo billed annually ($200 up front): includes Claude Code; Max - $100/mo (5x Pro usage) or $200/mo (20x Pro usage), plus $100 to $200/mo in API credits; Team - Standard seat $20/seat/mo billed annually ($25 monthly); Premium seat $100/seat/mo billed annually ($125 monthly); 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise - $20/seat/mo billed annually, 20 seat minimum, plus usage at API rates; Console (API key) - pay per token at Anthropic API rates; Free claude.ai plan - does not include Claude Code | Gemini API key or Vertex AI (pay-as-you-go) - cost based on model and token usage; Gemini Code Assist Standard - $22.80 per user per month, or $19 with an annual commitment; 1,500 requests per user per day; Gemini Code Assist Enterprise - $54 per user per month, or $45 with an annual commitment; 2,000 requests per user per day; Unpaid tier and Google One users - replaced by Antigravity CLI on June 18, 2026, per Google's quota page; Google AI Pro (1,500 requests per day) and Ultra (2,000) - still listed in the same page's quota table, which disagrees with Google's earlier announcement that they moved to Antigravity CLI; confirm before relying on it |
| Install | curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash or brew install --cask claude-code or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code | npm install -g @google/gemini-cli or brew install gemini-cli or npx @google/gemini-cli |
| Models | Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and the Anthropic API (Sonnet 4.5 on Microsoft Foundry). Switch with /model, claude --model, or ANTHROPIC_MODEL using the opus, sonnet, haiku, and fable aliases (Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1 on the Anthropic API) or a full model name; Fable is never the default and must be picked explicitly. | The /model command offers Auto (Gemini 3), which routes between Gemini 3 Pro and Gemini 3 Flash, Auto (Gemini 2.5), which routes between Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash, or a manual pick. Pass --model to choose at startup. The docs note Gemini CLI has not been optimized for Gemini 4 Argon and point to Antigravity for that model. |
| Last verified | October 25, 2026 | October 17, 2026 |
In Depth
Claude Code
Claude Code is a terminal-based coding agent from Anthropic. You give it a prompt, and it reads your codebase, plans changes, edits files, runs tests, and commits - all autonomously. It spawns sub-agents for parallel work, uses persistent memory (CLAUDE.md files) to remember project context between sessions, and integrates with MCP servers for external tools. I run it on the Max plan (from $100/mo) and it handles everything from multi-file refactors to full feature builds. My video on Claude Code sub-agents hit 160,000 views - it's the tool my audience asks about most. As of October 2026 it defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and API accounts, and you can switch models per session.
Gemini CLI
Gemini CLI is Google's open-source terminal agent for Gemini models. It reads and edits large codebases, runs shell commands, connects MCP servers, takes project instructions from GEMINI.md files, checkpoints long sessions so you can resume them, and runs non-interactively with -p and --output-format json for scripts and CI, with a GitHub Action for pull request reviews and issue triage. The big 2026 change is who it is for. Google's quota and pricing page says unpaid tier and Google One users had Gemini CLI replaced by Antigravity CLI on June 18, 2026, yet the same page's quota table still lists Google AI Pro (1,500 requests per day) and Ultra (2,000), so confirm Pro or Ultra access before relying on it. Organizations on Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise keep full access, and anyone can still run it with a paid Gemini API key or through Vertex AI. The GitHub README still describes the old free tier, so trust the quota page over it. If you are an individual developer who picked Gemini CLI because it was free, read the migration guide and look at Antigravity CLI; if your team already pays for Gemini through Google Cloud, Gemini CLI is still actively shipped, with weekly stable releases.
FAQ
Answers taken from each tool's verified fact sheet, with the date it was last checked.
How much does Claude Code cost?
As of October 25, 2026: Pro - $20/mo, or $17/mo billed annually ($200 up front): includes Claude Code; Max - $100/mo (5x Pro usage) or $200/mo (20x Pro usage), plus $100 to $200/mo in API credits; Team - Standard seat $20/seat/mo billed annually ($25 monthly); Premium seat $100/seat/mo billed annually ($125 monthly); 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise - $20/seat/mo billed annually, 20 seat minimum, plus usage at API rates; Console (API key) - pay per token at Anthropic API rates; Free claude.ai plan - does not include Claude Code. Source: Claude Code setup docs, Claude Code model configuration, Claude pricing, anthropics/claude-code CHANGELOG, anthropics/claude-code releases, @anthropic-ai/claude-code on npm (release dates).
How do I install Claude Code?
Official install commands as of October 25, 2026: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash or brew install --cask claude-code or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code.
Which models does Claude Code use?
As of October 25, 2026: Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and the Anthropic API (Sonnet 4.5 on Microsoft Foundry). Switch with /model, claude --model, or ANTHROPIC_MODEL using the opus, sonnet, haiku, and fable aliases (Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1 on the Anthropic API) or a full model name; Fable is never the default and must be picked explicitly.
How much does Gemini CLI cost?
As of October 17, 2026: Gemini API key or Vertex AI (pay-as-you-go) - cost based on model and token usage; Gemini Code Assist Standard - $22.80 per user per month, or $19 with an annual commitment; 1,500 requests per user per day; Gemini Code Assist Enterprise - $54 per user per month, or $45 with an annual commitment; 2,000 requests per user per day; Unpaid tier and Google One users - replaced by Antigravity CLI on June 18, 2026, per Google's quota page; Google AI Pro (1,500 requests per day) and Ultra (2,000) - still listed in the same page's quota table, which disagrees with Google's earlier announcement that they moved to Antigravity CLI; confirm before relying on it. Source: google-gemini/gemini-cli README, Gemini CLI release notes, Model selection docs, Gemini CLI quota and pricing, Gemini Code Assist pricing, Google: transitioning Gemini CLI to Antigravity CLI.
How do I install Gemini CLI?
Official install commands as of October 17, 2026: npm install -g @google/gemini-cli or brew install gemini-cli or npx @google/gemini-cli.
Which models does Gemini CLI use?
As of October 17, 2026: The /model command offers Auto (Gemini 3), which routes between Gemini 3 Pro and Gemini 3 Flash, Auto (Gemini 2.5), which routes between Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash, or a manual pick. Pass --model to choose at startup. The docs note Gemini CLI has not been optimized for Gemini 4 Argon and point to Antigravity for that model.
