> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Google Retires Gemini CLI's Free Tier for Antigravity — What It Means for Australians - URL: https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/news-google-gemini-cli-australia/ - Published: 2026-06-24T23:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T06:45:55.000Z - Description: Google has gutted the free tier of its most popular open-source coding agent, moving free and Pro/Ultra users onto a new Antigravity CLI with roughly 98% fewer requests. Here's what changed and what Australian developers should do. - Author: Adam - Tags: News, Coding & Development, #news **Posted:** 25 June 2026 · **Category:** Coding & Development --- **TL;DR:** Google has gutted the free tier of its most popular open-source coding agent. Since 18 June 2026, free individual users and Google AI Pro/Ultra subscribers are served through a new, closed-source **Antigravity CLI** instead of Gemini CLI — and the free allowance has dropped from around 1,000 requests a day to roughly 20, a cut of about 98%. There was no grace period. If you relied on Gemini CLI's free tier for real work, that workflow is effectively gone. Enterprise access is unaffected, and the Gemini CLI software is still open-source — but for solo Australian developers, the generous free agent is no longer generous. ## What changed At Google I/O on **19 May 2026**, Google announced it was transitioning Gemini CLI to a new, Go-based **Antigravity CLI**. The shift landed on **18 June 2026**: Gemini CLI stopped serving requests for free individual users and for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Those tiers are now routed through Antigravity CLI. The headline is the allowance. Gemini CLI's old free tier ran at roughly **1,000 requests a day**. Antigravity CLI's free tier is about **20 requests a day** — a reduction of around **98%**. The change arrived with no grace period, and the roughly 105,000-star GitHub community ended up with markedly less generous terms. Two things did not change. **Enterprise access is unaffected** — Gemini Code Assist Standard and Enterprise plans, and Google Cloud licences, keep full access. And the Gemini CLI software itself **remains open-source under Apache 2.0** and installable. Antigravity CLI, by contrast, is **not open-source**. ## Why it matters for Australians The free-tier cut is the part to read carefully. A 98% drop turns a tool you could lean on all day into one that runs out before lunch. For solo founders, small dev shops and the technically curious in Australia, the easy, no-card on-ramp to an agentic coding tool has essentially closed. If you move to a paid Google tier to restore headroom, remember the billing reality: pricing is set in US dollars. Through **Google Australia Pty Limited**, GST applies, so budget for the exchange rate plus 10% on top. The data point still stands too. On free tiers, Google's terms allow your prompts to be used to improve its models — so even the trimmed free allowance is the wrong place for client code, customer records or anything confidential. Paid Code Assist and API tiers exclude training on your data. ## Does this change our recommendation? Yes. Gemini CLI earned its shortlist spot largely on a free tier that no longer exists in any usable form. At \~20 requests a day, it is now a tool to trial, not to work in. For real coding, our paid picks hold — see [the best AI coding tools for Australians](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/best-ai-coding-tools-australia-2026/). If you still want Gemini in the terminal, the open-source CLI remains installable, but plan for paid access or accept the new free ceiling. We are updating our full [Gemini CLI review for Australians](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-gemini-cli-australia-2026/) to reflect the change. --- ## Sources - Google Developers Blog — "An important update: Transitioning Gemini CLI to Antigravity CLI" (primary): https://developers.googleblog.com/ (announced at Google I/O 19 May 2026; free individual users and Google AI Pro/Ultra served via Antigravity CLI from 18 June 2026; Antigravity CLI is not open-source; enterprise access unaffected). Wayback Machine snapshot queued. - google-gemini/gemini-cli — GitHub Discussion #27274 (primary): https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/discussions/27274 (free-tier reduction from \~1,000 to \~20 requests/day; no grace period; \~105,000-star community; Gemini CLI remains Apache 2.0 open-source). Wayback Machine snapshot queued.