Free tiers are useful for trying a tool, and risky if you treat them as a work setup. On 18 October 2026 I read each vendor's own pages. Here is what they actually say.
What the pages say
| Free tier | Coding access as published | Limits as published |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Free | Claude Code is "No" in the plan comparison | "Free covers everyday questions." Rolling five hour windows |
| ChatGPT Free | "Quick coding tasks", GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, "subject to rollout" | Messages depend on model and task size. Estimates are "not fixed message limits" |
| Gemini API free tier | Free input and output on several models, such as Gemini 3.8 Flash and 2.5 Flash-Lite | Not available for Gemini 4 Argon or 3.1 Pro Preview. Numeric limits are shown only inside Google AI Studio |
| Google Antigravity free | Unlimited Tab completions and Command requests | "Basic weekly rate limits" on agent use |
| GitHub Copilot Free | "Limited chat and agent usage" | No numbers listed |
| Cursor Free | $0 a month | Allowance not stated on the pricing page I read |
The part people miss: data terms
Free often means your content may be used to improve products. Google's Gemini API terms say that for unpaid services, Google uses submitted content and responses "to provide, improve, and develop" its products, and that human reviewers "may read, annotate, and process your API input and output." For paid services, the terms say Google does not use your prompts to improve its products. In the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, the paid terms apply to all services, including unpaid quota.
Anthropic's pricing page lists model training as "Opt-out" for Free, Pro and Max, and none by default for Team and Enterprise. Check the setting yourself.
A simple rule
Use free tiers for public code, learning and throwaway experiments. Do not paste customer data, secrets or private source into a tier whose terms allow training or human review. If your company has a policy, the free tier is probably outside it.
Quick check
Is the Gemini API free tier available for every Gemini model?
No. Google's pricing page marks Gemini 4 Argon and Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview as not available on the free tier.
