Free Gemini accounts move to Flash-Lite on 9 October

Google’s Gemini Apps help page, Changes to Gemini model access and limits, says that starting in October 2026 model availability will change in Gemini Apps on a personal account. These changes “will start to take effect for users without an AI subscription on October 9th.” For AI Plus, “you should receive an email that explains when these changes will take effect for you.” 9 October 2026 is a Friday.

The page names Flash-Lite, Flash, and Pro, and it does not print version numbers. Abner Li’s 3 October story at 9to5Google adds version numbers. Its URL contains “oct-26”. The body says October 9. This article uses the help page’s names and that Friday date.

What each plan keeps

The table is checkmark and X images:

Google AI plan	Flash-Lite	Flash	Pro
Without a plan	Check	X	X
AI Plus	Check	Check	X
AI Pro	Check	Check	Check
AI Ultra	Check	Check	Check

Without a plan, Flash-Lite is the only model once the change applies. AI Plus keeps Flash-Lite and Flash, and the Pro cell is an X. AI Pro and AI Ultra keep all three. The page says you can subscribe, upgrade, change, or cancel at any time, and it says to update the Gemini mobile app.

The help page prints no prices. On the Gemini subscriptions page, opened the same morning with United States selected, AI Plus is $4.99 a month, AI Pro is $19.99 a month, and AI Ultra starts at $99.99 a month, with a second Ultra price of $199.99 a month.

Effort, Deep Think, and older limits

For each available model, the help page says you can select effort of low, medium, or high. Higher effort, it says, does more thorough work and uses more of the limit. 9to5Google reads the levels as an October addition.

Deep Think is separate. The help page says: “If you have an AI Ultra subscription you’ll also have access to the Deep Think option for maximum parallel reasoning.” 9to5Google’s headline says AI Pro is adding Deep Think, and the story gives that option to the $19.99 plan, describing it as currently on the $99.99 and $199.99 plans. The help page opened on 6 October names Ultra only. The United States subscriptions page also puts “first access” to features “like Deep Think” on Ultra. Follow the live help page.

Under “Previous changes,” the same page says a limits shift started on 17 May 2026 for users over 18 and on 24 July 2026 for users under 18. Gemini moved to compute-based limits that refresh every 5 hours until a weekly limit. The calculation uses prompt complexity, features, and chat length. Paid users have higher limits. Premium use, including media generation, Deep Research, the Pro model, extended thinking, and Deep Think, spends the limit faster.

Plan	Limit in that May section
Without a plan	Standard limits
AI Plus	2x higher than standard limits
AI Pro	4x higher than standard limits
AI Ultra	5x or 20x higher than AI Pro, depending on the subscription

The United States price page maps those Ultra multiples to $99.99 a month (5 times AI Pro) and $199.99 a month (20 times). That table is the May section of the help page.

Before Friday

On a personal account with no AI subscription, Flash and Pro are what the table removes from 9 October. Finish work that needs them before Friday, or pick a plan from the table.

AI Plus should wait for the email. After the change, that row is Flash-Lite and Flash, with an X under Pro. On the United States page, AI Pro, at $19.99 a month, is the listed plan that still includes Pro. AI Plus is $4.99.

Higher effort spends the limit faster. Deep Think, on the live help page, is Ultra.

Skills replace Gems on another date. The Gemini app rollout cited there is 13 October, separate from this table.

Practical takeaway

Match the help page to your plan. 9 October starts the change for accounts without an AI subscription. AI Plus waits on an email. For Deep Think, the live page lists Ultra.