Google Launches Free Gemini Code Assist with 180,000 Monthly Completions

Google Launches Free Gemini Code Assist with 180,000 Monthly Completions

Google has launched a free version of Gemini Code Assist, its AI-powered coding assistant, providing individual developers with an impressive 180,000 code completions per month. This usage limit is nearly 90 times higher than the free tier of competing services like GitHub Copilot.

Why It Matters:

This move is a game-changer for accessibility to professional-grade AI coding tools, offering advanced development assistance to students, hobbyists, and startups who previously couldn’t afford enterprise-level AI tools.

Technical Capabilities:

The free version of Gemini Code Assist boasts several powerful features designed to enhance coding productivity. Built on Google’s Gemini 2.0 model, optimized specifically for programming tasks, this tool provides users with:

• Support for all public domain programming languages
• A 128,000 token context window for handling large code files
• An integrated chat interface to assist with complex coding queries

Market Positioning:

Google's generous offering sets it apart in the market by offering significantly higher usage limits compared to competitors:

• 180,000 monthly completions, compared to GitHub Copilot’s 2,000
• No credit card required for signup
• Available through popular IDEs like VS Code and JetBrains

This release comes as research within Google reveals that over 75% of developers now rely on AI in their daily tasks, with AI contributing to over 25% of all new code generated within the company.

Additional Features:

Along with the individual version, Google also launched Gemini Code Assist for GitHub in public preview, which offers free AI-powered code reviews for both public and private repositories. This tool works similarly to a spell checker, identifying potential bugs and stylistic inconsistencies in code.

Looking Ahead:

Google plans to refine both tools during the public preview phase based on user feedback. The company’s strategy appears to be motivated by projections that the global developer population will reach 57.8 million by 2028, positioning Gemini Code Assist as a critical tool in an increasingly AI-driven development ecosystem.