Independent AI buying guide
No paid rankings
Last checked 26 Oct 2026
Head to head
Claude or Gemini? Compared on independent test scores, prices and free plans. Every price links to its source, and we re-check everything every week.
The short answer
Calculated from independent tests
Higher scores
Gemini
Gemini scores higher in 4 of the 7 topics where we can compare both; Claude wins at coding, writing and research & search.
Cheaper
No clear winner
The cheapest paid plans: Claude Pro at $20/mo, and Gemini Google AI Plus at €4.99/mo. Their prices are in different currencies or equal, so we don't call a winner on price.
Better free plan
—
Only Claude has a free plan with test scores.
Each tool's best subscription per topic, scored out of 100. Higher wins; a tie is a tie.
| Topic | Claude | Gemini |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97Pro · Claude Opus 5.5 | 98 (higher)Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon |
| Coding | 99 (higher)Pro · Claude Opus 5.5 | 82Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon |
| Writing | 100 (higher)Pro · Claude Opus 5.5 | 98Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon |
| Research & search | 90 (higher)Pro · Claude Opus 5.5 | 89Google AI Pro · Gemini 3.1 Pro |
| Maths & hard problems | 95Pro · Claude Opus 5.5 | 97 (higher)Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon |
| Studying | 98Pro · Claude Opus 5.5 | 100 (higher)Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon |
| Business & office | 98Pro · Claude Opus 5.5 | 100 (higher)Google AI Pro · Gemini 4 Argon |
Only Claude has a free plan with test scores.
| Topic | Claude free | Gemini free |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 80Claude Sonnet 5.5 | No scores |
| Coding | 82Claude Sonnet 5.5 | No scores |
| Writing | 77Claude Sonnet 5.5 | No scores |
| Maths & hard problems | 86Claude Sonnet 5.5 | No scores |
| Studying | 81Claude Sonnet 5.5 | No scores |
| Business & office | 81Claude Sonnet 5.5 | No scores |
Every plan we track, with the official source and the date we checked it.
Opinion, not test scores: how each one feels to use.
Strong at writing and long, careful work with documents and code.
Reviewed 7 Oct 2026
The obvious pick if you already live in Gmail and Google Drive. The cheap AI Plus tier is hard to beat on price.
Reviewed 7 Oct 2026
Scores come from independent benchmarks, the same ones behind our rankings. Read how we rank for the formula.