Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
Claude vs Google Gemini vs LMArena
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Anyone who writes, researches or makes decisions for a living, plus anyone curious about Claude Code.
Pick it if: People whose work already runs on Gmail, Google Workspace or an Android phone.
Pick it if: Anyone choosing between AI tools, and people who want to know which model is leading right now.
Claude scores highest overall, but LMArena gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Claude | Google Gemini | LMArena |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Anthropic's chat assistant, at its best on careful writing and long documents. | Google's assistant, built into Gmail, Docs, Drive and Android phones. | Free site where you compare AI models side by side and see which ones people rate best. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Free |
| Starting price | $20/mo | US$4.99/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Claude | Google Gemini | LMArena |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.6Winner | 4.2 | 3.8 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Claude | Google Gemini | LMArena |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | Yes | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | No |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | No |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | No |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | No | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | No | Yes | Yes |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | No |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 14/ 17 | 16/ 17 | 7/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Claude | Google Gemini | LMArena |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Trying it out and light daily use. | Free Free Light use and seeing how it feels. | FreeOur pick Free Everyone. |
ProOur pick $20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly Anyone who uses it most days. | Google AI Plus US$4.99/mo Casual users who want Gemini in Gmail and more storage. | ||
Max From $100/mo Heavy users and people living in Claude Code. | Google AI ProOur pick US$19.99/mo Anyone who works in Google Workspace every day. | ||
Team From $20/seat/mo billed yearly Businesses with 2 to 150 people. | Google AI Ultra From US$99.99/mo Heavy creative and agent users. | ||
| Which plan to pick | Start on Free to see if the writing suits you. Most people who stick with it move to Pro within a month; only go to Max if you hit the Pro limits every day or you're running Claude Code for hours at a time. | Skip the free plan for anything serious now that it's Flash-Lite only. AI Pro (US$19.99, or A$32.99 in Australia) is the one to buy: it's the cheapest way to get Gemini 4 Argon plus Gemini in Docs and Gmail, and the 5 TB of storage offsets a Google One bill. Ultra is for people generating video all day. | There's nothing to buy. Use it free, and pay for whichever assistant comes out best for your work. |
Key features
| Attribute | Claude | Google Gemini | LMArena |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Claude | Google Gemini | LMArena |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Claude | Google Gemini | LMArena |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Claude, Google Gemini or LMArena?
Claude scores highest overall in our ratings (Claude 4.6/5, Google Gemini 4.2/5 and LMArena 3.8/5). Claude is best for long-form writing and editing and reading and summarising long documents. Google Gemini is best for searching and summarising your Gmail and drafting in Google Docs. LMArena is best for choosing between AI models with your own prompts and checking which model leads after a launch.
Which is cheaper, Claude, Google Gemini or LMArena?
Claude: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Google Gemini: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at US$4.99/mo. LMArena: It's free to use.
Which is easier to use, Claude, Google Gemini or LMArena?
Claude rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who writes, researches or makes decisions for a living, plus anyone curious about Claude Code.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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