Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs
Google AI Studio vs Google Gemini vs Qwen Chat
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: Founders, marketers and developers who want to test Google's models or build a quick app without paying.
Pick it if: People whose work already runs on Gmail, Google Workspace or an Android phone.
Pick it if: Anyone after a capable free assistant with image, video, slides and website tools, and developers who want open models.
Google Gemini scores highest overall, but Qwen Chat gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Google AI Studio | Google Gemini | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Google's free workspace for testing Gemini models and building apps from a description. | Google's assistant, built into Gmail, Docs, Drive and Android phones. | Alibaba's generous free assistant for research, slides, websites, images and video. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $19.99/mo | US$4.99/mo | $4/mo |
| 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 | Google AI Studio | Google Gemini | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.9 | 4.2Winner | 4.0 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Google AI Studio | Google Gemini | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | Yes | No |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | No | Yes | No |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | No |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | Yes |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | Yes | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 11/ 17 | 16/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Google AI Studio | Google Gemini | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | FreeOur pick Free Testing models and building small prototypes. | Free Free Light use and seeing how it feels. | FreeOur pick Free Most people. The free limits are generous for chat and research. |
Google AI Pro $19.99/mo Regular users who also want the Gemini app upgrade. | Google AI Plus US$4.99/mo Casual users who want Gemini in Gmail and more storage. | Go $4/mo Regular users who want higher chat limits. | |
Google AI Ultra From $99.99/mo Heavy builders who want the highest limits. | Google AI ProOur pick US$19.99/mo Anyone who works in Google Workspace every day. | Plus $19/mo Creators making images and video most days. | |
Paid API Pay as you go, $10 prepay to start Apps in production and anyone with sensitive data. | Google AI Ultra From US$99.99/mo Heavy creative and agent users. | Pro $99/mo Heavy video and image users who need priority. | |
| Which plan to pick | Start free. If you're putting anything sensitive in or building something people will use, switch to a paid API key so your prompts aren't used for training. Google AI Pro only makes sense if you'd use the Gemini app upgrade too. | 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. | Start free; most people never need to pay. Go at $4 is cheap if you hit the chat limits. Prices are App Store prices, so check the in-app screen before you subscribe. |
Key features
| Attribute | Google AI Studio | Google Gemini | Qwen Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Google AI Studio | Google Gemini | Qwen Chat |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Google AI Studio | Google Gemini | Qwen Chat |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Google AI Studio, Google Gemini or Qwen Chat?
Google Gemini scores highest overall in our ratings (Google AI Studio 3.9/5, Google Gemini 4.2/5 and Qwen Chat 4.0/5). Google AI Studio is best for prototyping an app or internal tool by describing it and testing new Gemini models before they reach the app. Google Gemini is best for searching and summarising your Gmail and drafting in Google Docs. Qwen Chat is best for A free assistant that does a bit of everything and quick webpages and slide decks from a prompt.
Which is cheaper, Google AI Studio, Google Gemini or Qwen Chat?
Google AI Studio: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $19.99/mo. Google Gemini: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at US$4.99/mo. Qwen Chat: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $4/mo.
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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