Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs

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.

Best overall

Google Gemini

4.2

From US$4.99/mo

Details Visit

LMArena

3.8

Free to start

Details Visit

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Google Gemini4.2

Best overallEasiest to use

Pick it if: People whose work already runs on Gmail, Google Workspace or an Android phone.

LMArena3.8

Best value

Pick it if: Anyone choosing between AI tools, and people who want to know which model is leading right now.

Google Gemini scores highest overall, but LMArena gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

Attribute	Google Gemini	LMArena
In one line	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	Free
Starting price	US$4.99/mo	Free
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Works with Claude Code	No	No

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

Attribute	Google Gemini	LMArena
Overall rating	4.2Winner	3.8
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.	4.0	3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together.	4.5	4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.	4.0	3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.	4.0	5.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.	4.5	3.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

Attribute	Google Gemini	LMArena
Access & platform
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	No
Desktop app	Yes	No
Browser extension	Yes	No
API access	Yes	No
Teams & business
Team workspace	Yes	No
Enterprise plan or SSO	Yes	No
Connects to other apps	Yes	No
Open source or self-hosted	No	No
AI abilities
Works with your files	Yes	Yes
Understands images	Yes	Yes
Makes images	Yes	Yes
Makes video	Yes	Yes
Writes code	Yes	Yes
Runs agents or automations	Yes	No
Learns your brand or style	Yes	No
Works in many languages	Yes	Yes
Capabilities score	16/ 17	7/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

Attribute	Google Gemini	LMArena
Plans	Free Free Light use and seeing how it feels.	FreeOur pick Free Everyone.
	Google AI Plus US$4.99/mo Casual users who want Gemini in Gmail and more storage.
	Google AI ProOur pick US$19.99/mo Anyone who works in Google Workspace every day.
	Google AI Ultra From US$99.99/mo Heavy creative and agent users.
Which plan to pick	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	Google Gemini	LMArena
Standout features	Gemini in Gmail, Docs and Drive Deep Research Image and video making Gemini Live and desktop apps Tasks and connected apps Gemini in Chrome	Battle mode Side by side Direct chat Leaderboards Agent mode Early access

Pros and cons

Attribute	Google Gemini	LMArena
Pros	Reads and acts on your Gmail, Docs and Drive directly AI Pro bundles the top model, Workspace features and 5 TB of storage for one price Deep Research is included even on the free plan Fast, and the mobile and Android experience is polished Video and image generation included on paid plans Desktop apps for Windows and Mac as well as the web	Free access to the leading models, often before release Blind voting makes it easy to judge models on output alone Leaderboards cover text, code, images, video and agents Real people's preferences are harder to game than lab benchmarks
Cons	Free plan is now Flash-Lite only, so it's weaker than the free tiers of ChatGPT or Claude Plan names and model access keep changing, which is confusing Writing quality sits behind Claude and the answers can be padded Workspace features need a personal Google account or a Workspace admin to turn them on Usage resets every 5 hours up to a weekly cap, and Google doesn't publish the numbers	Rankings favour answers that look good, and labs have been caught testing private versions to climb the board Conversations are collected and partly shared with model makers, so keep private work out Frequent "something went wrong" errors, captchas, logouts and models removed without notice Direct chat is being narrowed, with newer models only available in random battles The company now sells evaluations to the labs it ranks, which raises questions about neutrality

Who each one is for

Attribute	Google Gemini	LMArena
Best for	Searching and summarising your Gmail Drafting in Google Docs Image and video generation on paid plans Hands-free help on Android	Choosing between AI models with your own prompts Checking which model leads after a launch Trying top models for free Comparing image and video models
You'll find it used by	Google Workspace teams Marketers Small business owners Android users	AI enthusiasts Developers Product teams Journalists

Questions people ask

Which is better, Google Gemini or LMArena?

Google Gemini scores highest overall in our ratings (Google Gemini 4.2/5 and LMArena 3.8/5). 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, Google Gemini or LMArena?

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, Google Gemini or LMArena?

Google Gemini rates highest for ease of use in our scores. People whose work already runs on Gmail, Google Workspace or an Android phone.

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

Swap in another tool

More tools from AI Assistants & LLMs in the library.