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Gemini CLI

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1336 points sync | 26 comments | 25 Jun 25 13:10 UTC | HN request time: 1.275s | source | bottom
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iandanforth ◴[25 Jun 25 13:37 UTC] No.44377207[source]▶
I love how fragmented Google's Gemini offerings are. I'm a Pro subscriber, but I now learn I should be a "Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise" user to get additional usage. I didn't even know that existed! As a run of the mill Google user I get a generous usage tier but paying them specifically for "Gemini" doesn't get me anything when it comes to "Gemini CLI". Delightful!
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1. __MatrixMan__ ◴[25 Jun 25 14:22 UTC] No.44377663[source]▶
Anthropic is the same. Unless it has changed within the last few months, you can subscribe to Claude but if you want to use Claude Code it'll come out of your "API usage" bucket which is billed separately than the subscription.

Some jerk has learned that we prefer CLI things and has come to the conclusion that we should therefore pay extra for them.

Workaround is to use their GUI with some MCPs but I dislike it because window navigation is just clunky compared to terminal multiplexer navigation.

replies(7): >>44377672 #>>44377709 #>>44377797 #>>44377832 #>>44377834 #>>44377913 #>>44379646 #
2. gnur ◴[25 Jun 25 14:23 UTC] No.44377672[source]▶
This has changed actually, since this month you can use claude code if you have a cloud pro subscription.
replies(1): >>44378697 #
3. trostaft ◴[25 Jun 25 14:26 UTC] No.44377709[source]▶
AFAIK, Claude code operates on your subscription, no? That's what this support page says

https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/11145838-using-cla...

Could have changed recently. I'm not a user so I can't verify.

replies(1): >>44377789 #
4. re5i5tor ◴[25 Jun 25 14:31 UTC] No.44377789[source]▶
In recent research (relying on Claude so bear that in mind), connecting CC via Anthropic Console account / API key ends up being less expensive.
replies(3): >>44378075 #>>44378202 #>>44378260 #
5. kissgyorgy ◴[25 Jun 25 14:32 UTC] No.44377797[source]▶
This is simply not true. All personal paid packages include Claude Code now.
replies(1): >>44378596 #
6. unshavedyak ◴[25 Jun 25 14:35 UTC] No.44377832[source]▶
In addition to others mentioning subscriptions being better in Claude Code, i wanted to compare the two so i tried to find a Claude Max equivalent license... i have no clue how. In their blog post they mention `Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise license` but they don't even link to it.. lol.

Some googling lands me to a guide: https://cloud.google.com/gemini/docs/discover/set-up-gemini#...

I stopped there because i don't want to signup i just wanted to review, but i don't have an admin panel or etc.

It feels insane to me that there's a readme on how to give them money. Claude's Max purchase was just as easy as Pro, fwiw.

7. Workaccount2 ◴[25 Jun 25 14:35 UTC] No.44377834[source]▶
I think it is pretty clear that these $20/subs are loss leaders, and really only meant to get regular people to really start leaning on LLMs. Once they are hooked, we will see what the actual price of using so much compute is. I would imagine right now they are pricing their APIs either at cost or slightly below.
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8. carefulfungi ◴[25 Jun 25 14:42 UTC] No.44377913[source]▶
This is down voted I guess because the circumstances have changed - but boy is it still confusing. All these platforms have chat subscriptions, api pay-as-you-go, CLI subscriptions like "claude code" ... built-in offers via Github enterprise or Google Workspace enterprise ...

It's a frigg'n mess. Everyone at our little startup has spent time trying to understand what the actual offerings are; what the current set of entitlements are for different products; and what API keys might be tied to what entitlements.

I'm with __MatrixMan__ -- it's super confusing and needs some serious improvements in clarity.

replies(1): >>44378220 #
9. CGamesPlay ◴[25 Jun 25 14:55 UTC] No.44378075{3}[source]▶
There's a log analyzer tool that will tell you how much the API costs are for your usage: https://ccusage.com
10. SparkyMcUnicorn ◴[25 Jun 25 15:06 UTC] No.44378202{3}[source]▶
If you're doing anything more than toying around, this is not the case.

Using the API would have cost me $1200 this month, if I didn't have a subscription.

I'm a somewhat extensive user, but most of my coworkers are using $150-$400/month with the API.

11. justincormack ◴[25 Jun 25 15:08 UTC] No.44378220[source]▶
And claude code can now be connected to either an API sub or a chat sub apparently.
replies(1): >>44380069 #
12. willsmith72 ◴[25 Jun 25 15:11 UTC] No.44378260{3}[source]▶
less expensive than what? You can use CC on the $20 plan. If you're using the maximum of your $20 subscription usage every 4 hours every day, the equivalent API cost would be at least hundreds per month
13. indigodaddy ◴[25 Jun 25 15:44 UTC] No.44378596[source]▶
Are you using CC for your python framework?
14. ethbr1 ◴[25 Jun 25 15:49 UTC] No.44378660[source]▶
Or they're planning on the next wave of optimized hardware cutting inference costs.
15. __MatrixMan__ ◴[25 Jun 25 15:53 UTC] No.44378697[source]▶
Great news, thanks.
16. stpedgwdgfhgdd ◴[25 Jun 25 15:55 UTC] No.44378722[source]▶
When using a single terminal Pro is good enough (even with a medium-large code base). When I started working with two terminals at two different issues at the same time, i’m reaching the credit limit.
17. sebzim4500 ◴[25 Jun 25 16:34 UTC] No.44379174[source]▶
I'm sure that there are power users who are using much more than $20 worth of compute, but there will also be many users who pay but barely use the service.
replies(1): >>44380389 #
18. HarHarVeryFunny ◴[25 Jun 25 17:12 UTC] No.44379646[source]▶
Isn't that a bit like saying that gasoline should be sold as a fixed price subscription rather than a usage based scheme where long distance truckers pay more than someone driving < 100 miles per week?

A ChatBot is more like a fixed-price buffet where usage is ultimately human limited (even if the modest eaters are still subsidizing the hogs). An agentic system is going to consume resources in much more variable manner, depending on how it is being used.

> Some jerk has learned that we prefer CLI things and has come to the conclusion that we should therefore pay extra for them

Obviously these companies want you to increase the amount of their product you consume, but it seems odd to call that a jerk move! FWIW, Anthropic's stated motivation for Claude Code (which Gemini is now copying) was be agnostic to your choice of development tools since CLI access is pretty much ubiquitous, even inside IDEs. Whether it's the CLI-based design, the underlying model, or the specifics of what Claude Code is capable of, they seem to have got something right, and apparently usage internal to Anthropic skyrocketed just based on word of mouth.

replies(1): >>44379745 #
19. __MatrixMan__ ◴[25 Jun 25 17:22 UTC] No.44379745[source]▶
Claude desktop editing files and running commands via the desktop commander MCP is pretty much equivalent functionality wise to Claude Code. I can set both of them to go, make tea, and come back to see that they're still cranking after modifying several files and running several commands.

It's just a UI difference.

replies(1): >>44379895 #
20. HarHarVeryFunny ◴[25 Jun 25 17:39 UTC] No.44379895{3}[source]▶
These companies are all for-profit, regardless of what altruistic intent they are trying to spin. Free tier usage and fixed price buffets are obviously not where the profit is, so it's hard to blame them for usage-based pricing for their premium products targeting mass adoption.
21. innagadadavida ◴[25 Jun 25 17:56 UTC] No.44380069{3}[source]▶
I found out about this the hard way after blowing $200 in 2 days. /logout and start over and you will get the option to link to monthly pricing plan
22. upcoming-sesame ◴[25 Jun 25 18:24 UTC] No.44380389{3}[source]▶
since its bundled with Google One storage, which most people (into Google's ecosystem) buy anyway, the price is actually less than 20
replies(1): >>44382599 #
23. dzhiurgis ◴[25 Jun 25 22:38 UTC] No.44382424[source]▶
Sam Altman said they use about same amount of power as an oven. So at $0.2/kWh thats about 100kWh/4kW=25 hours of compute or a little over an hour every workday.
24. eertami ◴[25 Jun 25 23:02 UTC] No.44382599{4}[source]▶
I would've thought "most" people would be firmly on the free tier, are there any stats to check how common it is? Personally I've had Gmail for 20 years, Android phones for 13 years, Home/chromecast devices but never thought about paying for Google One or any other services.
replies(2): >>44384100 #>>44385035 #
25. 8n4vidtmkvmk ◴[26 Jun 25 04:06 UTC] No.44384100{5}[source]▶
Do you have a pixel and/or use photos? That's how your quota really fills up
26. upcoming-sesame ◴[26 Jun 25 07:24 UTC] No.44385035{5}[source]▶
If you're storing photos in Google Photos, the free quota gets used up quickly