Google announced Gemini 4 Carbon with a clear price, and it is the same as Gemini 4 Argon's: a stronger model for the same money. Here is what it costs per token, what everyday jobs add up to, and a calculator to price your own.
Gemini 4 Carbon price per million tokens
| Per 1M tokens | Intro price | Standard price |
|---|---|---|
| Input (what you send) | $2.00 | $4.00 |
| Output (what Carbon writes) | $10.00 | $20.00 |
| Cached input | $0.10 (95% off) | Not stated |
A token is roughly three quarters of an English word, so one million tokens is about 750,000 words. Google says the intro price comes first and the standard price follows, but it hasn't said when Carbon's switch happens. Argon's pricing page, for comparison, keeps its intro price until November 30, 2026.
The one number to remember: output costs five times as much as input. Carbon is built to work on long jobs, sometimes for days, so the bill is driven by how much it writes and how many steps it takes. Cap your outputs and watch long agent runs.
Gemini 4 Carbon cost calculator
What real jobs cost with Gemini 4 Carbon
Rough examples at Google's published prices, without caching:
| Job | Tokens in / out | Intro | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| A normal chat answer | 2K / 500 | $0.009 | $0.018 |
| Security review of one service | 150K / 10K | $0.40 | $0.80 |
| Read a 1M-token codebase once | 1M / 20K | $2.20 | $4.40 |
| A day-long agent run (200 steps) | 20M / 2M | $60.00 | $120.00 |
| The same run, 80% of input cached | 20M / 2M | $29.60 | $59.20 |
The agent example assumes each of 200 steps rereads about 100K tokens of context and writes 10K. Long agent runs reread the same files again and again, which is exactly where caching pays off: in this example it cuts the bill roughly in half.
Is Gemini 4 Carbon more expensive than Argon?
No. Per token, Carbon and Argon cost exactly the same at launch ($2 / $10) and after the intro period ($4 / $20). Carbon scores higher on every test in Google's table, so at the same price it is the better deal once you can get it. The one thing that could raise your bill is behavior, not price: if you let Carbon run longer jobs, it will use more tokens. See Carbon vs Argon for the full comparison.
How to spend less on Gemini 4 Carbon
- Cache what repeats. If an agent keeps rereading the same codebase, manual or policy, cached input is 95% off at the intro price.
- Cap the output. Set a maximum output length on every call. Raise it only for the steps that truly need a long answer.
- Give long runs a budget. Decide up front how many steps or dollars an agent run may use, and stop it there.
- Use a smaller model for small jobs. Quick classification, short replies and simple edits rarely need a frontier model.
Is Gemini 4 Carbon free?
Not so far. Google has not announced a free tier, and today Carbon only goes to selected cyber defenders. Its closest relative, Gemini 4 Argon, is on the Gemini API's paid tier only, and in the Gemini app it needs a Google AI Pro or Ultra plan. We'll update this page if a free option appears. See the release date page for who gets access, and when.
Making images or video? That's not billed in tokens.
Carbon writes text and code. For pictures and video, Lumeta gives you Veo 3.1, Gemini Omni, Nano Banana 2 and more on one set of credits.
Pricing questions
How much does Gemini 4 Carbon cost?
At launch, $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, with cached input 95% off. Google says the standard price after the introductory period is $4 input and $20 output per million tokens.
Does Gemini 4 Carbon cost the same as Gemini 4 Argon?
Yes. Google priced Carbon exactly like Argon, both at the intro price and the standard price.
When does the Gemini 4 Carbon intro price end?
Google hasn't announced an end date for Carbon's introductory price. Argon's intro price runs until November 30, 2026.
Is there a Gemini 4 Carbon free tier?
Google has not announced one. First access is for cyber defenders and trusted partners in Google's Fairwind Program.
Sources: Google's Carbon announcement, 9to5Google, Gemini API pricing. Example costs are our own arithmetic from Google's published prices.