Gemini 4 Argon Is Now Available: Who Can Use It

On October 13, 2026, Google opened up Gemini 4 Argon, the model it announced on September 30. Developers and businesses can use it through the paid Gemini API, and Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers get it in the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search. The API price goes up on December 1.

What we know

Where it is today: according to Google's official blog, Argon is "globally available" from October 13 in the API, through AI Studio and the Gemini platform for businesses; in Google Antigravity for AI Ultra subscribers; and in the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search for AI Ultra and AI Pro subscribers.
Who is left out, for now: Google's Gemini API pricing page says Argon is not available on the free tier. Google does not mention non-subscribers in the app.
API pricing: $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens through November 30, 2026, per Google's pricing page. From December 1 it becomes $4 and $20. Cached input costs $0.10 per million until then.
What counts as output: the same page says the output price includes the model's thinking tokens, not just the text the user sees.
API name: `gemini-4-argon`. The API changelog lists it as generally available on October 13.
Long answers: Google cites a unified one-million-token input-output limit in the API and a new "continuation protocol" described in its documentation.
In the Gemini app: Google says Argon answers more directly, with less hedging, and reports progress more often on long tasks. The app adds a toggle to switch from chat to "tasks" and, on macOS, Antigravity's coding interface.
Cybersecurity: Google is starting to expand access to "hundreds" more partners in its Fairwind Program for security defenders.
Performance: Google says Argon ranks first on the Vals Index, a third-party benchmark covering finance, coding, legal and tax work. That is Google's figure; it says nothing about how the model handles a specific business's tasks.

What changes and what doesn't

What changes: Argon is no longer just an announcement. On October 2, only a group of cyber defenders had it and there was no date for anyone else. Today anyone on the paid API or on AI Pro can try it.

What doesn't: the starting price is the one Google announced in September, and so is the plan to raise it. Nothing changes for free Gemini users. And Argon reaching AI Mode does not come with any new Google guidance on ranking a website: Google has published no new guidelines for this model.

How to tell if it affects you

If you use Gemini for free, you don't have Argon. Nothing to do today.
If you pay for Google AI Pro or Ultra, open the Gemini app and look for Argon in the model picker. Test it on a real task (a quote, a customer reply, a sales analysis) and compare it with the model you use now before changing how you work.
If your website or business uses the Gemini API, the switch isn't automatic: you have to call `gemini-4-argon` on the paid tier. Do the math first. Example: an assistant handling 1,000 queries a month, at 2,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens each, would cost about $9 a month at today's price and about $18 from December 1. If the model reasons a lot, output grows and so does the bill. This estimate is this article's, not Google's.
Set a reminder for November 30. If you're trying it because of the price, decide before then whether it's worth paying double or going back to a cheaper model.
If AI Mode worries you, don't rebuild your site over this. What already works (pages that answer directly, clear business details, a well-kept business profile) is still the foundation.

Sources

Updates: we'll add a note here if Google opens Argon to the free tier or to non-subscribers in the app, or changes the price.