Google Gemini vs ChatGPT: Which is the better and smarter AI chatbot?

After playing catchup for a while, Google’s Gemini has finally matured to the point that it can compete with ChatGPT. Available in both free and paid versions, Google Gemini is a chatbot and AI image generator that you can also use as a digital assistant on Android instead of the Google Assistant. But can it outperform other chatbots and convince us to make the switch? Let’s find out in this Gemini vs ChatGPT head-to-head comparison.

Google Gemini vs ChatGPT: Features

Although Gemini and ChatGPT had many differences at one point, the two chatbots have converged in terms of their capabilities recently. Both can now read articles from the internet for recent information, for example, and you can upload images to either chatbot for detailed analysis. Having said that, there are still some major differences between Gemini and ChatGPT.

For starters, ChatGPT uses OpenAI’s most capable GPT-4o AI model for the first few chats everyday, even if you’re on a free plan. After a few rounds of conversation, it will fall back to the smaller GPT-4o mini model. Google doesn’t impose any limits on its most advanced models, namely Gemini 2 Flash and Gemini 2.5 Pro. In other words, you won’t need to pay a monthly subscription fee to access them.

As for the quality of responses themselves, I would have once given ChatGPT’s AI models a slight edge to Gemini in technical tasks such as coding. However, Gemini 2.5 Pro consistently ranks at the top of AI comparison leaderboards and gives ChatGPT a run for its money. From my personal experience, Gemini’s responses seem less robotic and more conversational so it’s ideal if you need to generate text for an email or resume. On the flip side, ChatGPT tends to be more methodical in its responses to factual questions and follows instructions more closely than Google’s chatbot.

Gemini is deeply integrated within Google’s vast suite of products and services. This means you can export a text response as a Google Doc or ask the chatbot to generate a table and export it to Google Sheets. I’ve also set Gemini as my default digital assistant on Android, meaning I can summon it by long-pressing the power button at any time. You can also set ChatGPT as your default assistant on Android, but it cannot control your phone in any way. Gemini can set alarms, toggle the phone’s flashlight, open apps, play music, and much more.

Both Gemini and ChatGPT offer the ability to engage in real-time voice chat via their respective smartphone apps. You can speak with Google’s Gemini Live completely hands-free and the responses can even be interrupted without looking at or touching your smartphone. Meanwhile, you cannot interrupt responses while using ChatGPT’s free voice chat feature. However, paying for a ChatGPT Plus subscription will unlock Advanced Voice wherein the chatbot can mimic human singing and even detect emotion in your voice. You can use the latter for a few minutes on the free plan too, and I find the voices to be more natural-sounding than the ones available with Gemini Live. If you’re willing to stomach the $20 subscription, I’d say ChatGPT wins over Gemini in this department.

Gemini Apps or extensions: Where ChatGPT has no equal

With Gemini Apps (also known as Extensions), Google’s chatbot has one trick up its sleeve compared to ChatGPT: it can read your data from various Google apps. In the above screenshot for example, I asked Gemini to access my email and calculate how much I’ve spent on food delivery this year. Once it listed all of the individual amounts, I asked for a table in a follow-up prompt and exported the data to a Google Sheets spreadsheet.

You cannot get this kind of personalized responses from ChatGPT since it cannot link to your Google account. Gemini Apps also extend to third-party services on your phone. For example, you can ask the chatbot to play a playlist on Spotify. But my favorite feature the ability to bring up Gemini while watching a YouTube video to ask for a summary and pose follow-up questions. Even though ChatGPT now supports web browsing, it cannot access information from individual YouTube videos. Gemini can also control smart home devices these days, thanks to the Google Home app integration.

Gemini Advanced vs ChatGPT Plus: Pricing

Both Google and OpenAI offer paid versions of their respective chatbots, which unlocks higher-quality responses and other features. The main draw for ChatGPT Plus is unlimited use of the more capable GPT-4o language model and the Advanced Voice feature. Google’s subscription, on the other hand, gives you access to the latest models as they become available and early access to new features like screen sharing with Gemini Live.

As for voice capabilities, both Gemini Live and ChatGPT’s voice chat are available for free without any subscription. However, the latter’s Advanced Voice mode requires you to have ChatGPT Plus.

Even though both subscriptions will set you back $20 per month, I find that Gemini Advanced comes out ahead from a value perspective. This is because the Google One AI Premium subscription grants you 2TB of cloud storage, which I value at a few dollars per month by itself. I’ve also seen Google’s subscription available as a free trial for one or two months if you don’t already pay for storage, whereas ChatGPT’s AI subscription will bill you on day one.

Gemini vs ChatGPT: Which should you use?

So far, we know that both Gemini and ChatGPT offer accurate responses and exhibit similar levels of intelligence. However, Gemini does offer a few more features and deeper integration with Google serivces you may already use, especially if you’re not ready to spend $20 per month on an AI platform.

For example, Gemini offers a more seamless experience on Android since you can set it as your default assistant. It replaces the Google Assistant when you do so and can even perform basic tasks like setting alarms and playing music. It’s still under active development for now, but we constantly see new features announced and leak so it will only get better from here on out. We also expect Gemini to make it to more and more devices in the coming years, and I’m looking forward to seeing it integrated into a smart display like the Nest Hub.

Having said that, the pendulum swings back in ChatGPT’s favor if you’re after the best hands-free voice chat experience. While expensive at $20 per month, Advanced Voice mode delivers an immersive conversational experience that you won’t find anywhere else.

You may not like hearing it but the answer to which chatbot you should use will boil down to your individual needs. Creatives will find value in ChatGPT and its generous character limit, for example, while those within the Google ecosystem will be better off using Gemini. Which AI chatbot would you rather use?