Gemini 4 Argon
Google's top model, first in Arena's text votes, now in Google AI Plus from $4.99/month; votes are still early.
Should you use it?
Pick it if
People who want a top chat and writing model for $4.99 a month, and developers on the paid Gemini API s2 s3.
Best for: Everyday chat and writing at the top of Arena votes, from $4.99 a month (Chat models Top 20)
The short version
- What this is
- Google's newest frontier Gemini model, announced 30 Sep 2026, now in the Gemini app on paid plans and on the paid Gemini API.
- Why it matters
- It leads Arena's text votes and is in a $4.99 plan, so it is now a real choice for everyday writing and research.
- First on Arena's Text board with early votes; rank 10 on WebDev and 6 on Agent s13 s14 s15.
- In Google AI Plus ($4.99/month), Pro and Ultra; not on the Free plan s2.
- $2 / $10 per 1M tokens until 30 Nov 2026, rising to $4 / $20 on 1 Dec s3.
Good at
Our take
Argon is now easy to get. Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month includes it, as do Pro and Ultra, and it has been on the paid Gemini API since 13 Oct s2 s3. That makes it the cheapest way to use the model that leads Arena's text votes s13.
The votes are still early, so its ranks may move. It is first overall and second for creative writing, which makes writing and everyday questions its strongest jobs s13. For building web apps it ranks 10th, and 6th on the Agent board, so Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6.1 Sol stay ahead there s14 s15. If you use the API, plan for the price doubling on 1 Dec s3.
Scores by job
A score from 0 to 100 per job, against everything available today. Overall 86 across 3 jobs, the average of the job scores.
New to this? What the scores and labels mean
- 0 to 100
- Our score for one job, like writing or coding, compared with everything else out today. 100 is the best available today. For AI models we build it from public data, such as Arena's blind votes and Epoch AI's independent tests; apps and tools are scored on our own checklist. The same tool can score differently for different jobs, and where two likely ranges overlap, we call it a tie.
- Our verdict
- Use it: a top choice for most people. Worth trying: good, and worth a go. Depends: good for some people or one kind of job. Wait: too early to tell, or not out for everyone yet. Skip: something else does the job better.
- First look
- Just released. We say what it is and whether to bother, and give it a score once public results exist.
- No score yet
- None of the public sources we use covers it yet, or the only evidence is from a source whose numbers we can't use, so we describe it in words instead.
- Best buy
- Nothing cheaper scores as well for that job.
- Best free
- The best score for that job that costs nothing, through a free plan or by running on your own computer.
- Pay as you go
- No monthly plan: you pay for each use, usually through a developer account.
- Checked
- The day we last confirmed the score and the price against the sources. Prices change often, so check the date.
- AI model
- The engine underneath, like GPT or Claude. You use it through an app or, if you code, directly.
- Open source
- Free to download and run on your own computer, so nothing leaves your machine.
#2 of the 12 we have scored for this job.
From blind votes (Arena) · Arena data, CC BY 4.0
Early, few votesData read 20 Oct
The top score of the 15 we have scored for this job.
From blind votes (Arena) and independent tests (Epoch AI) · Arena data, CC BY 4.0, Epoch AI data, CC BY 4.0
Early, few votesData read 20 Oct
#13 of the 21 we have scored for this job.
From blind votes (Arena) · Arena data, CC BY 4.0
Early, few votesData read 20 Oct
#6 in Arena's blind votes for agents. Those votes give a rank but no rating, so there is no score yet.
#6 in Arena's blind votes for agents (rank only, no score yet) · Arena data, CC BY 4.0
1 source so farData read 20 Oct
Alternatives
Better or cheaper for agents, from our scores, then the ones we'd also look at. The same kind of product comes first.
- Claude Opus 5.5BetterText model#1$20 a monthRanked #1 on Arena's Agent board in agents, against #6 here; $20 a month. First on Arena's WebDev board; costs more per token. Side by side
- MiMo-V2.6-ProCheaperText model#13FreeRanked #13 on Arena's Agent board in agents for free, against $4.99 a month here. Side by side
- GPT-6.1 SolText model#4$20 a monthRanks above Argon on Arena's Agent and WebDev boards, same token price until 1 Dec. Side by side
- Gemini 3.8 FlashText model91Writing$19.99 a monthGoogle's cheaper model per token, on the free tier. Side by side
Value for money
Where it sits in agents: higher is a better score, further left is cheaper. Green dots are the Best buys.
Evidence
Everything behind the call and the scores, folded so the page stays short. Spotted a wrong price, score or link? Report a mistake.
How we scored this
The writing, research and coding scores are our own, built from public data: blind votes on Arena and, where they cover the job, Epoch AI's independent tests. How we combine them is our method and we don't publish it. For agents, Arena's blind votes give a rank but no rating, so we show the rank and no score yet.
Public leaderboardIndependent test
Reviews are drafted with help from AI models, including Anthropic's Claude. Model scores come only from outside leaderboards and independent evaluations, by a written rule.
No one paid for this review or gave us free access, and we earn nothing if you sign up. How we score
Sources 15
- s1Google: Gemini 4 Argon
- s2Google AI plans (Gemini subscriptions)
- s3Gemini API pricing
- s4Artificial Analysis LLM leaderboard
- s5arena.ai Agent leaderboard
- s6arena.ai Text leaderboard (Overall)
- s7arena.ai Text: Creative Writing leaderboard
- s8arena.ai Text: Instruction Following leaderboard
- s9arena.ai Text: Coding leaderboard
- s10arena.ai Agent Alignment Index
- s11Gemini API models
- s12arena.ai Code Arena: WebDev leaderboard
- s13Arena open leaderboard dataset: text_style_control, latest split (published 2026-10-15), CC BY 4.0
- s14Arena open leaderboard dataset: webdev, latest split (published 2026-10-19), CC BY 4.0
- s15Arena open leaderboard dataset: agent, latest split (published 2026-10-19), CC BY 4.0
Something here out of date or wrong? Report a mistake and we will check it against the source.
History 5 changes
Every change to a rating, the price or our call, with the reason. Scores are against what exists on the day, so they drift down as better things ship. Older entries come from before we moved to scores.
- New: First look to ScoredVerdict Wait to Use itNew: Writing ratedNew: Research ratedNew: Coding ratedNew: Agents ratedScored: now in Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra and on the paid API. Writing 99, research 97, coding 64 and 6th on the Agent board, from Arena's open dataset; votes are still early. Verdict wait to use-it.
- API price now from the Gemini API pricing page: $2 / $10 until 30 Nov 2026, $4 / $20 from 1 Dec.
- First look: staged access only, not rated. Released date is the announcement date; it is not yet publicly available.
- Audit: added the standard line that we did not run it; removed an unsourced claim about news size.
- Re-checked: still not on the Gemini API models list (page updated 9 Oct), so it stays a First look. Made the for line more specific.
Use it well 4 guides on this site
Pages on this site that help with the jobs above.