# Claude Code vs Gemini CLI: license, pricing and features compared (October 2026)

Canonical: https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/claude-code-vs-gemini-cli · Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Published: 2026-10-25 · Author: Agentic Weekly (operated independently from Texas, US) · Evidence: Evidence: Claude Code has a Tested entry; Gemini CLI is Reported (scope on each tool page). The facts in the tables were read from each vendor's own pages and the public GitHub API on 2026-10-25 (America/Chicago) and are Reported. The What we measured section lists what we have actually run, with links to the test logs, and what we have not run yet; anything we could not confirm is marked as not captured.

**Our pick:** Pick Claude Code for anyone relying on the Bash sandbox or permission rules (the 2.1.309 fixes close real gaps); pick Gemini CLI for organizations on Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise (Google says their access is unchanged). No overall winner: we have not benchmarked them against each other. **Updated:** 2026-10-26 (America/Chicago).

> Claude Code and Gemini CLI are both listed under AI coding agents. Gemini CLI is open source (Apache-2.0); Claude Code is not: no open-source license detected by GitHub (proprietary terms). GitHub stars on Oct 25, 2026: Claude Code 153,364 (anthropics/claude-code) vs Gemini CLI 108,386 (google-gemini/gemini-cli). Stars measure attention, not quality. Claude Code is the better fit for: anyone relying on the Bash sandbox or permission rules (the 2.1.309 fixes close real gaps). Gemini CLI is the better fit for: organizations on Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise (Google says their access is unchanged). Facts were read from vendor and GitHub pages on Oct 25, 2026 and are Reported; what we ran ourselves is under What we measured.

## What we measured

We have run Claude Code ourselves but not the other tool, so no head-to-head result exists yet. Everything else on this page is Reported from vendor and GitHub pages.

Table: Our own tests for Claude Code and Gemini CLI

| Test | Claude Code | Gemini CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Hands-on test log (install and a real task) | Tested: Claude Code 2.1.310, Oct 25, 2026: partly worked. Claude Code 2.1.310 edited calc.py through its Edit tool with a local 3B model on the second prompt (85.9 s); the first, vaguer prompt made no edit. [Full test log](https://theagenticweekly.com/tests/claude-code) | Not tested yet. What we will run: the same failing-unit-test fix in a fresh repository, scored by whether the tests pass, with wall time and tool calls. |

How we test and label results: [methodology](https://theagenticweekly.com/methodology#testing-rig). All test logs: [test hub](https://theagenticweekly.com/tests).

## Claude Code vs Gemini CLI at a glance

Claude Code and Gemini CLI are both listed under AI coding agents. Agentic Weekly's Claude Code page names Gemini CLI as an alternative. Claude Code: Update now if you use the sandbox or run Claude Code on a cloud provider; skip if you wanted flashy new features, this is a hardening release. Gemini CLI: Skip it as a new starter on a consumer plan; keep it only if you are on an enterprise license or a paid API key.

Table: Claude Code and Gemini CLI side by side (vendor pages and GitHub, 2026-10-25)

|  | Claude Code | Gemini CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Anthropic | Google |
| Listed under | AI coding agents, Vibe coding, Agent building | AI coding agents |
| License | No open-source license detected by GitHub (proprietary terms) | Apache-2.0 |
| Public repository | anthropics/claude-code: 153,364 stars, last push Oct 25, 2026 UTC (GitHub API, Oct 25, 2026) | google-gemini/gemini-cli: 108,386 stars, last push Oct 26, 2026 UTC (GitHub API, Oct 25, 2026) |
| Latest release we saw | v2.1.310, Oct 23, 2026 | v0.65.0, Oct 20, 2026 |
| Evidence | Tested (scope on its tool page) | Reported from vendor pages |

## How Claude Code and Gemini CLI differ

- Gemini CLI is open source (Apache-2.0); Claude Code is not: no open-source license detected by GitHub (proprietary terms).
- GitHub stars on Oct 25, 2026: Claude Code 153,364 (anthropics/claude-code) vs Gemini CLI 108,386 (google-gemini/gemini-cli). Stars measure attention, not quality.
- Latest release we saw: Claude Code v2.1.310 on Oct 23, 2026; Gemini CLI v0.65.0 on Oct 20, 2026 (3 days earlier).

## Which should you pick?

- Pick Claude Code if: anyone relying on the Bash sandbox or permission rules (the 2.1.309 fixes close real gaps); teams running Claude Code through Bedrock, Vertex or Foundry. Skip it if: you are looking for new headline capabilities; these two releases are mostly fixes.
- Pick Gemini CLI if: organizations on Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise (Google says their access is unchanged); people using Gemini CLI with a paid Gemini API key. Skip it if: you are on a Google AI Pro/Ultra plan or the free individual tier: Google says Gemini CLI stopped serving those requests on June 18, 2026.

## Strengths and limits

Table: Strengths and limits as listed on each tool page

|  | Claude Code | Gemini CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Strengths | Very frequent releases with detailed notes; Works in terminal, VS Code and desktop, with plugins and skills; Sandbox and permission model keeps getting tighter | Open source under Apache-2.0; Weekly releases and a fast-moving issue tracker; Enterprise access unchanged per Google |
| Limits | These notes are long and mixed together; hard to tell which fixes affect you; Some changes are behavior changes (for example ultrareview now requires workspace trust, and sed -i no longer previews edits); Pricing and plan limits were not checked for this write-up | Not available on consumer plans since June 18, 2026 (per Google); README says it is not optimized for the latest Gemini models; This release is mostly bug fixes |

## What we did not verify

- Claude Code: Pricing and plan limits (not fetched).
- Gemini CLI: What Antigravity CLI is like in practice (not tested; only Google's own description was read).
- Output quality, speed and reliability beyond the smoke tests listed under What we measured: not compared.

## What others found

- [Gemini CLI 2.0 vs Claude Code — Which AI Dev Tool Wins in 2026?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d05NWBXrD0Q) · Andy Lo · 2026-02-24

Third-party video, not one of our tests. Nothing here is marked Tested because of it.

## FAQ

### Is Claude Code or Gemini CLI open source?

Claude Code: No open-source license detected by GitHub (proprietary terms). Gemini CLI: Apache-2.0. Licenses come from each project's GitHub repository or the vendor's own pages, read Oct 25, 2026; read the license text itself before redistributing or building a competing service.

### Which was updated more recently, Claude Code or Gemini CLI?

Claude Code's newest release we saw is v2.1.310 (Oct 23, 2026); Gemini CLI's is v0.65.0 (Oct 20, 2026). Read Oct 25, 2026 from the official release page or repository; a newer date is not a quality ranking.

### What is the main difference between Claude Code and Gemini CLI?

Gemini CLI is open source (Apache-2.0); Claude Code is not: no open-source license detected by GitHub (proprietary terms). GitHub stars on Oct 25, 2026: Claude Code 153,364 (anthropics/claude-code) vs Gemini CLI 108,386 (google-gemini/gemini-cli). Stars measure attention, not quality.

## Sources

- [GitHub release v2.1.310](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/releases/tag/v2.1.310) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [GitHub release v2.1.309](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/releases/tag/v2.1.309) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Claude Code README (install instructions)](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [GitHub release v0.65.0](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/releases/tag/v0.65.0) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Gemini CLI README](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- [Google Developers Blog: Transitioning Gemini CLI to Antigravity CLI (May 19, 2026)](https://developers.googleblog.com/an-important-update-transitioning-gemini-cli-to-antigravity-cli) (fetched 2026-10-25)

## Related

- [Claude Code facts and sources](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/claude-code)
- [Gemini CLI facts and sources](https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/gemini-cli)
- [Alternatives to Claude Code](https://theagenticweekly.com/alternatives/claude-code)
- [Alternatives to Gemini CLI](https://theagenticweekly.com/alternatives/gemini-cli)
- [AI coding agents: all tools we track](https://theagenticweekly.com/best/ai-coding-agents)
- [Claude Code vs Aider](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/claude-code-vs-aider)
- [Claude Code vs opencode](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/claude-code-vs-opencode)
- [Claude Code vs Cline](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cline)
- [Claude Code vs goose](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/claude-code-vs-goose)
- [Claude Code vs OpenHands](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/claude-code-vs-openhands)
- [Claude Code vs Kilo Code](https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kilo-code)

## Changelog

- 2026-10-25: First published. Facts read from vendor pages and the GitHub API on 2026-10-25.

## How to cite

Agentic Weekly, "Claude Code vs Gemini CLI: license, pricing and features compared (October 2026)", last updated 2026-10-26, https://theagenticweekly.com/compare/claude-code-vs-gemini-cli