Gemini 4 Carbon Pricing

Gemini 4 Carbon costs $2 per 1 million input tokens and $10 per 1 million output tokens at launch. Cached input is 95 percent off, and the rates rise to $4 and $20 after an introductory period Google has not dated.

Access remains restricted as of October 28, 2026. Google makes Gemini 4 Carbon available only to select cyber defenders and trusted partners through the Fairwind Program, so organizations outside that group cannot purchase tokens yet.

At launch, 1M input tokens plus 200k output tokens cost $4.00 on Gemini 4 Carbon, the same as Gemini 4 Argon and half the $8.00 that Claude Opus 5.5 charges.

Gemini 4 Carbon API Rates at Launch and After

Gemini 4 Carbon costs $2.00 per 1 million input tokens and $10.00 per 1 million output tokens during its launch period. Google announced these rates on October 28, 2026, matching the introductory rate of Gemini 4 Argon.

Cached prompt input receives a 95 percent discount during the introductory period. That discount brings the effective cost of cached prompt tokens down to $0.10 per 1 million tokens.

After the introductory period closes, baseline rates double to $4.00 per 1 million input tokens and $20.00 per 1 million output tokens. Google has not stated whether the 95 percent prompt caching discount continues after the introductory window closes.

When the Introductory Rate Ends

Google has not published an end date for the Gemini 4 Carbon introductory pricing window. The launch announcement confirms the $2.00 and $10.00 promotional figures without attaching a calendar cutoff.

By comparison, Gemini 4 Argon pricing carries an explicit schedule. Argon costs $2.00 input and $10.00 output per 1 million tokens through November 30, 2026, before stepping up to $4.00 and $20.00 on December 1, 2026, according to Google's Gemini API pricing documentation.

Google has not applied Argon's November 30 deadline to Carbon. Engineering leads should treat the promotional rate as temporary, but avoid assuming Argon's calendar applies to Carbon until Google issues an official update.

What a Typical Workload Costs

In our internal cost analysis, we priced 1M input tokens plus 200k output tokens of usage at each published rate. The cost equals input tokens multiplied by the input rate plus output tokens multiplied by the output rate.

At launch rates, processing 1 million input tokens and generating 200,000 output tokens on Gemini 4 Carbon costs exactly $4.00. That matches Gemini 4 Argon during its own introductory window.

Once regular rates take effect, the same usage on Gemini 4 Carbon doubles to $8.00. That matches Claude Opus 5.5 at $8.00, while GPT-6 Astra costs $20.00 when every prompt stays within its 272k context tier.

Gemini 4 Carbon Price against Rival Frontier Models

Gemini 4 Carbon has the same input and output rates as Gemini 4 Argon at launch and after the introductory period. Rate cards for other models are on our AI model pricing directory.

Anthropic sets the price of Claude Opus 5.5 at $4.00 per 1 million input tokens, $20.00 per 1 million output tokens, and $0.20 for cached prompt tokens. Gemini 4 Carbon matches Opus 5.5 exactly on post-introductory rates, while cutting costs in half during its launch period. Benchmark comparisons are detailed in our Gemini 4 Carbon vs Claude Opus 5.5 comparison.

OpenAI lists GPT-6 Astra pricing at $10.00 input, $50.00 output, and $1.00 cached per 1 million tokens for contexts up to 272,000 tokens. Contexts larger than 272,000 tokens on GPT-6 Astra increase to $20.00 input and $75.00 output per 1 million tokens. Even after introductory discounts expire, Carbon costs less than half of GPT-6 Astra's entry rate.

Can You Pay for Gemini 4 Carbon Yet

Organizations cannot pay for public Gemini 4 Carbon API tokens as of October 28, 2026. The official Gemini API models documentation lists gemini-4-argon as the sole active Gemini 4 model identifier, with no entry yet for Carbon.

Access currently runs through the Google Fairwind Program. Google prioritizes national cyber authorities, critical infrastructure operators across healthcare, energy, telecommunications, and finance, as well as academic labs focused on defensive benchmarking. Eligible groups request access through Google's Fairwind interest form.

The tracking site Artificial Analysis lists Gemini 4 Carbon as available via API through one provider at the $4 input and $20 output rate. This reflects an external registry entry rather than open public access. Google states that general developer, business, and consumer access remains coming soon while safety guardrails undergo refinement. Technical capabilities are outlined in our Gemini 4 Carbon explained guide.

How to Budget for Gemini 4 Carbon

Engineering teams planning infrastructure roadmaps should build budget models using the standard $4.00 input and $20.00 output rates rather than launch discounts. Because Google has not published an end date for the promotional pricing, a budget built on $2.00 and $10.00 covers only half the cost once the standard rates apply.

At Layer3Labs, we route client workloads across model vendors, and we would not budget a route on a launch rate that has no published end date. Teams budgeting for deployments extending beyond the immediate launch window should use the post-introductory rate card.

Our recommendation would change if Google publishes an end date or a long-context tier. Price your workload at the post-introductory $4.00 input and $20.00 output rates, and re-check Google's Gemini API pricing documentation when Gemini 4 Carbon opens to developers.