More and more developers are turning to AI for coding. Microsoft has GitHub Copilot which is quite popular among coders. ChatGPT and Claude are also popular for coding activities. The race is on and Gemini has entered the scene. Google has made Gemini Code Assist free, heating up the AI-assisted coding space. But is it such a big deal?
What Is Gemini Code Assist?
Google first launched Gemini Code Assist in October 2024 as a paid tool for businesses. It integrates with code editors and popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code, JetBrains IDEs, Firebase, Android Studio, and GitHub (for code reviews).
It’s an AI assistant powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0 model, fine-tuned specifically for coding. It can help developers generate new pieces of code, review existing code, or even fix bugs. For example, need a simple sorting list function? Code Assist will generate a ready-to-use function in seconds. Convert a small Python app into an HTML web app? You can do that too.
If you’re stuck debugging an annoying ‘null reference’ error that keeps breaking your app, Gemini Code Assist can pinpoint the issue and suggest a fix instantly. Struggling to understand a confusing piece of legacy code? Gemini Code Assist can break it down step by step, explaining what each part does in plain English. And the best part? It supports all publicly available programming languages.
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Now Google is offering this for free and it comes with way higher limit than any free AI coding tool until now. For example, GitHub Copilot’s free plan allows only 2,000 code completions per month. Whereas Gemini Code Assist provides 180,000 completions per month—that’s 90 times more!
It also gives you 240 chat requests per day (compared to 50 per month with GitHub Copilot) and has a 128,000-token context window, meaning it can process way more code at once. Interestingly, Ryan Salva, the former leader of GitHub Copilot, now works at Google and is driving this project.
By making Gemini Code Assist free, Google is hoping to attract new developers who might eventually upgrade to the paid enterprise plan. But for now, it’s a huge win for anyone who wants an AI coding assistant without paying a dime.
How to Get Started
Signing up is easy— just install Gemini Code Assist in VS Code, JetBrains, or GitHub from their respective extension or plugin stores. Access Gemini Code Assist from the sidebar, keyboard shortcut, or from the Search. Log in with your Google and no credit card is required.
Now you can easily generate code and fix bugs directly on the platform you use without switching to any new tool or paying for any subscription.
If you’re a coder, there’s no reason not to try this. Google’s free version of Gemini Code Assist is more powerful than most paid AI coding tools, and it’s available now. Whether you’re working on a project, debugging code, or just learning to code, this AI tool can make your life a lot easier. Give it a shot, and let us know what you think.
