> Vertex AI
Vertex AI serves Google's Gemini models through Google Cloud's paid API (aiplatform.googleapis.com), with project-level billing and a choice between global and non-global endpoints; the generative-AI pricing URL now renders as the Agent Platform (Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform) pricing page. Published list prices per 1M tokens: Gemini 3.8 / 3.7 / 3.6 Flash are on introductory pricing of $0.75 input and $3.75 output through December 31, 2026, rising to $1.50 and $7.50 on January 1, 2027, while Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is $0.30 input and $2.50 output and Gemini 2.5 Flash is $0.30 and $2.50. The Vertex pricing page states no standing free monthly token allowance for Gemini; Google's free-tier documentation instead gives $300 in 90-day Free Trial credit and a separate free tier for many Gemini models under the Gemini Developer API (AI Studio).
// pros
- Promotional and post-promotional prices are both published with dates: Gemini 3.6-3.8 Flash at $0.75 input / $3.75 output per 1M tokens through December 31, 2026, then $1.50 / $7.50 from January 1, 2027.
- Region is a visible cost lever rather than a hidden one - non-global endpoints are priced about 10% above global ($0.825 input / $4.125 output for the same promotional Flash models).
- Billing excludes failed calls: only requests returning a 200 response code are charged for input or output, so 4xx/5xx errors do not consume budget.
- Grounding with Google Search includes 5,000 grounding queries per month at no charge, aggregated across all Gemini 3 models, then $14 per 1,000; input tokens supplied by grounding are not charged.
- Flex and Batch tiers halve the standard rate (for example $0.375 input / $1.875 output per 1M tokens on Gemini 3.8 Flash), and tuned model endpoints are billed at 1.5x the base model.
// cons
- No perpetual free token allowance is listed for Gemini on the Vertex/Agent Platform pricing page; free monthly Gemini tokens belong to the separate Gemini Developer API tier, where Google states free-tier content is used to improve its products.
- The $300 Free Trial credit is restricted: the free-tier documentation states it cannot pay for Gemini API in AI Studio usage or for generative-AI partner models offered as managed APIs.
- Long-context billing is all-or-nothing: if the input context exceeds 200K tokens, all input and output tokens are charged at long-context rates, not just the excess.
- Faster tiers cost more than the headline number - Priority is 1.5x standard (for example $1.35 input / $6.75 output on the promotional Flash models), and the 50% credits-back promotion applies only to selected models and periods.
Use Vertex when Gemini needs to sit behind a Google Cloud billing account with ADC/service-account auth, regional endpoint control and Batch or Flex discounts, and plan for the January 1, 2027 promotional price step-up. For pure model evaluation, the Gemini Developer API free tier is the cheaper entry point; in this directory compare both before routing production traffic.
written by Mike Fleming, Uprouter editorial · verified against official sources September 16, 2026
Value taken from the provider’s own published free-tier terms, expressed in USD.
note: Google Cloud Free Trial gives $300 in Welcome credit valid for 90 days for eligible new billing accounts (cloud.google.com/free/docs/free-cloud-features); the Vertex generative-AI pricing page itself lists no free token allowance but does include 5,000 free grounding queries per month across Gemini 3 models.
| Plan | Type | Monthly | Input /1M | Output /1M | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | payg | — | Free | $0.0000 | Cheapest tracked model rate (OpenRouter-normalized). |
Pricing normalized from public sources — always verify with the provider.
// model prices
| Model | Input /1M | Output /1M | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | Free | $0.0000 | 1.0M |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | $0.0000 | $0.0000 | 1.0M |
| Meta: Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | $0.0000 | $0.0000 | 131k |
| Mistral Large 2407 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 | 131k |
$ Does Vertex AI have a free tier?
Yes — Vertex AI offers a free tier that we value at roughly $300.00 in free credits. Always confirm current limits on Vertex AI's official pricing page — free tiers change without notice.
$ How much does Vertex AI cost per 1M tokens?
The cheapest model we track at Vertex AI is Free per 1M input tokens and $0.0000 per 1M output tokens. This is normalized from Vertex AI's published pricing — verify with the provider before purchasing, since prices change frequently.
$ Is Vertex AI safe to use?
Uprouter rates Vertex AI as low risk. Risk: low on stability, medium on free-tier expectations. Pricing, region surcharges, the 200K-token long-context rule and the January 1, 2027 price change are all stated on the official pricing page, and failed requests are not billed. The only 'free' allowances Google documents for this surface are the $300/90-day Free Trial credit and 5,000 free grounding queries per month; the free token tier that covers Gemini models is the Gemini Developer API, where Google says free-tier content is used to improve its products, so teams with data-processing constraints should not treat the free allowance as an equivalent substitute. Risk ratings are editorial, evidence-based, and never influenced by affiliate relationships.
Raw community sentiment, shown unblended. Votes never feed into objective data fields like price, risk, or status — and never into sort order.
No published reviews yet — be the first.
// more_informationprice history · live status · risk & confidence · code snippets
price_history
No recorded changes yet.
live_status
current: unknownNo probes recorded yet.
Uprouter runs its own probes; best-effort, not a guarantee. Probe results depend on our network location and cadence — for production, always use the provider’s own status page.
risk_&_confidence
Risk: low on stability, medium on free-tier expectations. Pricing, region surcharges, the 200K-token long-context rule and the January 1, 2027 price change are all stated on the official pricing page, and failed requests are not billed. The only 'free' allowances Google documents for this surface are the $300/90-day Free Trial credit and 5,000 free grounding queries per month; the free token tier that covers Gemini models is the Gemini Developer API, where Google says free-tier content is used to improve its products, so teams with data-processing constraints should not treat the free allowance as an equivalent substitute.
Confidence reflects how much verifiable evidence (official docs, probe history, community reports) backs this entry. Risk is our editorial assessment of operator reliability and terms — not financial advice.
code_snippets
# Vertex AI's own API — get a key from their dashboard
curl https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer THEIR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "gemini-2-5-pro",
"messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Hello" }]
}'Direct to the provider — Uprouter receives nothing; verify their current pricing before purchasing.
Ranked by neutral similarity signals only — live status, free-tier shape and free-credit proximity. Commercial relationships never influence this list.