Google's new model matches OpenAI on price, but its agent gap remains

Google released Gemini 4 Argon on September 30, with introductory pricing matching OpenAI's latest discount — but the model is not broadly available yet.

According to CNBC, Argon ties OpenAI on a key cybersecurity benchmark and posts leading software engineering results; these are industry-benchmark citations, not independent retests. Introductory pricing is $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, matching OpenAI's newly discounted GPT-6.1 Sol.

Google said its published rates will eventually double to $4 and $20 per million tokens. Access is initially restricted to select cybersecurity customers while the model goes through the voluntary U.S. government safety-testing process.

Market attention has shifted to personal agents: Meta's Muse is free and passed 5 million downloads as of September 30, per Sensor Tower, while Google's Spark remains limited to paying subscribers. JPMorgan analysts wrote Thursday that Google needs a significant advance in personal agents to generate consumer enthusiasm.