OpenAI and Google quietly limit free Sora, Nano Banana Pro and Gemini 3 Pro use heres what it means for you

Date:
Fri, 28 Nov 2025 16:40:13 +0000

Description:
OpenAI and Google have quietly reduced free access to Sora, Nano Banana and Gemini 3 Pro as soaring demand pushes users toward paid plans.

FULL STORY ======================================================================OpenAI reduces Sora to 6 video generations for free users Google has downgraded Gemini 3 Pro limits for free users Nano Banana Pro image-generation limit
also reduced

If youve been using Sora or Gemini 3 Pro on a free plan, things just got a little bit tighter. Both OpenAI and Google have quietly cut back how many prompts, videos and images free users can generate, as demand surges and GPU costs skyrocket.

In short: youre getting less access than you did even a week ago.

Heres whats happening: OpenAI is limiting access to Sora 2, its AI video generation tool, to just six generations a day for free users, and Google has removed its promise of five prompts per day on Gemini 3 Pro and reduced image generations, with Nano Banana Pro down to just two a day for free users. Our GPUs are melting!

Bill Peebles, head of Sora at OpenAI, tweeted: Our GPUs are melting and we want to let as many people access Sora as possible! He continued: Were
setting usage limits for free users to 6 generations a day. were setting
usage limits for free users to 6 gens/day. chatgpt plus and pro users have unchanged limits, and everybody can purchase additional gens as needed. our gpus are melting, and we want to let as many people access sora as possible! November 28, 2025

The melting GPUs line refers to the massive compute demand caused by Sora videos. Video and image generation is far more power-hungry than text, so rationing the number of videos free users can create should give OpenAIs servers some downtime.

ChatGPT Plus and Pro users have unchanged limits, and Peebles says everybody can purchase additional generations as needed. Of course, paying for video generations isnt going to appeal to people on the free plan. Gemini 3 Pro limits

Gemini 3 Pro , which launched last week for all Gemini users, initially offered up to five prompts a day for free users, and up to three images a day via its associated Nano Banana Pro image generator. This allocation matched what free users received with the previous Gemini 2.5 Pro model.

Now, however, Google has announced, via a support article , that it's
changing its prompt allocation for Gemini Pro. It no longer shows a daily prompt number, instead saying free users will receive basic access daily limits may change frequently. Image generation and editing with Nano Banana Pro is now fixed at two images per day.

For users on a Google AI Plan, nothing has changed you still get up to 100 prompts a day on Google AI Pro and up to 500 prompts a day on Google AI
Ultra. Sora from OpenAI is one of the leading AI video generators you can access for free. (Image credit: OpenAI) A gentle nudge

The simultaneous clampdowns from Google and OpenAI might be a coincidence,
but they could also be an early sign of a maturing AI industry wrestling with the huge compute costs required for prompt, image and video generation.

I wouldnt be surprised if, over the next year, we saw more of these small nudges pushing people toward paid plans, as business models start catching up with the reality of the cost of running modern AI websites.

With demand exploding, GPUs overheating, and AI companies gently steering us toward paid tiers, the market could be shifting. The AI tools arent going anywhere, but your days of generous free access to top-tier models may be numbered.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/gemini/openai-and-google-qui etly-limit-free-sora-nano-banana-pro-and-gemini-3-pro-use-heres-what-it-means- for-you


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