Google launches Gemini 4 Hydrogen, a fast and low-cost coding model

Google launched Gemini 4 Hydrogen, a model for usual coding and agent work. Developers can use it in the Gemini API, Google AI Studio and Android Studio. The price is $1.50 for each 1 million input tokens (small pieces of text) and $7.50 for each 1 million output tokens. Google tells that it is faster than other models in its class.

What is new

Hydrogen makes web pages, repairs code in a repository and reads files such as PDFs, audio and video. It has 4 thinking levels, with a new xhigh level. A new tool, Orchestrator in Google Antigravity, changes between Hydrogen and Gemini 4 Carbon in one session.

The numbers

Google gives these results against Gemini 3.8 Flash:

• Terminal-Bench 4.1 score: 57% against 18.2%.
• Tasks finish 2.5 times faster at the default level.

Google tells that Orchestrator used 24% less quota and finished 19% faster than Carbon alone.

What is not known

All results come from Google and its partners. The source names no other company model and gives no price compare.

Insight: Google sells a cheaper model that scores above its older top model

Argon came on 13 October 2026. Carbon followed at the same price as Argon, $2 and $10. Hydrogen costs $1.50 and $7.50 and scores above Argon on one index. This looks like a plan to move usual work to the cheap model. Orchestrator keeps the mix of models in Google tools. Monitor if Argon and Carbon prices change.