AI pricing and rate-limit changes: March 2026

7 changes across 4 companies, 2026-03-12 to 2026-03-29.

Rate limits

• between 2026-03-21 and 2026-03-29 Backfilled · Google (Gemini)

  Usage tier qualification lowered for Tier 2 and re-based on first payment for Tier 3; billing tier caps listed.

  Official source

• between 2026-03-13 and 2026-03-23 Backfilled · xAI (Grok)

  Spend-based rate limit tiers introduced for text models, unlocking automatically by cumulative spend since Jan 1 2026.

  Official source

• between 2026-03-12 and 2026-03-16 Backfilled · Ollama

  Pricing page began stating explicit session (5-hour) and weekly usage limits for every plan.

  Official source

• 2026-03-16 Backfilled · Google (Gemini)

  Gemini API usage tiers revamped and Billing Account spend caps introduced.

  Official source

Quotas

• 2026-03-19 Backfilled · Windsurf

  Windsurf editor added support for a new quota billing system with daily and weekly quota usage shown in the IDE.

  Official source

• 2026-03-12 Backfilled · Google (Gemini)

  Project-level spend caps added to billing in AI Studio.

  Official source

Plans

• 2026-03-23 Backfilled · Google (Gemini)

  Prepay and Postpay billing plans rolled out in AI Studio; existing accounts may be affected.

  Official source

Corrections this month

None.

By company

• Google (Gemini), March 2026