· ai / coding / developer-tools

Amazon Q Developer vs Gemini Code Assist Compared 2026

Amazon Q wins for AWS and compliance; Gemini Code Assist wins on context window and benchmarks. Both are mid-transition — check the EOL timeline.

By · Updated June 6, 2026

1,739 words · 9 min read

Note: Amazon Q Developer is in end-of-life — new signups blocked May 15, 2026; full EOL April 30, 2027. Gemini Code Assist’s individual and free tiers stop June 18, 2026. This comparison covers existing Standard/Enterprise users and teams on active Pro subscriptions evaluating migration paths. If you’re starting fresh, also read our takes on the successors: Kiro (Amazon) and Antigravity (Google).

Pick Amazon Q Developer if your stack lives on AWS and compliance certifications are a hard requirement. Pick Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise if you’re working in large monorepos or deep in the Google Cloud ecosystem. Neither is a safe long-term bet for individual developers — both consumer tiers are sunsetting before year-end.

Who this is for

Engineering teams already committed to AWS or Google Cloud who need to understand what they have before migrating to the next tool. If you’re starting a new project from scratch in mid-2026, this comparison is context — the successor tools (Kiro, Antigravity) are where new investment should go.

What each tool is

Amazon Q Developer is Amazon’s AI coding assistant, launched publicly in 2023 as a rebranded CodeWhisperer. It integrates with the AWS console, major IDEs, and the CLI. The free tier gives you 50 agentic requests per month and unlimited code completions. The Pro tier at $19/user/month adds higher agentic limits, Java/Oracle/.NET modernization tooling, IP indemnification, and an admin dashboard. Q Developer is the only AI coding tool with built-in security scanning at every tier — no separate subscription, no upsell.

On the sunsetting timeline: new signups were blocked May 15, 2026. Existing Pro subscribers have until April 30, 2027. The successor is Kiro, Amazon’s next IDE with agentic-first design and spec-driven development.

Gemini Code Assist is Google’s AI coding assistant built on Gemini models. The individual/free tier (6,000 code requests/day, 240 chat requests/day) stops June 18, 2026. Standard and Enterprise tiers are unaffected — Google is killing the consumer business, not the enterprise product. Standard runs $22.80/month (or $19/month annual) and includes agent mode, MCP support, and GitHub PR reviews. Enterprise at $54/month ($45 annual) adds private codebase customization and deep GCP service integrations.

The successor for individual developers is Antigravity — the Antigravity CLI announced at Google I/O, May 19, 2026.

Feature comparison

FeatureAmazon Q DeveloperGemini Code Assist
Free tier$0 — 50 agentic req/mo, unlimited completions$0 — stopping June 18, 2026
Paid tierPro: $19/user/monthStandard: $19/mo (annual), Enterprise: $45/mo (annual)
Context window~200K tokens (undisclosed)1,000,000 tokens
IDE supportVS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, EclipseVS Code, JetBrains, Android Studio
Agent modeYesYes (Standard+)
MCP supportNoYes (Standard+)
Security scanningBuilt in, all tiersNot included
GitHub PR reviewsNoYes (Standard+)
Private codebase customizationNoEnterprise only
Next Edit PredictionsNoYes
AWS integrationsConsole-to-Code, CloudFormation, CDK, CloudWatch, SageMaker, RedshiftLimited
GCP integrationsLimitedBigQuery, Firebase, Cloud Run, Apigee, Colab Enterprise (Enterprise tier)
Java/legacy modernizationYes (4,000-line agent, pooled)No
Compliance certificationsAWS supports 143 certifications (FedRAMP, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC 1/2/3); Q Developer runs on this infrastructureStandard Google Cloud compliance
IP indemnificationPro tierStandard+

Benchmarks

The only shared benchmark is SWE-bench Verified.

SystemSWE-bench VerifiedDate
Gemini 3.1 Pro80.6%2026
Amazon Q Developer agent66%April 2025

The 12-percentage-point gap is real, but the dates matter: Q’s 66% is 14 months old. Amazon hasn’t published an updated SWE-bench score since the April 2025 run, so the gap may have closed. Neither vendor publishes SWE-bench Pro scores, which test harder, longer-horizon tasks.

Real-world data: published AWS customer case studies report acceptance rates ranging from 30% to 83%, with most enterprise deployments landing in the 40–50% range (CDL, NAB, Upland). Gemini Code Assist has fewer comparable third-party reviews.

One more caveat worth flagging for readers: SWE-bench scores are vulnerable to training contamination — if a model trained on the benchmark’s test cases, the number flatters. Neither Google nor Amazon publishes contamination analysis.

Where Amazon Q Developer wins

AWS ecosystem depth. Console-to-Code generates infrastructure code from AWS console actions. CloudFormation, CDK, CloudWatch, SageMaker, and Redshift all have native integrations that Gemini Code Assist doesn’t approach. If you spend your days writing Lambda functions, reading CloudWatch logs, and managing CloudFormation stacks, Q Developer has context Gemini can’t match.

Security scanning. Built-in static analysis for vulnerabilities ships at every tier — free included. You don’t pay extra for it, and it covers common AWS-specific misconfigurations alongside general OWASP patterns. Gemini Code Assist has no equivalent.

Compliance. Q Developer runs on AWS infrastructure, which supports 143 compliance certifications including FedRAMP High, FedRAMP Moderate, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC 1/2/3, and ISO 27001. This is the decisive differentiator for US government contractors, healthcare, and finance teams. Gemini Code Assist runs on standard Google Cloud compliance posture — solid, but narrower.

Legacy modernization. Q Developer’s Java transformation agent handles up to 4,000 lines of Java in a single run (pooled across the Pro tier). Oracle and .NET modernization agents exist. If you’re moving a Java 8 codebase to Java 21 or migrating from .NET Framework to .NET Core, this is the only AI tool built for that specific job.

IDE breadth. Visual Studio and Eclipse support exists; Gemini Code Assist has neither. Teams on .NET or older Java stacks often can’t switch IDEs — this matters.

Where Gemini Code Assist wins

Context window. One million tokens versus Q’s undisclosed ~200K. For large monorepos — think a 2M-line codebase where a feature spans 30 files across 8 packages — the ability to keep more code in context changes what the model can reason about. This is the most concrete architectural difference between the two products.

Model benchmarks. Gemini 3.1 Pro at 80.6% SWE-bench Verified against Q’s 66% (with the caveat that Q’s score is stale). The underlying model quality has been Google’s clearest edge since early 2026.

Android development. Android Studio integration ships with Gemini Code Assist. Amazon Q has no Android Studio support. For mobile Android teams, this isn’t a close comparison.

Next Edit Predictions. Gemini Code Assist predicts what you’ll edit next based on your recent changes — a different paradigm from waiting-for-a-prompt. It’s less about autonomous agents and more about the micro-friction of context-switching in a fast edit loop. No equivalent in Q Developer.

GitHub PR reviews. Standard and Enterprise tiers include automated PR review comments. Q Developer doesn’t. For teams where code review speed is a bottleneck, this matters.

GCP integrations at Enterprise. BigQuery, Firebase, Cloud Run, Apigee, and Colab Enterprise deep integrations match Q Developer’s AWS depth, but for Google Cloud. If your data stack lives in BigQuery and your backend in Cloud Run, Enterprise gives you what Q gives AWS teams.

Pricing

At annual billing, both standard paid tiers land at $19/user/month. The similarity ends there.

Amazon Q Developer

  • Free: $0 — 50 agentic requests/month, unlimited completions, 1,000-line Java transformation
  • Pro: $19/user/month — higher agentic limits, 4,000-line Java transformation (pooled), admin dashboard, IP indemnification, no training on customer data

Gemini Code Assist

  • Free: $0 — stopping June 18, 2026
  • Standard: $22.80/month month-to-month, $19/month annual — unlimited completions + chat, agent mode, MCP, GitHub PR reviews, IP indemnification
  • Enterprise: $54/month month-to-month, $45/month annual — all Standard features plus private codebase customization and deep GCP service integrations

The practical pricing question for most teams isn’t monthly rate — it’s which tier to land on. At Standard vs Pro parity ($19 annual), Gemini Standard gets you MCP support and GitHub PR reviews; Q Pro gets you security scanning and legacy modernization. At the Enterprise tier ($45/month), Gemini adds private codebase customization and GCP integrations that have no Q equivalent at any price point.

Who should use which

Use Amazon Q Developer Pro if:

  • You run on AWS and need native AWS service context
  • Compliance certifications are a selection criterion — FedRAMP, HIPAA, PCI-DSS
  • You’re modernizing Java, Oracle, or .NET legacy codebases
  • Your developers use Visual Studio or Eclipse
  • You need built-in security scanning without a separate tool

Use Gemini Code Assist Standard if:

  • You’re working in large monorepos where context window matters
  • MCP tools and GitHub PR review automation are part of your workflow
  • You care about current model benchmark performance
  • Android development is in scope

Use Gemini Code Assist Enterprise if:

  • Your data and infrastructure runs on Google Cloud
  • Private codebase customization is a requirement
  • Deep BigQuery, Firebase, or Cloud Run integrations add real value

Don’t start new on either if:

  • You’re evaluating AI coding tools in mid-2026 — look at Kiro (Amazon’s successor) and Antigravity (Google’s) before committing to a sunsetting product. Our best AI coding CLI roundup covers the current generation of alternatives, and Gemini CLI vs Claude Code profiles Antigravity’s predecessor in more depth.

Verdict

For AWS-heavy teams, especially in regulated industries: Amazon Q Developer Pro is the better choice while it lasts. The compliance profile, AWS service depth, and built-in security scanning are not replicated elsewhere at this price.

For Google Cloud teams or teams running large monorepos where context window is the binding constraint: Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise. The 1M token window and current model quality are the clearest technical advantages in this comparison.

For everyone evaluating tools in mid-2026: the more important decision is which successor to invest in — Kiro or Antigravity — not which legacy product to squeeze out. Both Q and Gemini Code Assist are on the way out for individual consumers. Enterprise teams have longer runways and clearer migration paths.

References