Colab is now part of Google AI Plans. Get upgraded compute power and a suite of new AI tools all in one bundle.
In short, Google Colab **has not become a mandatory paid service**. Google confirms that Colab remains free to use and continues to provide cost-free access to computing resources, including GPUs and TPUs. The difference is that free resources **are neither guaranteed nor unlimited**. Limits may vary based on availability and usage.
You can open a notebook and code for free. You can even access GPUs/TPUs without a subscription. However, Google explicitly states that free resources vary and are subject to restrictions. Certain intensive workloads on free runtimes may be terminated, whereas purchasing a plan and maintaining a positive balance of compute units removes some of these restrictions.
Google has not eliminated Colab Free. Instead, it has built a system where standard coding tasks can continue for free, while users requiring more powerful GPUs, priority access, extra memory, or intensive execution capabilities are directed toward compute units and subscriptions.
