Antigravity vs Claude Code: How Google's and Anthropic's Agents Compare

So it isn't strictly either-or. The real questions for a team lead are where your people will work every day, which models you want, and whether your company buys through Google Cloud or through Anthropic. Here's how the two line up on the facts each vendor publishes, with no benchmarks and no guesswork.

Side-by-side at a glance

	Google Antigravity	Claude Code
Maker	Google	Anthropic
Surfaces	Desktop App, terminal CLI (agy), IDE extensions, Python SDK	Terminal CLI, VS Code, desktop app, the web at claude.ai/code, JetBrains plugin
Free tier	Yes: Gemini 3.8 Flash, unlimited Tab completions, weekly quota	Most surfaces need a Claude subscription or an Anthropic Console account
Models	Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5, GPT-OSS 120B	Claude models, with third-party providers on some surfaces
Permission modes	default, accept-edits, auto (Preview), plan	default, acceptEdits, plan, auto, dontAsk, bypassPermissions
Plugins	plugin.json bundles of skills, MCP servers, rules, hooks and custom agents	Manifest at .claude-plugin/plugin.json, adding skills, agents, hooks and more
Headless runs	agy -p, plus the Python SDK	claude -p
Enterprise route	Gemini Enterprise on Google Cloud	Claude plans and the Anthropic Console

Where each one runs

Antigravity has four surfaces: a desktop App, a terminal CLI with the command agy, extensions for IDEs and a Python SDK. Its editor extensions cover VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Zed, Xcode and Eclipse, which is in preview. Claude Code's overview says it builds features, fixes bugs and automates development tasks across multiple files and tools, and lists the Terminal CLI, VS Code, a desktop app, the web at claude.ai/code and a JetBrains plugin.

Install is a one-line job for both. Antigravity's CLI uses a one-line curl installer on macOS and Linux. Claude Code's native install is a one-line installer for macOS, Linux and WSL, with Homebrew, WinGet and apt, dnf or apk as alternatives. Native Claude Code installs update in the background, but Homebrew and WinGet installs don't, which is worth knowing if your team uses a package manager.

Free tier, quotas and keys

Google's home page says Antigravity is available at no charge for developers, and personal Google Accounts can use it on any plan, including free. The free plan uses Gemini 3.8 Flash with unlimited Tab completions and a weekly quota. Gemini 4 Argon, Google's top model in Antigravity, needs a paid Google AI Pro plan (or a trial with eligible premium devices), Google AI Ultra or Enterprise.

Claude Code works differently. Most of its surfaces need a Claude subscription or an Anthropic Console account, the Terminal CLI, VS Code and JetBrains also support third-party providers, and the desktop app needs a paid subscription. On Antigravity there's no bring-your-own-key option, so you can't plug in your own model key to raise limits. Its limits depend on capacity, refresh every five hours on Pro and Ultra with a weekly cap, and can change. Plan limits matter just as much when comparing Claude Code against Kiro.

Claude models inside Antigravity

This is the detail most comparisons skip. As of November 2026, Antigravity's model picker includes Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Claude Opus 5.5 (thinking) on Pro, Ultra and Enterprise, alongside Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.8 Flash and GPT-OSS 120B. So a team that likes Claude's models but wants Google's tools, or buys through Google Cloud, doesn't have to give those models up.

Approval modes and subagents

Both tools let you decide how much the agent does before it checks with you, and both cycle modes with Shift+Tab. Antigravity's CLI has four: default (diff review and command prompts), accept-edits, auto (Preview, sandboxed) and plan. Its auto mode isn't available on business or enterprise accounts. Claude Code has six: default, acceptEdits, plan, auto, dontAsk and bypassPermissions. In Claude Code's auto mode, a second model, the classifier, reviews actions instead of you, and from v2.1.283 auto is the built-in starting mode for interactive terminal and VS Code sessions. On earlier versions it applied only on Pro, Max, Ultra and Team plans.

For parallel work, Antigravity runs background subagents across isolated Git worktrees, and the CLI's /agents panel monitors them. Claude Code includes built-in subagents, such as Explore and Plan, lets you define custom ones, and they inherit the parent's permission rules.

Plugins, skills and scheduling

Both bundle extras into installable units. An Antigravity plugin is defined by plugin.json and can carry skills, MCP servers, rules, hooks and custom agents, and its plugin directory launched on October 29, 2026. A Claude Code plugin has its manifest at .claude-plugin/plugin.json and can add skills, agents, hooks and more. Both use the SKILL.md format: Google calls it an open standard, and Antigravity reads project skills from .agents/skills. So the skill format is shared between the two.

On scheduling, Antigravity 2.0 adds Scheduled Tasks that run agents on a cron-style schedule, plus /goal, /grill-me and /schedule slash commands. Claude Code's desktop app can schedule recurring tasks and start cloud sessions.

Scripts, CI and remote sessions

For automation, Claude Code runs non-interactively with the -p flag, for example claude -p with a prompt and allowed tools. Antigravity's CLI has a headless mode, also called print mode, that sends a single prompt with agy -p and exits, with the response on stdout. It reuses cached credentials, so you sign in interactively once first. Antigravity also has Remote Control, announced on August 21, 2026, for driving sessions on your laptops, servers and desktops from a web browser, with access to that machine's files, build tools and environment.

The enterprise route

Antigravity is sold to teams under Google Cloud terms through Gemini Enterprise, with Google Cloud single sign-on, regional data residency in the US and EU, VPC Service Controls and request logging, and Google says prompts, code and transcripts aren't used to train models. Claude Code goes through Claude plans and the Anthropic Console. For most companies, that's the line that settles it, because security and procurement usually already have a preferred cloud.

Testing both before you choose

1. List what your team does today: editor, terminal, browser and code review.
2. Check which surface people will open every day.
3. Try Antigravity's free tier and a Claude Code seat on the same small task.
4. Compare how often each one stops to ask for approval.
5. Take the enterprise route, Google Cloud or Anthropic, to your security team before anyone rolls it out.

Choose Antigravity if, choose Claude Code if

I'd choose Antigravity if you want to start free, you already buy through Google Cloud, or you want Gemini and Claude models under one roof on a paid plan. I'd choose Claude Code if your team already pays for Claude, you want the wider set of permission modes, or you want an auto mode on a Team plan, since Antigravity switches its auto mode off for business accounts. If you're still unsure, I'd run the same small task through both and let your developers pick. For other pairings, see how Gemini CLI compares with Claude Code and how Codex stacks up against Cursor.

If you're choosing an AI coding tool for a team and want the plan, data and training questions answered before anyone installs anything, that's the kind of thing I help with. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement, AI automation and GEO, which is about getting your business seen and cited in AI answers. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams, telecom companies and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Claude models in Antigravity?

Yes, on paid plans. As of November 2026 Antigravity's model picker includes Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Ultra and Enterprise, but not on the free plan.

Is Antigravity free while Claude Code isn't?

Antigravity has a free tier with Gemini 3.8 Flash and a weekly quota. Most Claude Code surfaces need a Claude subscription or an Anthropic Console account, and its desktop app needs a paid subscription.

Do Antigravity and Claude Code use the same skills format?

Both use SKILL.md for skills. Google calls it an open standard, and Antigravity reads project skills from .agents/skills.

Which one runs headless in CI?

Both. Claude Code uses claude -p, and the Antigravity CLI uses agy -p, which sends a single prompt, prints the response and exits.