# Claude vs Gemini for New Zealand document work.

URL: https://levystreet.com/compare/claude-vs-gemini/
Updated: 2026-10-19

Claude vs Gemini for document work in NZ: long-context reading, Gemini Notebook source limits, prices shown from NZ, data terms and three document tests.

## Short answer

For document work, choose Claude when the job is reading, comparing and rewriting long files, such as tender packs, contracts and board papers, and you want one tool for that across any file store. Choose Gemini when your documents already live in Google Drive and you are on Workspace Business Standard, where Gemini and Gemini Notebook cost nothing extra. Test both on your own documents before deciding.

- Every current Claude model reads up to one million tokens in a request.
- Gemini Notebook caps sources per notebook by tier, and Google marks limits subject to change.
- Claude Team Standard shows $40 a seat annually from NZ; Workspace Business Standard is NZ$21.
- Neither trains on Team or Workspace content by default.
- Both read scanned PDFs imperfectly; check extracted figures against the source.

## How do Claude and Gemini compare for document work?

Claude is a standalone assistant that reads whatever you upload or connect. Gemini is built into Google Workspace, with Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) as its dedicated tool for answering questions across a set of sources. The table compares what matters for long documents.

| As listed on 19 October 2026 | Claude Team | Gemini in Google Workspace |
|---|---|---|
| Price shown from NZ | Standard $40 a seat a month billed annually, $50 monthly; "Prices include 15% GST", currency not labelled | Included in Business Standard at NZ$21 a user a month; Starter at NZ$10.50 has Gemini mostly in Gmail |
| Context window | One million tokens on Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5 | 1,048,576 tokens listed for Gemini 4 Argon in the API |
| Document tools | Projects; Claude Docs, Slides and Design on every plan since 8 October 2026 | Gemini in Docs; Gemini Notebook for source-based questions |
| Source limits | Bounded by the context window and plan usage limits | Gemini Notebook: 50 sources per notebook on the free tier, 300 on Pro, 500 or 600 on Ultra; Workspace editions get expanded access |
| Where files come from | Uploads and connectors, including Google Drive and Microsoft 365 | Native Google Drive |
| Usage limits | Rolling five-hour window plus weekly limits | Consumer Gemini Notebook uses a compute budget that refreshes every five hours |
| Training on content | Not by default on Team | Not used outside your domain without permission |
| Retention notes | Choosing Fable means 30-day retention for safety monitoring by default | Gemini Notebook Enterprise keeps data inside your Google Cloud project |
| Strongest at | Reading, comparing and rewriting long files from any file store | Answering from Drive documents kept together in a notebook |
| Weakest at | Usage limits for heavy readers; Fable's retention default | Source caps per notebook; Starter has little Gemini outside Gmail |

## Where is each one stronger?

**Claude** suits the heavy reading jobs: a 150-page tender pack, two drafts of a lease, a year of board papers. Every current model takes [up to a million tokens](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/models/overview), and Claude Docs and Slides turn the result into a finished document. Its connectors reach Google Drive and SharePoint alike, which helps firms whose documents sit in both. See our [Claude guide](/tools/claude/).

**Gemini** suits teams whose documents already sit in Drive. Gemini Notebook keeps a defined set of sources together and answers from them, and Google added a [secure cloud computer](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-notebook/notebooklm-gemini-notebook/) in July 2026 so it can run code for data analysis on higher tiers. For a Workspace Business Standard customer it adds no cost. See our [Gemini Notebook guide](/tools/notebooklm/).

## How do you test Claude and Gemini on the same documents?

Use real documents with personal information removed, and give both tools identical files and questions. Our lesson on [summarising documents with citations](/learn/summarising-documents-with-citations/) covers the checking habit.


1. **Compare two lease drafts.** Give both tools two versions of the same commercial lease and ask for every changed clause, with clause numbers and old and new wording. Compare with a redline from your word processor: count missed changes and changes that never happened.
2. **Brief from 30 board papers.** Load a year of board papers and ask ten questions you can answer yourself, two of which the papers do not cover. Score correct answers, accurate references to the right paper, and whether each tool says "not in these documents".
3. **Extract 20 supplier invoices.** Ask for a table of supplier, invoice number, date, amount excluding GST, GST and total. Check every row: the GST in a GST-inclusive total should be 3/23 of it, and scanned invoices are where errors cluster.


For the second task, our engineering guide to [evaluating long context models](/engineering/evaluating-long-context-models/) explains why the absence questions matter most.

## What do Claude and Gemini cost over a year?

Worked example for a six-person team, at prices shown on 19 October 2026:

- **Claude Team, Standard seats, annual billing:** 6 × $40 = $240 a month, or $2,880 a year, stated as GST-inclusive.
- **Gemini, firm already on Business Standard:** no extra licence cost.
- **Gemini, firm on Business Starter:** upgrading six people to Standard costs 6 × (NZ$21 − NZ$10.50) = NZ$63 a month, or NZ$756 a year, with GST and billing term to confirm.

Later costs:

- **Limits, not invoices.** Heavy document users hit Claude's five-hour and weekly limits first; a Premium seat costs five times Standard. On Gemini, notebook source caps and Workspace AI quotas are the ceiling.
- **Retention choices.** Claude Fable's default 30-day retention may clash with a stricter internal policy, which pushes you to Opus 5.5 or Sonnet 5.5 for some work.
- **Switching.** Notebooks and Projects do not move between vendors, but your source documents and question sets do. Keep the test set; it is your evidence when you reconsider.

## Which should you choose?

### Choose Claude if

- Your core work is long documents you read, compare and rewrite, across any file store.
- Documents sit in both Google Drive and SharePoint.
- You want finished outputs, such as a board paper or slide deck, from the same tool.
- Your tests show it misses fewer changes and admits more gaps.

### Choose Gemini if

- Your documents live in Google Drive and you are on Business Standard or above.
- You want a defined set of sources per matter or project, kept together in Gemini Notebook.
- You prefer not to add a second AI vendor to your privacy assessment.
- You may later need an enterprise notebook whose data stays inside your own Google Cloud project.

## Where do both fall short?

- **Superseded versions.** Give either tool three drafts of a policy and it may answer from the wrong one. Remove old versions or name the current one in the prompt.
- **Scanned pages.** Photographed or faxed pages produce misread figures. For volume work, see [OCR versus vision models](/engineering/ocr-versus-vision-models/).
- **Legal meaning.** Both can find and compare clauses. Neither should decide what a clause means under New Zealand law; see our [contract clause review workflow](/industries/legal/contract-clause-review-with-source-citations/).
- **Offshore processing.** Neither processes documents in New Zealand. Under the [Privacy Act 2020](https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/31/en/latest/) you remain responsible for keeping personal information in those documents secure (IPP 5), so strip what the task does not need.
- **Scale.** Past a few hundred documents, loading everything into one conversation gets slow and expensive. That is a retrieval problem; see [RAG versus long context](/compare/rag-vs-long-context/) and our [AI document processing](/services/ai-document-processing/) service.

## Questions people ask

### Is Claude or Gemini better for reading long documents?

Both accept very long inputs: every current Claude model has a one-million-token context window, and Google lists about the same for Gemini 4 Argon in its API. A window that large is a capacity, not a guarantee of careful reading. Plant ten questions with known answers in your own documents, including two the documents cannot answer, and see which tool gets more right and admits gaps.

### What is Gemini Notebook?

Gemini Notebook is Google's document research tool, renamed from NotebookLM on 16 July 2026. You load sources into a notebook and ask questions about them. Its help page lists source limits per notebook by tier, from 50 on the free Standard tier to 300 on Pro and 500 or 600 on Ultra, and Google marks those limits as subject to change.

### Can Claude read files from Google Drive?

Yes. Anthropic's connector directory lists Google Drive, Gmail and Google Calendar, alongside Microsoft 365 for SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook and Teams. The connector only sees what the signed-in user can open, so check Drive sharing first. For a firm that is entirely on Google Workspace, Gemini avoids a second vendor, which can simplify your privacy assessment.

### Can I use Claude or Gemini to review a contract?

You can use either to find clauses, compare versions and draft questions for your lawyer, which saves real time. Neither should be the final word on what a clause means or whether a contract is enforceable under New Zealand law. Treat outputs as a first pass, check every clause reference against the document, and get legal advice before signing or relying on an interpretation.


## Sources

- [Models overview](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/models/overview)
- [Claude plans and pricing](https://claude.com/pricing)
- [Cowork is now Claude](https://claude.com/blog/cowork-is-now-claude)
- [Connectors and plugins directory](https://claude.com/marketplace/connectors-plugins)
- [Is my data used for model training? (commercial)](https://privacy.claude.com/en/articles/7996868-is-my-data-used-for-model-training)
- [Claude Fable](https://www.anthropic.com/claude/fable)
- [Gemini API pricing](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing)
- [NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-notebook/notebooklm-gemini-notebook/)
- [Gemini Notebook upgrades and limits](https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16213268?hl=en)
- [New flexible usage limits in Gemini Notebook](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-notebook/new-flexible-usage-limits/)
- [Gemini Notebook Enterprise documentation](https://docs.cloud.google.com/gemini/enterprise/notebooklm-enterprise/docs)
- [Google Workspace pricing (New Zealand)](https://workspace.google.com/pricing?hl=en_nz)
- [Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub](https://support.google.com/a/answer/15706919?hl=en)
- [Privacy Act 2020](https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/31/en/latest/)

Published by Levy Street (https://levystreet.com), Wellington, New Zealand.