Gemini 3.1 Pro: what 36 developers actually say.
36 Hacker News opinions from 34 developers, Nov 2025 – Nov 2026. 31 come from people who say they use it. Here is what they praise, what they complain about, and who switched.
The case for Gemini 3.1 Pro, in one paragraph.
Gemini 3.1 Pro earns 54% approval across 36 opinions. Developers are divided on it.
Pick it if you
- Want an inexpensive chat plan for pasting code
- Need a second opinion on system design
- Build single-file prototypes or convert images to HTML
Look elsewhere if you
- Need dependable tool calling for agent workflows
- Run security reviews and want few false positives
- Need predictable token use during agent runs
Where it wins and loses.
Mentions across 36 opinions. Bars are counts, not votes; a tool can be both praised and criticized on the same topic.
View data table
| Topic | Praise | Complaints | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code quality | 10 | 6 | 16 |
How opinion has moved.
Monthly approval, Feb 2026 – Jul 2026. Bars show opinion volume; low-volume months are still included but faded.
View data table
| Month | Approval | Opinions |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | 60% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | 57% | 14 |
| May 2026 | 60% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | 50% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | 40% | 5 |
What developers say.
Summaries are paraphrased. Each links to the original Hacker News comment.
Praise
4 selectedRanked a surprising second for image-to-HTML conversion, behind Fable.
A $20 Gemini plan goes a long way for pasting code into chat, and they've never been rate-limited.
Noticed a big jump after the switch to Gemini 3.1 Pro, which made the tool actually useful.
Gemini 3.1 Pro solved a Verilog simulation problem that Claude had been stuck on, within minutes.
Complaints
4 selectedGemini 3.1 Pro gives many false positives and nitpicks on security reviews.
Wishes Gemini's tool calling and task adherence reached an acceptable level.
Gemini 3.1 Pro did poorly on their security bug-finding benchmark.
Finds Gemini Pro 3.1 clumsy for agentic coding, with heavy token use and weak tool handling.
Questions developers ask.
Is Gemini 3.1 Pro worth it?
Is Gemini 3.1 Pro better than Claude Opus 4.6?
Is Gemini 3.1 Pro good for agentic coding?
The data behind this page.
Developers give Gemini 3.1 Pro a 54% approval rating across 36 opinions from 34 authors, with 31 firsthand accounts. Code quality draws more praise than criticism at 10 positive and 6 negative mentions, while reliability is weak at 1 positive and 5 negative. Monthly approval fell to 40% in July on 5 opinions and rose to 75% in October on 2 opinions. The recent samples are small, so the trend is noisy.
Every number comes from public Hacker News comments collected through the HN Search API. A language model tagged each comment for sentiment, first-hand use, topic and switches; a human spot-checks samples. No vendor can pay for placement.
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