Claude Code Pricing
Complete Claude AI price breakdown including Pro (from $17/month annually) vs Max (from $100/month) subscription plans, API costs, and usage limits. Choose the right Claude pricing plan for your development workflow and budget.
Claude AI Price Comparison: Pro vs Max Plans
| Plan | Price | Claude Models | Usage Limits | Best For | Claude Code Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Limited Sonnet access | Very limited | No Claude Code access | |
| Pro | $17/month annually $20/month monthly | Sonnet 4 | 5x free tier | Light development | |
| Max $100 | $100/month | Sonnet 4 + limited Opus | 5x Pro limits | Professional with some Opus | |
| Max $200 | $200/month | All models + full Opus | 20x Pro limits | Full professional development | |
| API | Pay-per-use | All models | Usage-based billing | Custom needs |
Detailed Plan Breakdown
Claude Free - Limited Testing
The free plan provides limited Sonnet access for basic usage only, with very low usage limits that are quickly exhausted. The free plan does not support Claude Code access. You need at least a Pro subscription or API credits to use Claude Code.
Claude Pro ($17/month annually, $20/month monthly) - Light Development
Claude Pro includes access to Claude 4 Sonnet model with 5x usage limits compared to the free tier. However, it lacks access to the advanced Claude 4 Opus model. For Claude Code, this plan works well for light development, small projects, and learning, though you may hit usage limits with extensive coding sessions and won't have access to Opus, the most powerful model. Annual billing saves $36 per year compared to monthly billing.
Best For:
- Learning Claude Code - Affordable way to get started
- Hobby projects - Small personal development work
- Occasional use - Not daily development workflow
- Budget constraints - Cost-effective entry point
Claude Max $100 ($100/month) - Professional Development with Limited Opus
Claude Max $100 provides access to Claude 4 Sonnet with 5x higher usage limits than Pro, plus limited access to the advanced Claude 4.1 Opus model. For Claude Code, it handles professional development with moderate to large projects, extended coding sessions, and occasional access to Opus 4.1 for complex analysis when needed.
Best For:
- Professional developers - Regular Claude Code usage with occasional complex needs
- Medium projects - Projects that need some advanced analysis but not constantly
- Budget-conscious professionals - Want Opus access without full Max cost
Claude Max $200 ($200/month) - Full Professional Development
Claude Max provides access to all Claude models including the advanced Claude 4.1 Opus, with 20x higher usage limits than Pro. For Claude Code, this plan handles professional development with large projects and complex tasks, extended coding sessions without hitting limits, and full access to Opus 4.1 for architectural decisions and complex analysis.
Best For:
- Professional developers - Daily Claude Code usage who want the best model
- Large projects - Complex codebases and architecture work
- Maximum productivity - Unrestricted Claude Code workflow
API Pricing - Pay-Per-Use
Current API Rates (June 2025)
| Model | Input Tokens | Output Tokens | Context Window | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 4.1 Opus | $15.00 / 1M | $75.00 / 1M | 200K tokens | Complex reasoning, architecture |
| Claude 4 Sonnet | $3.00 / 1M ($6.00 / 1M for prompts >200K) | $15.00 / 1M ($22.50 / 1M for prompts >200K) | 1M tokens* | Daily development, large codebases |
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet | $3.00 / 1M | $15.00 / 1M | 200K tokens | Cost-effective development |
| Claude 3.5 Haiku | $0.80 / 1M | $4.00 / 1M | 200K tokens | Simple tasks, high volume |
*Claude 4 Sonnet's 1M token context window is currently available via API only. This feature is likely coming to Claude Max subscriptions in the future.
Extended Context Pricing: For prompts exceeding 200K tokens, Claude 4 Sonnet uses higher rates ($6.00 input / $22.50 output per 1M tokens) to account for increased processing costs and latency.
API Benefits: The API provides precise cost control by charging only for actual usage, with access to all models including latest releases and no usage limits for scaling as needed. Most notably, Claude 4 Sonnet via API offers a massive 1M token context window - perfect for loading entire codebases without chunking or context management issues. Enterprise features and custom configurations are also available.
API Considerations: However, costs can be variable and expensive with heavy usage, requiring monitoring of token usage and billing complexity.
Usage Monitoring and Optimization
Track Your Usage
For Subscription Users:
- CC Usage Tool: Install ccusage for detailed tracking
- Monitor patterns: Understand your typical monthly usage
- Optimize workflow: Use appropriate models for different tasks
For API Users:
- Anthropic Console: Monitor usage at console.anthropic.com
- Set alerts: Configure billing alerts to avoid surprises
- Token optimization: Use efficient prompting to reduce costs
Cost Optimization Tips
For model selection strategy, use Sonnet 4 for daily development work as it provides the best balance of capability and cost. Switch to Opus 4.1 only when you need complex analysis or architectural decisions. Use Haiku for simple, repetitive tasks to save costs, and try to batch similar tasks together to maximize efficiency.
For usage efficiency, employ strategic compacting with the /compact command to manage context costs, plan your sessions to minimize redundant processing, and use the /model command to switch between models and optimize cost per task type.
See Also: Model Comparison|Installation Guide|Getting Started|Is Claude Code Free|CC Usage Add-on
Choose the Claude pricing plan that matches your development needs and budget. For most Claude Code users, Claude Max provides the best value for professional development work.