Executive Summary:
- Anthropic appears to have removed access to Claude Code for its $20-a-month "Pro" Plans.
- Current Pro users appear to still have access via the Claude web app.
- Claude Code support documents exclusively refer to accessing Claude Code via "your Max Plan," after previously saying you could access "with your Pro or Max Plan."
In developing news, Anthropic appears to have removed access to AI coding tool Claude Code from its $20-a-month "Pro" accounts. This is likely another cost-cutting move that follows a recent change (per The Information) that forced enterprise users to pay on a per-million-token based rate rather than having rate limits that were, based on researchers' findings, often much higher than the cost of the subscription.
Update: Anthropic's Amol Avasare claims that it is "...running a small test on ~2% of new prosumer signups. Existing Pro and Max subscribers aren't affected." This does not really make sense given the fact that all support documents and the Claude website reflect that Pro users do not have access to Claude Code.I am waiting for further comment.
Previously, users were able to access Claude using their Pro subscriptions via a command-line interface and both the web and desktop Claude apps. Users were, instead of paying on a per-million-token basis, allowed to use their subscription to access Claude Code, but will likely now have to pay for API access.
Anthropic's Claude Code support documents (as recently as this April 10th archived page) previously read "Using Claude Code with your Pro or Max plan." The page now reads "Using Claude Code with your Max plan."
Pricing on Anthropic's website reflects the removal of Claude Code on both mobile and desktop.
Some Pro users report that they are still able to access Claude Code via the web app and Command-Line Interface.
It is unclear at this time whether this change is retroactive or for new Pro subscribers, or whether Anthropic intends to entirely remove access to Claude Code (without paying for API tokens) from every Pro customer.
I have requested a comment from Anthropic, and will update this piece when I receive it, or if Anthropic confirms this move otherwise.
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