Claude Code pricing: which plan includes it and what usage costs
Claude Code comes with any paid Claude plan, from $200 a year with Pro (about $16.67 a month; Anthropic rounds it to $17). If you prefer to pay for what you use, the API charges per million tokens.
Plans that include Claude Code
Every paid plan includes it. The free one does not.
| Plan | Monthly payment | Annual payment | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | $20 a month | $200 a year (about $16.67 a month; Anthropic rounds it to $17) | One person. Includes Claude Code. |
| Max 5x | $100 a month | Monthly only | One person. 5 times the usage of Pro per session. |
| Max 20x | $200 a month | Monthly only | One person. 20 times the usage of Pro per session. |
| Team standard | $25 per person a month | $20 per person a month | 2 to 150 people. |
| Team premium | $125 per person a month | $100 per person a month | Can be mixed with standard. 5 times the usage of standard. |
| Enterprise | Not applicable | $20 per person a month, plus usage at API rates | Minimum 20 people. Annual only. |
Claude Code usage comes out of the same pool as Claude chat. Limits renew in 5-hour windows and the paid plans add a weekly limit. The detail of each plan is in Claude pricing.
The other option: pay for what you use with the API
You can also use Claude Code with an Anthropic Console account, which is paid by tokens.
A token is a piece of a word that the AI counts. Anthropic charges per million tokens (MTok), with one price for what you send it (input) and another for what it replies (output). It works like a taxi versus a transport pass: you pay for the distance, and a month of heavy use can cost more than the flat fee.
| Model | Input | Output | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fable 5.1 | $10 | $50 | According to Anthropic: next-generation intelligence for long-running agents. |
| Opus 5.5 | $4 | $20 | According to Anthropic: the daily driver for agentic coding and enterprise work. |
| Sonnet 5.5 | $2 | $10 | According to Anthropic: a high-performance model for coding and agents. |
| Haiku 5.5, prompts up to 100,000 tokens | $0.10 | $0.50 | According to Anthropic: the fastest, most cost-efficient model. |
| Haiku 5.5, prompts over 100,000 tokens | $0.50 | $2.50 | Second price tier. |
- Batch processing saves 50%.
- Inference only in the United States multiplies the input and output price by 1.1.
- Prompt caching has its own prices: for Sonnet 5.5, for example, reading from the cache costs $0.10 per MTok and writing costs $2.50.
- Earlier models stay on the list at other prices (for example Sonnet 4.6, $3 input and $15 output). They are on the pricing page under "Legacy models".
We do not give an average cost per session because Anthropic does not publish one and it depends on how much Claude Code reads and writes in your project. If you want a figure of your own, try a week of your real work and measure.
Plan or API
Our reading of the published prices: if you will use it every day, a paid plan gives you a fixed, known cost. The API fits when usage is irregular or you connect it to a program of your own. Max also includes monthly API credits ($100 on Max 5x, $200 on Max 20x), and Team up to $500 a month shared.
Before choosing, install it with Pro for a month and see whether you reach the limit. Source for every amount: claude.com/pricing, checked on 16 Oct 2026.
Frequently asked questions about Claude Code pricing
How much does Claude Code cost?
Claude Code is included in every paid plan: Pro from $200 a year (about $16.67 a month; $20 a month if you pay monthly), Max from $100 a month, Team from $20 per person a month with annual payment, and Enterprise. It can also be used with an API account, paying for what you use. Prices are in US dollars excluding tax, checked on 16 October 2026.
Is Claude Code free?
No. The free Claude plan does not include Claude Code.
Does Claude Code use the same allowance as chat?
Yes. On the Pro and Max plans, Claude and Claude Code share the same limits: a 5-hour window and a weekly limit.
What is a token?
A piece of a word that the AI counts as it reads and writes. API rates are charged per million tokens (MTok), with one price for what you send it and a higher one for what it replies.
Take it to the tasks in your office
Claude now brings Claude Code's capabilities to work that is not coding (this used to be called Cowork). We practise it in the course, with dates to be confirmed.