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Claude

by Anthropic · San Francisco, USA

Best for long documents, careful reasoning, and serious coding work.

Founded Mar 2023
Lowest plan Free
Top plan $200/mo
API range $1–$50 / 1M
Visit Claude ↗ Updated September 7, 2026
§ Quick answer

Is Claude free?

Yes — Claude has a free tier you can use without paying anything. Paid plans start at $20/mo.

§ Pricing

All plans, in full.

Free
Free
Free
  • Claude Sonnet 5
  • Limited daily usage
  • Projects
  • Chat history
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Pro
$20 /mo
Claude Pro · $17/mo with annual ($200 upfront)
  • Fable 5.1 + Opus 5 + Sonnet 5
  • Fable 5.1 (replaced Fable 5 Sep 1) via usage credits only (since Jul 20); $100 credit was claimable Jul 20-Aug 2
  • ~45 msgs / 5 hr
  • Research access
  • Claude for Microsoft 365
  • Extended thinking
Sign up →
Max
$100–200 /mo
Claude Max
  • Opus 5 default model
  • Fable 5.1 included (≤50% of weekly limit, ongoing)
  • $100: 5× Pro usage
  • $200: 20× Pro usage
  • Highest limits
  • Priority support
Sign up →

The honest take

Best for long documents, careful reasoning, and serious coding work.

Best for: Document analysis, research papers, nuanced writing, software engineering

Where it falls short: No image or video generation; smaller usage caps than ChatGPT

What you actually get

  • Writing
  • Coding
  • Documents
  • Reasoning
  • Vision
  • Research

Pricing history

Jul 2023
Claude.ai launched (free tier)
Jul 2023
Claude Pro at $20/mo
Aug 2025
Max tier added at $100 / $200
Apr 2026
Opus 4.7 ships, Sonnet 4.6 to free
May 28, 2026
Opus 4.8 released; fast mode cut to $10/$50 per 1M
Jun 9, 2026
Fable 5 released at $10/$50 per 1M; on Pro/Max/Team free until Jun 22
Jun 12, 2026
Fable 5 & Mythos 5 suspended for all users after US gov export-control directive; Opus 4.8 unaffected
Jun 30, 2026
Claude Sonnet 5 released; API $3/$15 per 1M (intro $2/$10 to Aug 31)
Jul 1, 2026
US lifts export controls (Jun 30); Fable 5 & Mythos 5 restored globally at unchanged $10/$50 per 1M
Jul 7, 2026
Fable 5 included window on Pro/Max/Team extended to Jul 20 (from Jul 7)
Jul 20, 2026
Included Fable 5 window ends: Max/Team Premium keep it at ≤50% of weekly limit permanently; Pro/Team Standard move to pure usage-credit billing ($10/$50 rate), with a one-time $100 credit
Jul 24, 2026
Claude Opus 5 released; API $5/$25 per 1M (same as 4.8); default on Max, strongest on Pro
Aug 10, 2026
Sonnet 5's $2/$10 intro rate made permanent standard pricing; scheduled Sep 1 increase to $3/$15 cancelled
Sep 1, 2026
Claude Fable 5.1 released, replacing Fable 5 at the same $10/$50 per 1M price; cache-read price cut 75% to $0.25

Should you pay for it?

The free tier of Claude is good enough for casual use. Pay $20 only when you start hitting daily caps or need access to the better models.

API model pricing pages

Plan deep dives

§ FAQ

Common questions, answered.

Is Claude free?

Yes — Claude has a free tier you can use without paying anything. Paid plans start at $20/mo.

How much does Claude cost in 2026?

Claude pricing in 2026: Free — $0; Claude Pro — $20/mo; Claude Max — $100–200/mo. Full plan-by-plan details are in the table above.

What does the free version of Claude include?

The free tier includes: Claude Sonnet 5, Limited daily usage, Projects, Chat history.

Is Claude Pro worth $20/mo?

The free tier of Claude is good enough for casual use. Pay $20 only when you start hitting daily caps or need access to the better models.

§ Compare

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