Claude plans compared
An assistant made by Anthropic that you type questions to. It writes, explains, reads your files and helps with computer code. Claude currently sells 4 plans in the US, from $0 a month. Here is what each one includes and who it suits.
Which Claude plan is right for you?
Answer a few plain-English questions and we'll check your answers against every plan. Takes about a minute. No account needed.
Current Claude plans and prices
Verified September 21, 2026 from Claude's official pages. Prices are before tax and can change.
Free
$0 a month
Best for: Trying it out, or asking a handful of questions a day.
- How much you can use it before it makes you waitA small amount each day
- How smart the answers areThe everyday version
- Help with writing computer programsNot included
- Long, thorough research reportsNot included
- Getting served first when the service is busyNot included
- Keeping your chats in foldersIncluded
- Sending it your own documents and photosIncluded
Pro
$20 a month
or $200 a year
Best for: Most people who use it every day for work, study or writing.
- How much you can use it before it makes you waitEnough for regular everyday use
- How smart the answers areThe most capable version, for difficult work
- Help with writing computer programsIncluded
- Long, thorough research reportsIncluded
- Getting served first when the service is busyNot included
- Keeping your chats in foldersIncluded
- Sending it your own documents and photosIncluded
Max 5x
$100 a month
Best for: Heavy daily users who keep running out of room on Pro.
- How much you can use it before it makes you waitAbout five times the everyday amount
- How smart the answers areThe most capable version, for difficult work
- Help with writing computer programsIncluded
- Long, thorough research reportsIncluded
- Getting served first when the service is busyIncluded
- Keeping your chats in foldersIncluded
- Sending it your own documents and photosIncluded
Max 20x
$200 a month
Best for: People using it for many hours every day, especially for programming.
- How much you can use it before it makes you waitAbout twenty times the everyday amount
- How smart the answers areThe most capable version, for difficult work
- Help with writing computer programsIncluded
- Long, thorough research reportsIncluded
- Getting served first when the service is busyIncluded
- Keeping your chats in foldersIncluded
- Sending it your own documents and photosIncluded
What actually differs between the plans
Only 5 things change as you move up the Claude plans: how much you can use it before it makes you wait, how smart the answers are, help with writing computer programs, long, thorough research reports, getting served first when the service is busy. Everything else is the same on every plan, so those are the only questions worth asking yourself.
| Plan | Price | How much you can use it before it makes you wait | How smart the answers are | Help with writing computer programs | Long, thorough research reports | Getting served first when the service is busy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | A small amount each day | The everyday version | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Pro | $20/mo | Enough for regular everyday use | The most capable version, for difficult work | Included | Included | Not included |
| Max 5x | $100/mo | About five times the everyday amount | The most capable version, for difficult work | Included | Included | Included |
| Max 20x | $200/mo | About twenty times the everyday amount | The most capable version, for difficult work | Included | Included | Included |
Head-to-head comparisons
Common questions about Claude plans
Is the free version good enough for most people?
For a few questions a day, yes. You get the everyday models, web search and file uploads. You will notice the limits if you use it for an hour or more at a time, and you cannot use the coding tool or the long research reports.
How do the limits actually work?
There is an allowance that refills every five hours, and a larger one that refills once a week on a fixed day. If you run out, Claude tells you when it will start working again. Nothing is charged automatically.
Is Max worth twice Pro, or ten times Pro?
Only if you regularly hit the Pro limit. Max 5x and Max 20x have the same features as Pro; you are paying purely for more room to use it. If you have never seen a limit message on Pro, Max will not do anything for you.
Can I pay yearly to save money?
Only on Pro. Paying for a year up front costs $200, which works out at about $17 a month instead of $20. The Max plans are month by month only.
Where this information comes from
- Plans & Pricing – Claude by Anthropic ↗ – checked September 21, 2026
- What is the Max plan? – Claude Help Center ↗ – checked September 21, 2026
Checked 21 September 2026. Prices for Pro and Free come from claude.com/pricing; the Max prices come from Anthropic's help centre, because the pricing page shows both Max tiers as "From $100 per month" behind a switch. Usage-limit wording ("5x" and "20x") is Anthropic's own; Anthropic does not publish a message count, so the usage_limit ordinal reflects their multiples rather than a measured number. Paid plans can also buy extra usage credits on top; that is a top-up, not a plan.
BetterTier is not affiliated with Claude. Plan names are used only to identify the plans being compared.