Free Claude plan calculator · No signup

Pro, Max, or API, which pays off?

Tell it how you actually use Claude Code and get a straight answer: the cheapest plan that fits, what your usage is worth at API prices, and when you'd hit each plan's limits.

Model mix
How you use it

≈ 14h/week (14h Sonnet) · API-equivalent ~$480/month

◆Pro fits your usage and costs $20/mo vs ~$480/mo at API prices, you'd be getting ~24.0× the value.
  • $Pay-as-you-go API, ~$480/moYour usage priced at API rates. Every subscription below that number is a discount.
  • ✓Pro, $20/mo · RECOMMENDEDFits comfortably. Your ~14h Sonnet/week sits under the expected floor (40h). Comfortable headroom. Sonnet in Claude Code. No meaningful Opus access.
  • ✓Max 5x, $100/mo Fits comfortably. Your ~14h Sonnet/week sits under the expected floor (140h + 15h Opus). Comfortable headroom. ≈5× Pro limits, real Opus access.
  • ✓Max 20x, $200/mo Fits comfortably. Your ~14h Sonnet/week sits under the expected floor (240h + 24h Opus). Comfortable headroom. ≈20× Pro limits, built for all-day agents.

Estimates only, limits are dynamic and vary with codebase size, caching, and demand. Prices as of July 2026.

Free · instant · based on published prices and Anthropic's expected-usage ranges

The plans

Claude Pro vs Max 5x vs Max 20x vs API

All four buy the same models, what changes is how much usage is bundled, and whether Opus is realistically available.

🟢

Pro, $20/mo

Everyday tier: Claude apps + Claude Code with ~40–80 Sonnet hours/week expected. The default for most developers; no meaningful Opus.

🔵

Max 5x, $100/mo

≈5× Pro's limits plus real Opus access (~15–35 h/week). The sweet spot for daily multi-hour Claude Code work.

🟣

Max 20x, $200/mo

≈20× Pro. For people running Claude Code (and subagents) most of the day, every day. Heavy users extract thousands of $ in API-equivalent value.

⚙️

API, pay-as-you-go

No caps, no monthly fee, you pay per token. Cheapest for light/bursty use, most expensive for daily grinding. Also what teams use for CI and automation.

How limits work

5-hour windows, weekly caps, dynamic ceilings

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The 5-hour session window

Usage is tracked in rolling 5-hour windows that start with your first message. Hit the window cap and you wait for it to reset, this is the limit casual users feel.

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The weekly cap

On top of session windows there's an overall weekly ceiling (resets every 7 days). This is the one heavy Claude Code users hit, it's why the calculator reports usage per week.

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Why 'expected ranges', not numbers

Anthropic publishes ranges (like 40–80 Sonnet hours/week on Pro) because actual consumption depends on codebase size, conversation length, caching, and current demand. Big monorepo + long sessions = the low end.

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Opus burns ~5× faster

Opus tokens cost about five times Sonnet's, and plans meter them accordingly. If you default to Opus, expect your effective hours to shrink dramatically, the mix selector above models exactly this.

FAQ

Claude plan questions

Is Claude Max worth it?+
If you use Claude Code more than ~2 hours a day, almost certainly. At moderate intensity that's ~$300+/month of API-equivalent usage, 3× the price of Max 5x. Run your numbers above; the multiple is usually the convincing part.
Can I use Claude Code on the Pro plan?+
Yes, Pro includes Claude Code with Sonnet. What Pro doesn't give you is meaningful Opus access or the headroom for long agentic sessions; that's what the Max tiers add.
What happens when I hit my limit?+
Claude tells you which window you've exhausted and when it resets (session windows reset within 5 hours; the weekly cap on a 7-day cycle). On Max plans you can also fall back to API billing for the gap if you've connected a key.
Should I just use an API key instead?+
Only if your usage is light, bursty, or automated (CI pipelines, scripts). For steady interactive coding, subscriptions bundle tokens at a steep effective discount, the calculator shows the exact multiple for your pattern.
Do these numbers include Claude.ai chat usage?+
The plan limits are shared across Claude.ai, the apps, and Claude Code. The calculator models Claude Code hours since that's what dominates most developers' usage; add a bit of headroom if you also chat heavily.
How do I see my real usage?+
Run npx ccusage@latest for API-equivalent spend from Claude Code's local logs, or /usage inside Claude Code for your live plan meters. Then feed the reality back into this calculator, and turn it into a shareable card with our Claude Code Wrapped tool.
Go further

Whatever plan you pick, ship faster on it

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Most popular

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