I see people suggesting API subscription instead of normal web subscription can you please tell us the benefits

I'm trying to wrap my head around how Anthropic bills for the Claude API. Their pricing seems straightforward at first glance:

• X $ per million input tokens

• Y $ per million output tokens

But I'm not quite sure how this translates to actual billing. Does Anthropic:

1. Add up all input tokens across all API calls separately?

2. Add up all output tokens across all API calls separately?

3. Then charge based on these total counts?

Or is there more to it that I'm missing?

tl;dr: I am looking for an API that tells me how much credit I have with Anthropic but cannot find one. And I have some questions.. :)

Hi, all. I hope you are having a great day.

I've been using Anthropic APIs for my side project, which so far has been fun.

For an admin dashboard, I am looking for an API to show how much credit I have left with Anthropic, and to my surprise, I cannot find it in the official documentation.

Upon inspecting network calls when visiting Anthropic Console page, I can see that they already have an internal endpoint, which is https://console.anthropic.com/api/organizations/{org-id}/prepaid/credits ( I haven't tried hitting it from my app, but I image they have CORS enabled ).

I also see a few other existing (internal) endpoints that seem to be useful [0] to make public and also bake into client SDK, such as /invoice_balance*,* /invoices*,* and /current_spend. And the below are my questions

1. If billing APIs already exist and I missed, I am terribly sorry. Can someone kindly point me to relevant doc(s) please?

2. Does anyone know if Anthropic plans to release "billing APIs"?

3. Is there a process to request APIs, and perhaps we can vote candidate APIs as a community?

I searched this community first and failed to find a similar question, so I decided to post.

Thanks everyone!

Warm regards

[0] With billing APIs, a few example use cases I can see are

1. dynamically change AI model depending on the remaining balance

2. set alerts based on current usage / remaining balance / invoice

3. maybe, if an app were to be powered by donation, you could show the current credit when asking for donations?

Sorry if this is a dumb question.. but I'm pretty confused and haven't been able to find clear info on this.

I have a Claude subscription, which says it includes Claude Code. But I've had to pay specifically for API credits in order to use CC inside Cline/VSCode?

I've been using Replit to build an app, hit my usage limit extremely fast, and read online that using something like Claude Code inside Replit or with Cline/VSCode would be a cheaper and better option. I've seen several threads/videos online of people saying you can do this and Claude Code has generous usage limits per 5 hours.. but my experience so far with CC/Cline/VSCode has been that I paid for $5 in credits, and used up $2 in credits after a couple of prompts where I barely did anything. Am I missing something? I'm v new to this stuff with zero coding experience so apologies if I'm missing something obvious.

Can I not just pay for a CC subscription and use it till I hit my hourly/monthly/whatever limits? Or do I need to literally pay per prompt when I'm using it via API?

Hey r/ClaudeAI (and fellow devs!), Been diving deep into whether Anthropic's Max plans ($100/mo for "5x Pro" & $200/mo for "20x Pro") actually make sense if you're hammering away at the Claude Code terminal tool. Wanted to share my thoughts and a bit of a cost comparison against just using the API directly (for Code, Sonnet, and Opus). TL;DR: If you're a heavy, daily user of Claude Code (and Claude generally), especially if you want that sweet Opus power in Claude Code without the eye-watering Opus API prices, Max plans can be a great deal. For casual or light users, sticking with the API is probably still your best bet. So, How Do Max Plans Even Work with Claude Code? First off, your usage limits on Max plans are shared between your normal Claude chats (web/app) and whatever you do in Claude Code. It all comes from the same bucket.

• Max Plan $100 (they call it "5x Pro"):

  • You get roughly 50-200 prompts in Claude Code every 5 hours.

  • Access to both Sonnet 4 and the mighty Opus 4 within Claude Code. BUT, here's the catch: Opus will automatically flip over to Sonnet once you've used up 20% of your 5-hour limit with Opus.

• Max Plan $200 (the "20x Pro" beast):

  • A hefty 200-800 prompts in Claude Code every 5 hours.

  • Same deal: Sonnet 4 and Opus 4 access. For this tier, Opus switches to Sonnet after you burn through 50% of your 5-hour limit on Opus.

• And don't forget, Opus chews through your limits about 5 times faster than Sonnet does. Quick API Cost Refresher (per 1 million tokens):

• Claude Code (via API - it's Sonnet-based + "thinking tokens"):

  • Input: ~$3 / Output: ~$15 (that output cost includes "thinking tokens," which can make it pricier than you'd think for complex stuff).

• Claude Sonnet 4 API (direct):

  • Input: $3 / Output: $15.

• Claude Opus 4 API (direct - hold onto your wallet!):

  • Input: $15 / Output: $75. When Do Max Plans Actually Become "Worth It" for Claude Code?

• You're a Coding Machine (Daily, Heavy Use): If you're constantly in Claude Code and also using Claude for other tasks (writing, research, brainstorming), that $100 or $200 monthly fee might actually be cheaper than what you'd rack up in API fees.

  • Some reports suggest "moderate" daily Claude Code API use can hit $20-$40. If that's your baseline, the Max $100 plan (which works out to about $3.33/day) starts looking pretty good.

• You Crave Opus in Claude Code (Without Selling a Kidney): Getting Opus access within the Max plans is a massive cost saving compared to paying the direct Opus API rates. Even with the usage caps on Opus within the plan, it's a much more affordable way to tap into its power for those really tricky coding problems.

• You Like Knowing What You'll Pay: Fixed monthly cost. No surprise API bills that make your eyes water. Simple. When Might Sticking to the API Be Smarter?

• Light or Occasional Coder: If you only fire up Claude Code once in a blue moon, a $100/month subscription is probably overkill. Pay-as-you-go API is your friend.

• You Need Unrestricted Opus (and have deep pockets): If your workflow demands tons of continuous Opus through Claude Code, the Opus limits within the Max plans might still feel restrictive, and you might end up needing the pricey Opus API anyway.

• You're an API Cost-Saving Wizard: If you're savvy enough to properly implement and benefit from API features like prompt caching (can save up to 90%) or batch processing (50% off), you might be able to get your API costs lower than a Max plan. Heads-Up on a Few Other Things:

• Shared Limits are Key: Seriously, remember that Claude Code and regular Claude chat dip into the same 5-hour usage pool.

• Auto Model Downgrade: That switch from Opus to Sonnet in Claude Code on Max plans is automatic when you hit those percentage thresholds. It's not unlimited Opus all the time.

• "Thinking Tokens" Can Bite: If you use Claude Code via the API (like if your plan runs out and you opt into API credits), it's billed like Sonnet, but those "thinking tokens" for complex agentic tasks can add up.

• The ~50 Sessions/Month "Guideline": For Max plans, Anthropic mentions a "flexible guideline" of about 50 five-hour sessions a month. They say most people won't hit this (it's like 250 hours!), but if you're an extreme user, it's something to be aware of as they might impose limits. My Takeaway: It really boils down to your specific workflow. If you're a Claude Code power user, especially one who benefits from Opus, the Max plans offer genuine value and can save you money. For everyone else, the API's flexibility and pay-for-what-you-use model is probably still the way to go. Hope this breakdown helps someone out there trying to decide! What are your experiences with Max plans or Claude Code costs? Drop a comment!

Currently getting hit hard by new decreased Claude limits. I've never ran out of weekly limits before until the new updates, but after trying Codex and a few other alternatives I'm finding that results are a lot worse than CC.

Has anyone tried API usage billing with CC? What does the cost end up looking like for a typical days of usage?

I just paid for the Pro version of Claude. Downloaded Cursor and when I went to add the 'API key', it seems like I also need to pay for Anthropic?

I am a little confused. First time doing the Cursor IDE setup. I am a Rider dev.

I want to be able to use Cursor without any limitations. Not bragging but money is not a concern. I make enough as a Software Consultant to afford those memberships.

Also, I heard about bolt.new or something along those lines? I checked it out but it seems towards opinionated out-of-the-box frontend applications.

Any advice?

Thanks!!!

Hi all, I was using the Claude Opus API and this is kinda my first time using an API for an AI model. I was wondering if there are any tips or tricks when using an API to save on money. atm I have $5.00 to use on credit, and I noticed that if I write a prompt, and get an output, I can add that output to my chat or I can just continue and disregard whatever the model wrote and start anew. Is there any benefit to adding the old chats to the list for context, or does it become wayy to costly if I always do that?

Also what would be the most efficient way to use the API for personal use? Or should I just get a general subscription plan, which one would be better in the longrun do you think? Is there a fundamental difference between the API or subscription.

And it’s 10000% worth it!

Hi I dont get why API usage (like for Claude Code) has to be prepaid while we have a pro account that could offer this service, even with limitations.

Can someone explain this to me ?

Including api usage in Claude pro would give Anthropic new pro plan subscribers like me

And it’s 10000% worth it!

We’re introducing a new Usage and Cost API, giving you near real-time visibility into your Claude usage.

With this API you can:

• See how token consumption changes as you adjust prompts, agent architecture, and tool options

• Understand how you use tokens to improve prompt caching and token efficiency

• Analyze rates usage to avoid hitting rate limits

You can access this data via new integrations with Datadog, Honeycomb, and Grafana (coming soon), or build your own dashboards with the API.

To learn more about the Usage and Cost API, explore our documentation or cookbook to get started.

I'm trying to explore the new GitHub integration, and after some fussing around, I end up seeing it's asking for an API key, even though I'm on the Max plan?

Just curious how that works? Since Claude code is included in Max, and no API key billing is needed. Anybody experiment with this? Does it basically use API billing for any prompts sent directly through Github, instead of prompts sent through the terminal via Claude Code?

I was going to set this up for convenience, but if it's going to cost me more, idk if it's worth it on top of my $100/mo Max plan.

I'm using Claude Code in my terminal and logged in to my Pro account. According to Anthropic's support article when rate limit is reached, I should have the option to switch to pay-as-you-go usage with an Anthropic Console account. I just hit my rate limit and am presented with no options. What should I do to be able to resume my coding session with Console/API billing? I have a Console account with some pre-paid credit available.

I’ve been using Claude’s API for a bit, and honestly, the pricing model feels neither competitive nor fair compared to other offerings on the market.

I personally don’t think it’s efficient enough to justify the cost, especially when I compare it directly to GPT‑5. The value just doesn’t add up in terms of capability vs expense. I believe that the pricing of the GPT-5 API + the caching offered by OpenAI is for now, the best in the industry.

Which brings me to my next point. The caching mechanism is poorly designed (or at least underwhelming). It’s not automated, so a lot of optimization ends up falling back on the developer’s side. Even then, it’s often not very effective in practice.

This makes Claude really unreasonable for anyone trying to build a serious "AI‑powered" application. It can kill scalability right from the start.

I really want to like Claude, but between the high costs and the inefficient caching. That's quite the challenge.

tl;dr, $3 - $15 + the terrible caching is a very very very bad deal.

Anthropic plz fix.

Trying to understand what's better for me. At work we have Cursor Enterprise and I tried the top 3 models: Opus 4.5, GPT-5.1 (& Codex), Gemini 3 Pro.

I was incredibly happy with the results of Opus 4.5 (claude-opus-4.5-high). Didn't care about pricing because it's paid by work, and they don't want us using max mode anyway.

I have my own personal project. I just get the ChatGPT teams plan for $1 first month that has 5 seats. Invite myself to the other seats, use Codex, and when I'm running out of 5h/weekly limits I rotate accounts. GPT 5.1 High is decent, but super slow. The new Codex Max models are not very good, but they're fast, and burn through usage limits very quick. All the GPT models I've tried so far require a lot of iterations to actually get something done, so I just end up prompting for hours and feel like I could've done things quicker myself at that point.

So at work I noticed that Opus 4.5 just gets things done super quick. I haven't really followed to understand why it's faster despite being a huge model - I assume it just needs less reasoning tokens? No idea. But it works, and it's pretty good. Understands context incredibly well and barely ever needs to reiterate, actually follows instructions too.

So I want to replace my personal workflow with Opus 4.5 and I can't use my work Cursor account obviously for that. Had me wondering: if I only need to use it for agentic purposes - Claude Code, and none of Anthropic's other tools, what's the best for me? Claude's $100/$200 plans? Claude Code via API billing? Cursor's $20/$60 plans?

I highly recommend using Claude 3 Opus from the API, especially if you just want to try it out. It’s not free but the API doesn’t require an upfront flat fee and doesn’t have rate limits etc!

There’s some options for desktop like TypingMind.

For iOS I wanted to suggest my app called Pal Chat that lets you use your own API Key to chat with Claude, and it’s completely free to download: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pal-ai-chat-client/id6447545085

(The app also has no backend and takes absolutely no usage data. You can verify this by going to the app privacy report in iOS settings!)

Considering that a single full 200k input with 30k output is 1$ which you can do easily like 60-70 times on 5x max per 5 hours.