Claude Code cost per month (Oct 2026): API vs Pro/Max, calculated
Updated 2026-10-25. Plan prices checked on claude.com/pricing on Oct 24, 2026.
You can pay for Claude Code two ways: a Claude subscription (Pro or Max, usage limits apply) or pay-as-you-go API tokens through a Console account. Below is the API bill at three usage levels next to the plan prices, and the number of tasks where the plan becomes cheaper.
Claude plan prices (official)
| Plan | Price | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | No |
| Pro | $20/month billed monthly, or $17/month billed annually ($200 up front) | Yes |
| Max 5x | From $100/month, includes $100/month in API credits | Yes, 5x Pro usage |
| Max 20x | Higher tier, 20x Pro usage, includes $200/month in API credits (check the page for its current price) | Yes |
Source: claude.com/pricing. Usage limits reset on a rolling 5-hour window with weekly limits on paid plans; Anthropic publishes no fixed message count, so a plan may not cover heavy usage.
Monthly API cost by usage level
| Model | Input / cached / output $ per 1M | Per task | Light (5/day) | Medium (20/day) | Heavy (60/day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $2 / $0.1 / $10 | $0.11 | $11.99 | $47.96 | $143.88 |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $4 / $0.2 / $20 | $0.22 | $23.98 | $95.92 | $287.76 |
Break-even: when a plan beats the API
Break-even tasks per month = plan price / API cost per task.
| Model on API | Pro $20 | Max 5x $100 |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | 183 tasks (~8.3/day) | 917 tasks (~41.7/day) |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | 92 tasks (~4.2/day) | 459 tasks (~20.9/day) |
Below these numbers the API is cheaper; above them the plan is cheaper, as long as your usage stays within the plan's limits. When you hit a limit you can wait, upgrade, or pay for extra usage at standard API rates.
Usage assumptions
These are our assumptions, not measurements. Change them in the calculator to match your own usage.
- One task = one coding request with 100,000 input tokens (file context, tool results and history summed over all the agent's calls) and 8,000 output tokens.
- 90% of input tokens are cache hits, billed at the cached-input price. Cache-write fees are left out, so real API costs can be a little higher.
- Light = 5 tasks a day, medium = 20, heavy = 60, over 22 working days a month.
- API prices are standard tier, short context, from models.json (last updated 2026-10-25).
Run your own numbers
Open the TokenTab calculator Claude Code vs Codex cost
For measured costs on real tasks, see our coding agent cost per task page.
Interactive: Subscription vs API calculator for your own usage, model and tool overhead.