Verified against Anthropic Help Center & Pricing on · Updated
Claude usage credits: how extra usage works, what it costs, and how to enable it
Claude Usage Credits are an optional pay-as-you-go feature that lets eligible paid plans continue working when they reach their included 5-hour session or weekly limits. Pro and Max individuals use prepaid Usage Credits, Team organizations pre-purchase a shared Usage Credit balance, and legacy seat-based Enterprise contracts bill Usage Credits at the end of the billing period based on actual consumption. Current usage-based Enterprise does not use Usage Credits as an overflow mechanism because it has no included allowance to exhaust.
Allows you to keep prompting after included limits run out. Pro and Max use prepaid credits, Teams pre-purchase a shared balance, and legacy seat-based Enterprise bills consumption at period end.
Available to individual Pro, Max 5×, and Max 20× subscribers. Team and legacy seat-based Enterprise members can use credits once an Owner enables them. Current usage-based Enterprise does not use credits as an overflow mechanism. Free accounts are not eligible.
Billed per token based on the model and context used. You can pay standard rates or prepay through discounted usage bundles ($50, $250, $1,000) that save 10% to 30%.
Turn on credits and set spending limits on the Claude web app. If your subscription was purchased through mobile app stores, credits must still be activated and funded on the web.
What happens when you hit your limit
All prompts in Claude on the web, desktop, mobile, and subscription-authenticated Claude Code draw from your plan's included allowance first. Your Usage Credits balance remains untouched while included capacity is available.
Limit notices and confirmation
Anthropic warns users when included limits are approaching or reached. Without credits enabled, new prompts pause until the stated reset time (5-hour limit reached - resets [time]). When Usage Credits are enabled and funded, Claude confirms that you will continue working using credits (5-hour limit resets [time] - continuing with usage credits). If you are paused right now, the limit reached checklist compares credits with every other way to keep working.
Metered token draw
Once you continue past included limits, prompts are billed incrementally at standard Anthropic API rates for the model and tokens processed—drawn from prepaid credits on Pro, Max, and Team, or billed at the end of the billing period on legacy seat-based Enterprise.
Scheduled reset timing continues normally
Using credits does not delay, advance, or alter your regular 5-hour session or weekly account reset times. Your included limits continue to reset normally when their scheduled reset time arrives.
Separate tracking and spend controls
Anthropic displays included usage and Usage Credit consumption separately in the Usage dashboard. You can review your remaining credit balance, check Month-to-Date (MTD) spend, adjust monthly spend caps, set up optional auto-reload, or disable credits at any time.
Plan eligibility and how to turn them on
Usage Credit administration depends on whether you have an individual subscription or an organization workspace:
| Plan | Eligibility | How to Enable and Administer |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Free | Not eligible | Cannot use credits. Prompts pause under a session limit that resets every five hours. |
| Claude Pro ($20/mo) | Eligible | Subscribers enable and fund credits individually in Settings › Usage on the web. |
| Claude Max 5× & 20× | Eligible | Subscribers enable and fund credits individually in Settings › Usage on the web to work past 5× or 20× limits. |
| Claude Team | Eligible | An Owner or Primary Owner enables credits in Organization settings › Usage, pre-purchases a shared credit balance, and sets spend limits. |
| Enterprise (Legacy Seat-Based) | Eligible | An Owner enables credits. Billed in arrears on actual consumption during the billing period rather than requiring pre-purchase. Members can click “Request usage credits” in-app. |
| Enterprise (Current Usage-Based) | Not applicable | Does not use Usage Credits as an overflow feature. There is no included plan quota to exhaust; all token usage is billed directly on consumption from the first token. |
For Pro and Max individuals
- Log in to Claude on the web (
claude.ai). - Go to Settings › Usage.
- Under Usage credits, click Enable and add payment details.
- Configure your monthly spending cap: specify a custom dollar limit or select unlimited (subject to Anthropic's $2,000 daily redemption limit).
- Add funds directly, or choose Buy usage to purchase a discounted bundle. You can also turn on optional auto-reload.
For Team and organization workspaces
- An Owner or Primary Owner navigates to Organization settings › Usage.
- Click Enable under Usage credits.
- On Team plans, Owners pre-purchase a shared credit pool for the organization.
- Set spending limits: on Team plans, Owners can configure an organization-wide monthly cap or set individual user spend limits. Seat-tier spend limits are specific to legacy seat-based Enterprise plans.
- On legacy seat-based Enterprise contracts, usage is billed on actual monthly consumption rather than requiring pre-purchase, and members see a “Request usage credits” button when reaching limits.
What Usage Credits cost: standard rates and discounted bundles
Anthropic does not charge a flat hourly rate or a universal “cost per conversation” for Usage Credits. Charges are based strictly on actual token consumption at Anthropic's standard API rates, or prepaid through discounted bundles, so the same workloads that drain your included allowance quickly also spend credits quickly.
What one Claude Code task cost at API list prices
Because credits are billed at API rates, the most concrete figures we have come from our Claude Code cost study. One Next.js feature build had a median cost of $0.0925 on Sonnet 5.5 High and $0.4456 on Opus 5.5 High in a fresh session. The same Opus task as the next turn of a conversation already holding about 205,000 tokens had a median of $1.5157, and building that context from scratch cost about $1.67 on its own. These are list prices before any bundle discount, for one task; your own work can cost much more or less.
Standard API token billing
Extra usage is debited at published Anthropic API rates per million tokens for the specific model invoked (Haiku, Sonnet, or Opus).
- Different models have different input and output token rates.
- Conversation history, attached files, and codebases increase input tokens.
- Generated completions and reasoning traces are metered as output tokens.
- Standard API prompt caching rates apply to repeated context where supported.
Discounted usage bundles
Subscribers on Pro, Max, and Team plans can pre-purchase usage credits in official bundles to receive an automatic discount between 10% and 30%:
- $50 bundle: Costs $45 (10% discount, save $5)
- $250 bundle: Costs $200 (20% discount, save $50)
- $1,000 bundle: Costs $700 (30% discount, save $300)
Bundles are purchased in Settings › Usage under “Buy usage”.
| Bundle Credit Value | Discount | You Pay | Your Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50 | 10% off | $45 | Save $5 |
| $250 | 20% off | $200 | Save $50 |
| $1000 | 30% off | $700 | Save $300 |
Monthly purchase caps on discounted bundles
- Pro and Max subscribers: Can purchase up to $2,000 worth of discounted bundles per month.
- Team Owners and Primary Owners: Can purchase up to $3,000 worth of discounted bundles per month.
- Usage beyond bundle caps: You can continue using Usage Credits after reaching your monthly bundle limit, but subsequent usage is billed at standard rates without bundle discounts.
Where credits work and expiration rules
Supported surfaces and products
Your Usage Credit or bundle balance functions as a single unified pool across all interfaces authenticated with your Claude account:
- Claude on the web (
claude.ai) - Claude Desktop (macOS and Windows apps)
- Claude Mobile apps (iOS and Android)
- Claude Code CLI (when using subscription authentication)
- Claude Cowork
- Supported third-party tools authenticated with your Claude account
Expiration policies
In most cases, Claude Usage Credits do not expire. Unused balances remain in your account until drawn down by future sessions.
In certain jurisdictions such as Japan, Usage Credits expire six months after purchase for purchases subject to the rule starting September 10, 2026. Anthropic states affected users receive an email notification seven days prior to expiration, and expiration dates appear directly in Settings › Usage.
Claude subscription credits vs. Anthropic API Console credits
Because Anthropic uses the word “credits” in both products, users often assume the balances are shared. They are completely separate billing systems:
| System | Claude Subscription Usage Credits | Anthropic API Console Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Where managed | claude.ai › Settings › Usage | console.anthropic.com › Billing |
| What they fund | Extra usage on Claude web, desktop, mobile, and subscription Claude Code | Developer API keys (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY) for custom applications |
| Discounted bundles | Available (10% to 30% off) | Not applicable |
| Transferable? | Cannot be used for API key calls | Cannot fund Claude subscription limits |
Depositing funds in the Anthropic API Console will not unblock an exhausted Pro or Team limit on Claude.ai, and purchasing Usage Credits on Claude.ai will not provide balance for software running with an API key.
Frequently asked questions
What are Claude Usage Credits?
Claude Usage Credits are an optional pay-as-you-go mechanism that allows eligible paid plans to continue using Claude after reaching included 5-hour session or weekly limits. Pro and Max individuals use prepaid Usage Credits, Team organizations pre-purchase a shared Usage Credit balance, and legacy seat-based Enterprise contracts bill Usage Credits at the end of the billing period based on actual consumption. Current usage-based Enterprise does not use Usage Credits as an overflow mechanism because it has no included allowance to exhaust.
Where do I enable Claude Usage Credits?
Individual Pro and Max subscribers enable Usage Credits in the Claude web application at Settings › Usage. If your subscription was purchased through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store on a mobile device, you must still activate and fund Usage Credits in the Claude web app.
What happens when my plan limit resets while I am using credits?
Usage Credits do not change normal reset timing. Your included 5-hour session allowance and weekly account limits continue to reset on their regular schedule. Anthropic displays included usage and credit consumption separately in Settings › Usage.
How much do Claude Usage Credits cost?
Standard Usage Credits are billed on actual token consumption at Anthropic's published API rates per million tokens for the specific model used. There is no flat hourly fee or fixed session price; costs depend on the model selected, input and conversation context length, file attachments, and output tokens generated.
What are Claude usage bundles and how much do they save?
Usage bundles allow Pro, Max, and Team subscribers to prepay for usage credits at a discount: a $50 bundle costs $45 (10% off), a $250 bundle costs $200 (20% off), and a $1,000 bundle costs $700 (30% off). Pro and Max subscribers can purchase up to $2,000 in discounted bundles per month, and Team Owners can purchase up to $3,000 per month.
Can Team members enable Usage Credits for themselves?
No. On Team and legacy seat-based Enterprise plans, an Owner or Primary Owner must enable Usage Credits centrally in Organization settings › Usage. On Team plans, Owners pre-purchase a shared credit balance and can set organization-wide or individual user spend limits. Seat-tier spend limits are specific to legacy seat-based Enterprise plans.
Do Claude Usage Credits expire?
In most cases, Claude Usage Credits do not expire. However, in certain jurisdictions such as Japan, Usage Credits expire six months after purchase for purchases subject to the rule starting September 10, 2026. Affected users receive a warning before expiration and can view expiration dates in Settings › Usage.
Can I use my Usage Credit balance in Claude Code?
Yes. When Claude Code is authenticated with your Claude Pro, Max, or Team subscription, it draws from the same unified credit balance pool across Claude on the web, desktop, and mobile.
Can I transfer credits between the Claude app and Anthropic API Console?
No. Claude subscription Usage Credits (managed at claude.ai) and Anthropic API Console credits (managed at console.anthropic.com) are completely separate systems. They cannot be transferred, interchanged, or used to fund the other platform.
Verified documentation sources
- Anthropic Help Center: Manage usage credits for paid Claude plans ↗Pro/Max eligibility, spend controls, auto-reload, and expiration policy
- Anthropic Help Center: Buy usage bundles ↗$50 (10%), $250 (20%), and $1,000 (30%) discounted bundles and monthly purchase caps
- Anthropic Help Center: Manage usage credits for Team and Enterprise plans ↗Centralized pooled credits, admin controls, and credit requests
- Anthropic API Pricing ↗Per-million token rates across Claude models