Automate Basics

Claude: pricing, features and alternatives

Anthropic's AI assistant for writing, analysis, research and coding

Chat assistantsFree plan · from $17/mo

What is Claude?

Claude is an AI assistant made by Anthropic. It answers questions, drafts and edits documents, searches the web, runs code to analyse files and connects to other apps. Individuals use it on web, desktop and mobile. Paid plans add more usage and the Claude Code coding tool, and Team and Enterprise plans add admin controls for organisations.

Good for

  • Drafting and editing long documents and emails
  • Summarising and analysing uploaded files
  • Researching a topic with web search

Key features

  • Web search and file creation in chat
  • Code execution for analysing uploaded files
  • Memory and connections to other apps
  • Projects, task scheduling and Claude Design, Slides and Docs on paid plans
  • Chrome and Microsoft 365 extensions on paid plans
  • Developer API priced per million tokens

Limitations to know about

  • Claude Code, projects and task scheduling are not in the Free plan
  • Usage limits apply on Free and Pro; Max raises them 5x or 20x
  • Enterprise adds usage billed at API rates on top of the seat price

Claude pricing

Claude has a free plan. Paid plans start at $17 a month billed annually (Pro).

PlanPriceWhat you get
Free$0Chat, web search, file creation, code execution and memory
Pro$20/month, or $17/month billed annually ($200/year)More usage, projects, task scheduling, Claude Code, Claude Design, Slides and Docs
Max$100/month (5x) or $200/month (20x)5x or 20x Pro usage, higher output limits, priority access at busy times
TeamStandard $25/seat/month ($20 billed annually); Premium $125/seat/month ($100 billed annually)More usage than Pro, Claude Code on both seat types; Premium seats get 5x standard usage
Enterprise$20/seat/month billed annually, plus usage at API ratesSpend limits, role-based access, SCIM, audit logs, compliance API

Free plan limits: Chat on web, desktop and mobile with web search, file creation, code execution, memory, app connections and artifacts; less usage than Pro; no Claude Code or projects

Prices in US dollars as published on Claude's pricing page on 23 September 2026. Vendors change prices often; check theirs before you buy. Current prices

Claude alternatives

ChatGPT

OpenAI's AI chat assistant for writing, research, images, voice and coding

Chat assistantsFree plan · from $8/mo

Google Gemini

Google's AI assistant app, with paid Google AI plans for higher limits

Chat assistantsFree plan · from $4.99/mo

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft's free consumer AI assistant, with more use in Microsoft 365 plans

Chat assistantsFree plan · from $9.99/mo

Perplexity

AI answer engine that replies with cited sources from the web

Chat assistantsFree plan · from $17/mo

Mistral Vibe

Mistral AI's assistant for chat, work tasks and coding, now called Vibe

Chat assistantsFree plan · from $14.99/moFormerly Le Chat

Grok

AI assistant from xAI, now part of SpaceX, with real-time web and X search

Chat assistantsFree plan

Compare Claude with these side by side

Head to head: Claude vs ChatGPT · Claude vs Google Gemini

Guides that use Claude

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude free?

Claude has a free plan. Chat on web, desktop and mobile with web search, file creation, code execution, memory, app connections and artifacts; less usage than Pro; no Claude Code or projects. Paid plans start at $17/mo billed annually.

How much does Claude cost?

Claude's cheapest paid plan, Pro, costs $20 a month billed monthly, or $17 billed annually. Annual billing is $200 paid up front. Includes Claude Code. There is also an enterprise plan priced on request. Prices as published on Claude's pricing page on 23 September 2026.

What is Claude used for?

Claude is an AI assistant made by Anthropic. People use it for drafting and editing long documents and emails, summarising and analysing uploaded files and researching a topic with web search.

What are the alternatives to Claude?

Tools that do a similar job include ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity and Mistral Vibe. Each has its own page here with its plans, limits and prices.

Who makes Claude?

Claude is made by Anthropic, based in San Francisco, California, US. The company was founded in 2021.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from the pages below, read on the dates shown: Anthropic's own pages first, and a named public reference where they are silent.

  1. claude.com/pricing (plans, prices, features, Claude Code inclusion by plan, API prices) read 23 September 2026
  2. support.claude.com/en/articles/11049741-what-is-the-max-plan (Max 5x and Max 20x prices) read 23 September 2026
  3. code.claude.com/docs/en/overview (desktop app platforms and mobile apps) read 23 September 2026
  4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic (company founded and headquarters) read 23 September 2026

Compiled by from the sources above. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

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