Ultra at $200: Max 20x renamed, same price for its subscribers

In short

• Ultra: $200 a month, "10x Pro usage every week", no 5-hour limit for verified accounts, $200 in API credits a month.
• Not quite new: "The Max 20x plan is now called the Ultra plan". Max 20x subscribers move to it "with no price change".
• By our math, the "x" costs $20 a month on Pro, Max, and Ultra ($17 on annual Pro): no bulk discount.

What changed on the card

Before, according to the Internet Archive copy from October 30 at 13:11 UTC:

• Max cost "From $100", with no price shown for Max 20x;
• you chose "5x or 20x more usage than Pro", counted "per 5-hour session";
• API credits ran from $100 (Max 5x) to $200 a month (Max 20x).

Now, plain Max costs $100 for "5x Pro usage every 5 hours and every week".

The trap: the old "20x" was counted per 5-hour session, the new "10x" by the week. Not the same window: nothing says an ex-Max 20x week was cut in half.

Ultra's card boasts $200 in API credits, "up from $100 on Max". True against current Max. Except the old Max 20x was already getting $200 in credits a month. So its subscribers keep the same credits, under a new name, "with no price change". The old Max 20x price wasn't written on the archived grid: that $200 is my deduction, drawn from that sentence and from Ultra's price.

The bill, line by line

• The price: $200 a month, monthly only, excluding tax. Over 12 months: $2,400.
• The week: 10x Pro, that is, twice Max (5x) for twice its price ($200 versus $100).
• The 5 hours: removed for verified accounts. Automatic verification, "using factors like your account and payment history"; in the meantime, "a temporary limit applies", with no number.
• The API credits: $200 a month, $2,400 a year at most. No rollover ("Unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle"), and they don't pay for "Interactive Claude Code".

And the little line that caps it all: Anthropic "may limit your usage in other ways […] at our discretion".

Who it's worth it for

• You never touch the Max limit: Ultra would cost you $1,200 more a year (our math), for usage you don't consume.
• You code with Claude Code and you hit the 5 hours: $100 more a month for a doubled week, with no 5-hour limit once the account is verified. The API credits don't pay for that code.
• You also develop on the API: if the extra $100 in credits replaces API you would have paid for, the move from Max to Ultra costs you $0 net. If half expires, $600 a year goes up in smoke. Our math.
• You were on Max 20x: the move to Ultra is automatic, "with no price change". Your gauge is in Settings > Usage.

What we don't know yet

• The size of a "1x": "no fixed message count". Ten times an unknown is still an unknown.
• The old Max 20x week: not written on the October 30 grid.
• The temporary limit for unverified accounts: neither duration nor level.
• The "†" note on the API credits: called, never displayed; and no announcement post on Anthropic's blog.

Key terms

• 5-hour limit: budget refilled in full five hours after your first message.
• Weekly limit: second cap, reset to zero at a fixed time each week.
• API credits: money to call Claude from your own programs.
• Verified account: judged reliable by Anthropic based on its history and its payments.

About the source

• Who: Anthropic, publisher of Claude.
• Date: the archived copy from October 30, 2026 at 13:11 UTC still shows the old grid. The pricing page doesn't display an update date.
• Links: pricing page · What is the Ultra plan? · What is the Max plan? · monthly API credits · usage limits · archived copy from October 30

Source passages

Pages read on November 1, 2026 between 17:50 and 17:52 UTC. Amounts in dollars, excluding tax.

Show the 15 sources

Ref.	Quote (original language)	URL
S1↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5↑6+2	"Pro For everyday work $17 Per month with annual subscription discount ($200 billed up front). $20 if billed monthly." ; "Max For all-day work $100 Per month" ; "5x Pro usage every 5 hours and every week*" ; "Fable included, up to half your weekly limit" ; "$100 a month in API credits to build on the Claude Platform†" ; "Ultra For your longest tasks $200 Per month" ; "No 5-hour limit‡" ; "10x Pro usage every week*" ; "$200 a month in API credits, up from $100 on Max†" ; "*Usage limits apply. How fast you reach a limit depends on the model you use, how long your chats are, and how large your files are." ; "‡No 5-hour limit for verified accounts." ; "Prices shown don’t include applicable tax."	https://claude.com/pricing (www.anthropic.com/pricing redirects there)
S2↑1↑2↑3	"Limit every 5 hours Limited 1x 5x No 5-hour limit‡" ; "Limit every week Limited 1x 5x 10x" ; "Fable No Usage credits 50% of weekly limits* 50% of weekly limits*" ; "Monthly API credits† No No $100/month $200/month" ; "Both plans include Fable, our top model, for up to half your weekly limit" ; "there's no fixed message count" ; "we may limit your usage in other ways, such as weekly and monthly caps or model and feature usage, at our discretion"	same
S3↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5	"Max […] From $100 Per month" ; "Choose 5x or 20x more usage than Pro*" ; "$100 to $200/month in API credits to build on the Claude Platform†" ; "Max 5x […] Max 20x" ; "Monthly API credits† No No $100/month $200/month" ; "choose from 5x or 20x the usage of Pro per 5-hour session"	https://web.archive.org/web/20261030131132/https://claude.com/pricing
S4↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5↑6+3	"Get 10 times the Pro plan's usage every week." ; "The Max 20x plan is now called the Ultra plan. Existing Max 20x subscribers move to Ultra automatically, with no price change." ; "The Ultra plan is available for $200 per month." ; "This price is for web subscriptions only. Mobile pricing may vary" ; "The Ultra plan is currently available as a monthly subscription only." ; "Work at your own pace within your weekly limit." ; "Ultra plans have a weekly usage limit that applies across all models, and a separate weekly limit for Fable." ; "we automatically verify Ultra accounts using factors like your account and payment history" ; "If your account isn't verified yet, a temporary limit applies." ; "we may limit your usage in other ways […] at our discretion"	https://support.claude.com/en/articles/17728952
S5↑	"The Max plan is available for $100 per month." ; "The Max plan includes five times the Pro plan's usage every five hours and every week."	https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11049741
S6↑1↑2↑3	"Max $100 Ultra $200" ; "New subscribers can claim once they've been on an eligible plan for seven days." ; "The credits don't apply to: Interactive Claude Code in the terminal, IDE, desktop, or web" ; "Doesn't roll over. Unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle." ; "The credits don’t change your usage limits in Claude, Claude Code, or Claude Cowork."	https://support.claude.com/en/articles/17154008
S7↑1↑2↑3	"The period starts when you send your first message, and your limit resets in full five hours later." ; "Weekly limits reset at a fixed time each week that is assigned to your account." ; "Verified Ultra accounts don't have a five-hour limit." ; "You can see how much you've used and the time remaining under Current session in Settings > Usage."	https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11647753
R1↑	Our math: Ultra 200 × 12 = $2,400; Max 100 × 12 = $1,200 (excluding tax)	— (homemade math)
R2↑	Our math: Ultra's API credits 200 × 12 = $2,400 a year at most, only if they are all spent (no rollover)	— (homemade math)
R3↑1↑2↑3	Our math: price of a weekly "x" = 20 / 1 = 100 / 5 = 200 / 10 = $20; annual Pro $17	— (homemade math)
R4↑1↑2	Our math: Max → Ultra = +$100 a month, $1,200 a year; net $0 if the extra $100 in API credits are spent; $50 a month lost = $600 a year	— (homemade math)
R5↑	Our math: old Max 20x price not written on S3 ("From $100"); $200 deduced from "with no price change" + "$200 per month" S4	— (deduction)
R6↑1↑2	Side-by-side reading: the old "20x" is counted per 5-hour session S3, the new "10x" by the week S1; old weekly multiple absent from S3	—
R8↑	Reading: "†" called next to the API credits, no "†" note displayed at the bottom of the page; no post about Ultra in the anthropic.com/news list read on November 1 around 17:51 UTC	https://www.anthropic.com/news
R9↑	Chart: Python/PIL script, no generative AI, no reused image, no logo	—