Anthropic rebrands Max tiers and removes five-hour cap for verified Ultra users

Anthropic has renamed its two Claude Max subscription plans and removed the five-hour usage limit on the more expensive tier. The $100-a-month Max 5x plan is now called Max, while the $200-a-month Max 20x plan is now called Ultra. The company said prices remain unchanged. The shift was announced publicly on Friday and affects the top end of Anthropic’s consumer and professional subscription lineup.

The change is not only a naming exercise. For verified Ultra subscribers, the rolling five-hour limit that previously reset throughout the day is gone. Weekly limits remain in place, and many newer accounts will stay under a temporary cap until Anthropic completes a verification step. That makes the announcement both a product change and an account-security measure.

Key facts at a glance

• Anthropic renamed Max 5x as Max and Max 20x as Ultra.
• The monthly prices remain $100 for Max and $200 for Ultra.
• Verified Ultra accounts no longer have a five-hour usage limit.
• Weekly limits remain in place for both plans.
• Newer accounts keep a temporary limit until verification is complete.
• Max includes $100 a month in API credits; Ultra includes $200.
• Both plans include Fable, Anthropic’s top model, for up to half of the weekly limit.
• In Europe, the plans cost €90 and €180 a month.

What changed for existing and new subscribers

Most existing subscribers received the change on Friday, according to the company. For those accounts, the main practical difference is the removal of the five-hour reset for verified Ultra users. Subscribers do not need to take any action, the official Claude account said in a public post. The company advised that the update would apply automatically.

Newer accounts are treated differently. They keep a temporary usage limit until Anthropic verifies them. The company said the verification step helps prevent fraud and abuse. Once verification is complete, those users will receive an email confirming that the temporary limit has been lifted. Until then, the older cap structure remains part of the onboarding process for newer subscribers.

The distinction matters because the Ultra plan is the most expensive Claude subscription tier. A $200 monthly price makes it a significant commitment for heavy users, developers, and teams that rely on Claude for long-running work. Removing the five-hour limit for verified accounts reduces one source of friction, but it does not eliminate all usage controls. Weekly limits remain the main ceiling.

The new Max and Ultra plan structure

Anthropic’s updated pricing page now lists Max as five times Pro usage every five hours and every week. The plan comes with $100 a month in API credits. That structure keeps Max as the middle tier between the standard Pro plan and the top-end Ultra plan. It also preserves a short-window usage limit for Max subscribers.

Ultra is listed at ten times Pro usage every week, with no five-hour limit for verified accounts. It comes with $200 a month in API credits, up from $100 on Max. Both plans include Fable, Anthropic’s top model, for up to half of the weekly limit. In Europe, the two plans cost €90 and €180 a month, respectively.

The plan details show how Anthropic is separating the two paid tiers. Max remains a high-usage plan with both short-window and weekly controls. Ultra is positioned as the plan for subscribers who need more sustained access, especially those who hit the five-hour ceiling regularly. The weekly cap still applies, so Ultra is not an unlimited plan. It is a plan with one fewer short-term constraint for verified users.

Why the five-hour limit mattered

Usage limits are a central part of AI subscription design. Model calls can be computationally expensive, and providers use caps to manage capacity, control costs, and prevent abuse. A five-hour window is especially noticeable for users who work in long sessions. Writers, coders, researchers, and analysts can hit a rolling cap during a single project, then wait for the window to reset.

For heavy users, the five-hour limit can shape how they work. It encourages batching tasks, monitoring usage, and switching to other tools when the cap is reached. Removing that limit for verified Ultra subscribers makes the top tier more attractive for people who need continuous access during the workday. The weekly limit still requires planning, but it gives users more flexibility in how they distribute their usage across a week.

The change also affects the perceived value of the Ultra plan. A $200 monthly subscription is easier to justify when the short-term cap is removed for verified accounts. The company is effectively telling high-volume users that the top tier is designed for sustained work, while the weekly ceiling protects capacity. That balance is common among AI providers that offer flat monthly plans with usage controls.

The verification layer

Anthropic’s decision to tie the removal of the five-hour limit to verification adds a security dimension. The company said verification helps prevent fraud and abuse. That language suggests the temporary limit is not only about capacity but also about account integrity. New accounts may be more likely to be used for automated abuse, resale, or policy violations, so the company is keeping a short-term cap until it can confirm the account holder.

The tradeoff is that new Ultra subscribers may not receive the full benefit immediately. They will need to wait for verification and for the email confirming that the temporary limit has been lifted. For legitimate users, that adds a step. For Anthropic, it creates a buffer against misuse. The company has not said how long verification typically takes, but the process is now part of the Ultra experience for newer accounts.

Existing subscribers are largely unaffected by the verification delay. Most received the change on Friday, and the company said subscribers do not need to do anything. That suggests the verification requirement is aimed primarily at newer or unverified accounts rather than the existing base. The distinction also helps Anthropic avoid disrupting current customers who have already established a payment and usage history.

API credits and model access

The updated plans also differ in API credits. Max comes with $100 a month in API credits, while Ultra comes with $200. Those credits can matter for subscribers who build with Anthropic’s models or who want to use the API alongside the Claude apps. The larger credit allotment on Ultra reinforces its position as the higher-end plan.

Both plans include Fable, Anthropic’s top model, for up to half of the weekly limit. That means access to the most capable model is not exclusive to Ultra, but Ultra users get more overall capacity. The half-limit rule also shows how Anthropic is managing demand for its top model. Even on the highest tier, the most powerful model is subject to a share of the weekly allowance.

For subscribers, the practical value of each plan depends on how they use Claude. A user who mostly works in short bursts may not need Ultra. A user who runs long coding sessions, processes large documents, or relies on the top model throughout the week may find the removal of the five-hour limit more valuable. The API credits add another dimension for developers who want to combine subscription access with API usage.

The 20x-to-10x discrepancy

The rebrand also highlights a change in how usage is described. The old Max 20x name pointed to 20 times Pro usage. The updated pricing page now lists ten times Pro usage a week for Ultra. The company’s public post did not mention that change. That omission is notable because the name and the usage description no longer line up in the same way.

For subscribers, the discrepancy is a reminder to read the plan details rather than rely on tier names. The old Max 20x label suggested a straightforward multiple of Pro usage. The new Ultra label is a brand name, while the pricing page contains the specific limits. The shift from 20x to 10x in the plan description could affect how heavy users compare the new Ultra tier with the previous Max 20x plan.

Anthropic has not offered a detailed explanation for the change in the public announcement. The pricing page remains the clearest source for the current limits. That makes it important for subscribers to check the weekly and five-hour rules directly, especially if they are considering an upgrade or downgrade. The brand name alone no longer tells the full story.

Earlier changes and legal scrutiny

The rebrand comes after several months of changes to Claude’s usage policies. In May, Anthropic doubled five-hour limits for Claude Code, citing new computing capacity from SpaceX. That move was framed as a capacity expansion, and it gave Claude Code users more room within the short-term window. The latest change goes further for verified Ultra subscribers by removing the five-hour limit entirely.

In April, Anthropic blocked OpenClaw and other third-party agent tools from using Claude subscriptions. That decision affected users who relied on external tools to automate work through Claude. It also showed that Anthropic is willing to enforce boundaries around how subscriptions are used. The verification requirement for newer Ultra accounts fits that broader pattern of controlling access and preventing abuse.

A lawsuit filed in June claimed Anthropic oversold the usage on both Max plans. The lawsuit added to the scrutiny around AI subscription limits and how providers describe them. The latest rebrand and the removal of the five-hour limit for verified Ultra users may be part of an effort to clarify the top tier, but the weekly limits and the changed usage multiple remain central to how the plans are understood.

What the rebrand signals for AI subscriptions

AI subscription plans are still evolving. Providers are balancing flat monthly pricing with the real cost of model inference, capacity constraints, and abuse prevention. Short-window limits are one way to manage demand during peak hours. Weekly limits are another. The combination gives providers more control than a single monthly cap.

Anthropic’s change reflects that balancing act. The company is making the top tier more attractive for verified high-volume users by removing the five-hour reset. At the same time, it is keeping weekly limits, requiring verification for newer accounts, and limiting the top model to a share of the weekly allowance. Those controls suggest that Ultra is not meant to be unlimited. It is meant to be more flexible for users who have been verified.

The rebrand also shows how plan names can become disconnected from usage multiples. Max 5x and Max 20x described usage relative to Pro. Max and Ultra describe tiers without spelling out the multiple. That may make the lineup simpler for new customers, but it puts more pressure on the pricing page to explain the actual limits. For existing subscribers, the change is a reminder to check the details after any rename.

What Ultra subscribers should watch

Verified Ultra subscribers should see the five-hour limit disappear, while weekly limits stay the same. Newer accounts should watch for the email confirming that the temporary limit has been lifted. Existing subscribers do not need to take action. The plan prices remain $100 for Max and $200 for Ultra in the United States, with European pricing at €90 and €180 a month.

Subscribers should also track the API credits and model access rules. Max includes $100 a month in API credits, and Ultra includes $200. Both plans include Fable for up to half of the weekly limit. Those details matter for users who rely on both the Claude apps and the API, or who need the top model for part of their work.

For now, the weekly ceiling and the verification process remain part of the Ultra plan. Verified users get more flexibility within the week, but the plan is still governed by usage rules. The change removes one short-term constraint without turning the top tier into an unlimited service.

Source: TNW | Anthropic News