TL;DR: There has been no Claude Max price increase on Anthropic’s own site. As of November 8, 2026, claude.com/pricing lists Max at $100 a month and Ultra (the old Max 20x) at $200, the same prices the plans launched at. What changed on October 30 was the names and the limits: Max 5x became Max, Max 20x became Ultra, and verified Ultra accounts lost the five-hour limit. The $124.99 figure people keep seeing is the iPhone App Store price for Max ($249.99 for Ultra), which is 25% higher than the web. If you want to pay less, subscribe on claude.com, not inside the iOS app.
Last updated: November 8, 2026. By Veer. Prices checked on November 8, 2026 against Anthropic’s pricing page, the What is the Ultra plan? help article and Apple’s US and UK App Store listings for Claude. This is a researched explainer built from public pricing pages, not a hands-on test.
Type “claude max price” into Google in the US or UK and the next suggestions are “claude max price increase” and “claude max price 125.” So plenty of people think Anthropic raised the price. It’s an easy conclusion to reach. The plan names changed last week, and the price inside the iPhone app doesn’t match the website. Neither of those is a price increase, though, and the gap between the two is something you can avoid.
Did the Claude Max price increase in 2026?
No. Claude Max costs $100 a month and Ultra costs $200 a month on claude.com, before tax, which is what Max 5x and Max 20x cost before the rename. Anthropic’s help center says existing Max 20x subscribers “move to Ultra automatically, with no price change.”
The Verge reported on October 30, 2026 that “the prices for the plans stay the same: $100 per month for Max, $200 per month for Ultra.” The Next Web’s November 1 write-up says the same and puts the euro prices at €90 and €180 a month.
Max launched in April 2025 at $100 and $200, and those web prices haven’t changed since. If your bank statement shows more than $100, the reason is almost always how you paid, not what Anthropic charges.
What actually changed on October 30?
Three things changed: the plan names, the five-hour limit on Ultra and how the limits are described. The prices stayed the same. Here’s the short version.
| Before Oct 30, 2026 | After Oct 30, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| $100 plan name | Max 5x | Max |
| $200 plan name | Max 20x | Ultra |
| $100 plan limits | 5x Pro, every 5 hours and every week | Same (5x Pro, every 5 hours and every week) |
| $200 plan five-hour limit | Yes | None for verified accounts |
| $200 plan weekly limit | 10x Pro (per Anthropic’s product lead) | 10x Pro every week |
| Monthly API credits | None | $100 on Max, $200 on Ultra |
| Price | $100 / $200 | $100 / $200 |
Sources: claude.com/pricing, What is the Ultra plan?, The Next Web, The Threshold.
The weekly “10x” figure worried some Max 20x users, who read it as a cut from 20x. According to The Threshold, Anthropic’s subscriptions product lead Mike Overell explained on X that the 20x referred to usage inside the five-hour window. The weekly limit was set at 10x Pro when weekly limits arrived, and he apologized for the confusion. With the five-hour window gone on verified Ultra accounts, the weekly 10x limit is now the only one that matters on that plan.
There’s one catch. The five-hour limit only goes away once Anthropic verifies your account, which it does automatically using your account and payment history. To check, open Settings > Usage. If there’s no “Current session” bar, you’re verified. We cover how the remaining limits reset in our guide to Claude Code usage limit resets.
Why does Claude Max cost $124.99?
$124.99 is what Apple’s US App Store charges for Claude Max when you subscribe inside the iPhone or iPad app. Ultra is $249.99 there, so both cost 25% more than on the web. Anthropic’s help center notes that its $200 Ultra price “is for web subscriptions only” and that mobile pricing “may vary depending on your app platform.”
We read the in-app purchase list on Claude’s US App Store page on November 8, 2026. Here’s how it compares with claude.com.
| Plan | claude.com (US, before tax) | iPhone App Store (US) | Extra in the app |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro, monthly | $20 | $20.00 | $0 |
| Pro, annual | $200/year ($17/mo) | $214.99/year | $14.99/year |
| Max | $100/mo | $124.99/mo | $24.99/mo ($299.88/yr) |
| Ultra | $200/mo | $249.99/mo | $49.99/mo ($599.88/yr) |
Sources: claude.com/pricing and the Claude App Store listing, both checked November 8, 2026. Sales tax is extra in both places where it applies.
This isn’t new either. Price tracker PlanPrice has recorded Max at $124.99 in the US App Store since April 4, 2025. People notice it more now because the renamed plans got a lot of attention and some users compared their receipts.
Why charge more in the app? Anthropic hasn’t explained it publicly. Apple takes a commission on in-app subscriptions, and many developers raise app prices to cover it. That’s a general industry practice, not a reason Anthropic has given. Monthly Pro, oddly, is $20 in both places.
What does Claude Max cost in the UK?
On the UK App Store, Claude Max is £119.99 a month and Ultra is £249.99, VAT included. On claude.com, Anthropic shows prices before tax, so UK buyers pay VAT on top of the web price at checkout. Pro is £20 a month in the UK app, or £199.99 a year.
We took the UK App Store prices from Claude’s listing on November 7, 2026. Anthropic doesn’t publish a separate pound price list on its pricing page, and it says prices “don’t include applicable tax.” So the cleanest way to compare is to open the checkout on claude.com while signed in from the UK and look at the final total before you pay. Your exact total depends on your billing currency and VAT, so check it before you switch.
Is Claude Max still worth $100 a month?
For people who hit Pro’s limits most days, yes. For occasional users, Pro at $20 is still the better deal. The October changes actually added value at the same price. Max now includes Fable, Anthropic’s top model, for up to half your weekly limit, plus $100 a month in API credits.
Here’s a simple way to decide:
- Stay on Pro ($20) if you chat a few times a day and only sometimes hit the five-hour limit.
- Pick Max ($100) if you run into Pro’s limits most days, use Claude Code for real projects or want Fable without buying usage credits.
- Pick Ultra ($200) if the five-hour window is what slows you down. It’s the only consumer plan without one, once your account is verified.
Our older Claude Max 5x vs 20x comparison walks through the two tiers in more detail (they’re now Max and Ultra). If you’re weighing Claude against ChatGPT or Gemini instead, see ChatGPT Plus vs Claude Pro vs Google AI Pro and our pick for the best AI subscription for personal use.
How to pay $100 instead of $124.99
Subscribe on claude.com in a web browser or the desktop app, not through the iPhone app. If you’re already paying Apple, cancel there first and resubscribe on the web when the Apple period ends. Your chats, projects and files stay with your account either way.
- Check how you’re billed. If the receipt came from Apple, you’re on App Store pricing.
- Cancel the Apple subscription in your iPhone’s Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. Anthropic’s pricing FAQ says App Store plans must be canceled through Apple or the app’s Billing > Manage subscription screen.
- Wait until the paid period ends. You keep Max until then, and your account then drops to Free.
- Sign in on claude.com, go to Settings > Billing and subscribe to Max or Ultra on the web.
- Keep using the iPhone app as normal. A web subscription works on every device you sign in on.
One thing to note: Anthropic says Apple handles refunds for App Store subscriptions, so if you were charged recently and want money back, you’d ask Apple, not Anthropic.
FAQ
Did Anthropic raise the price of Claude Max?
No. As of November 8, 2026, Claude Max is $100 a month and Ultra is $200 a month on claude.com, before tax. These are the same prices Max 5x and Max 20x had before the October 30 rename.
Why is Claude Max $124.99 on my iPhone?
$124.99 is the US App Store price for Claude Max when you subscribe inside the iOS app. Ultra is $249.99 there. Both are 25% above the web prices, and the App Store price has been $124.99 since at least April 2025.
What happened to Claude Max 20x?
Anthropic renamed Max 20x to Ultra on October 30, 2026. The price stayed at $200 a month, subscribers moved over automatically, and verified Ultra accounts no longer have a five-hour usage limit. The weekly limit is 10x Pro.
Is Claude Max 5x the same as Claude Max now?
Yes. The $100 plan formerly called Max 5x is now just Max. It still gives 5x Pro usage every five hours and every week, and it now lists Fable access (up to half the weekly limit) and $100 a month in API credits.
Can I pay for Claude Max annually?
No. Anthropic sells Max and Ultra as monthly subscriptions only. Pro is the only individual plan with an annual option, at $200 a year ($17 a month) on the web.
How much is Claude Max in the UK?
On the UK App Store, Max is £119.99 a month and Ultra is £249.99, VAT included, as of November 7, 2026. On claude.com, prices are shown before tax, so VAT is added at checkout.
Sources
- Anthropic, Plans and pricing, checked November 8, 2026
- Claude Help Center, What is the Ultra plan?
- Apple, Claude by Anthropic on the US App Store, in-app purchase list, November 8, 2026
- The Verge, Max, Ultra, Claude, October 30, 2026
- The Next Web, Anthropic renames Claude Max plans and drops Ultra’s five-hour limit, November 1, 2026
- The Threshold, Claude Ultra plan: price, limits and what changed, November 1, 2026
- PlanPrice, Claude price in the United States
