Anthropic has renamed its two top consumer plans and changed how the bigger one is limited. The $100 Max 5x plan is now just Max. The $200 Max 20x plan is now Ultra, and verified Ultra accounts no longer hit a limit that resets every five hours. Prices stay the same.

Coffee summary

  • FACT: Max ($100/month) gives 5x Pro usage every five hours and every week, according to Claude’s pricing page.
  • FACT: Ultra ($200/month) has no five-hour limit for verified accounts and gives 10x Pro usage every week.
  • FACT: Max includes $100 a month in API credits. Ultra includes $200 a month.
  • FACT: Both plans include Fable, Anthropic’s top model, for up to half of the weekly limit.
  • FACT: From November 12, Anthropic’s Usage Policy bans services that route requests through consumer subscriptions.

What happened

Anthropic announced the rename on X on Friday, October 30, according to The Next Web. “If you’re a subscriber, there’s nothing you need to do,” the official Claude account said, as quoted by The Next Web.

Newer Ultra accounts keep a temporary five-hour limit until Anthropic verifies them. Those users will get an email when the limit is lifted. Weekly limits stay the same, according to the same report.

Why it matters

The five-hour window is what interrupts long sessions. If you run Claude Code for an afternoon, that rolling window is usually the wall you hit first. Removing it on Ultra means a verified user is capped by the weekly limit instead.

There is a catch in the numbers. The old “Max 20x” name pointed to 20 times Pro usage. The pricing page now lists Ultra at 10 times Pro usage per week. The Next Web noted this, and said Anthropic’s post did not mention it. Whether real weekly capacity changed is not something Anthropic has explained.

What changed, at a glance

Max (was Max 5x) Ultra (was Max 20x)
Price (US) $100/month $200/month
5-hour limit 5x Pro None for verified accounts
Weekly limit 5x Pro 10x Pro
Monthly API credits $100 $200
Fable access Up to half of weekly limit Up to half of weekly limit
Price in Europe €90/month (per The Next Web) €180/month (per The Next Web)

The November 12 rule

Anthropic’s updated Usage Policy takes effect on November 12. One new line under “Do Not Abuse Our Platform” bans using its products to “resell, proxy, or otherwise provide access to Claude through unauthorized means, including services that route requests through consumer subscriptions or misrepresent the product or client being used.”

Claude Code’s legal and compliance page adds detail. It says advertised subscription limits assume ordinary, individual use, and that third-party developers may not route requests through Free, Pro, Max, or Ultra credentials on behalf of their users. Signing in to the official Claude Code app with your own subscription is allowed.

Who should care

  • Heavy Claude Code users who keep hitting the five-hour wall.
  • Max 20x subscribers, who should compare their actual weekly usage before and after the rename.
  • Anyone using third-party tools that log in with a Claude subscription instead of an API key.
  • Small teams sharing one account, which the consumer terms already did not allow.

Limitations and open questions

  • Verification is vague. Anthropic has not said publicly how long verification takes or what it checks.
  • “10x” versus “20x” is unexplained. Anthropic has not said whether weekly capacity on the old Max 20x tier changed.
  • No enforcement list. Anthropic has not named any tool that breaks the November 12 rule.
  • Limits still vary. The pricing page says how fast you reach a limit depends on the model, chat length, and file size.

What to do next

  1. Open Settings → Usage and note your weekly usage now, so you can compare after the change.
  2. Watch for the verification email if you are a newer Ultra subscriber.
  3. Check your tools. If an outside app asks for your Claude login to serve other people, switch it to an API key before November 12.
  4. Use the API credits. If you are on Max or Ultra, the monthly credits can cover small Claude Platform projects.
  5. Pick the plan by pattern. Long single sessions favor Ultra. Steady daily use may fit Max.

AIImpish Take

Ultra is the plan for people who work in long, unbroken sessions, and dropping the five-hour limit is a real change for them. But read the weekly number, not the old name. And if any tool you use borrows your subscription to serve others, November 12 is your deadline to fix it.

Related on AIImpish

Sources: Claude pricing; The Next Web, Anthropic renames Claude Max plans and drops Ultra’s five-hour limit; Anthropic Usage Policy (effective November 12, 2026).