Anthropic is making Claude Code more flexible for subscribers on its highest-priced consumer plan. The company has removed the rolling five-hour usage cap for verified users on its $200-per-month Ultra plan, allowing them to continue working without the same short-session restriction.
The change is particularly relevant to developers who use Claude Code for demanding tasks. Long debugging sessions, large code refactors and complex development projects can consume usage quickly. Previously, users could hit the five-hour limit midway through a task, even when they still had part of their weekly allowance available.
However, the change does not increase Ultra’s existing weekly usage allowance. Users must also complete Anthropic’s account verification process before the five-hour restriction is lifted.
Anthropic Renames Its Max Plans
We’re renaming our Max plans:
Max 5x → Max
Max 20x → Ultra
Max is still $100/month, and Ultra is still $200. If you’re a subscriber, there’s nothing you need to do.
We’re also removing the 5-hour limit for verified Ultra accounts, starting today with most existing subscribers. Newer accounts keep a temporary limit until they’re verified, which helps us prevent fraud and abuse. You’ll get an email when it’s removed.
Weekly limits remain unchanged. View our plans here: https://t.co/niRpyGF5Me
— Claude (@claudeai) October 30, 2026Anthropic announced the update on Friday alongside a rebranding of its two highest-priced consumer subscriptions. The former Max 5x plan is now called Max, while Max 20x has been renamed Ultra. The monthly prices remain unchanged. Max costs $100 per month, while Ultra costs $200 per month. Existing subscribers do not need to take any action to move to the new plan names.
The updated pricing structure also includes monthly Claude Platform API credits. According to Anthropic’s pricing page, Max subscribers receive $100 in API credits, while Ultra subscribers receive $200.
These credits may appeal to developers who use Claude Code while building applications with Anthropic’s API. They provide another benefit to consider when comparing the plans, although developers should distinguish between their subscription usage allowance and the API credits available for platform usage.
What The Five-Hour Session Cap Meant
The previous restriction operated through a rolling five-hour usage window. Once users consumed their available allowance within that period, they had to wait for the limit to reset before continuing.
This could become frustrating during intensive coding sessions. A developer working on a difficult bug or refactoring a large section of a project might exhaust the allowance before completing the task.
The restriction could also interrupt work even when the user had weekly usage remaining. As a result, the five-hour cap created a separate barrier for people who preferred to complete longer development sessions in one sitting.
Removing this restriction gives verified Ultra subscribers more flexibility. They can avoid interruptions caused specifically by the rolling session cap, provided they still have weekly usage available.
The change does not mean unlimited access to Claude Code. Other usage restrictions continue to apply.
Account Verification Is Required
Not every Ultra subscriber will see the change immediately. Anthropic says some accounts must first complete its verification process before the five-hour cap is removed. The company uses these checks to help prevent fraud and abuse. According to Anthropic’s Ultra plan support documentation, verification happens automatically based on account and payment history.
Users cannot submit a separate request to speed up the process. Anthropic will email subscribers when the restriction has been lifted from their accounts. This means Ultra customers may need to wait before they can benefit from the update. Until verification is complete, the existing session restriction may continue to apply.
The Weekly Usage Limit Remains Unchanged
The biggest point to understand is that Anthropic has removed the five-hour session cap, not the weekly usage limit. According to the company’s pricing page, Ultra provides 10 times Pro’s weekly usage, while Max offers five times Pro’s weekly usage. These allowances remain an important factor when choosing between the plans.
Without the five-hour restriction, Ultra users may be able to spread their available usage across longer coding sessions. However, they could also consume their weekly allowance faster if they work intensively for extended periods.
Claude conversations count towards the same weekly limit as Claude Code sessions. This applies across the web, desktop and mobile versions of Claude. Once users exhaust their included allowance, they can enable additional usage credits to continue working at standard API rates. This option comes with extra charges on top of the subscription fee.
Is Claude Ultra Worth $200 Per Month?
The update could make Ultra more attractive to developers who regularly encounter the five-hour restriction despite having weekly usage left. For these users, uninterrupted access during longer coding sessions may justify paying $100 more per month than the Max plan. It could be especially useful when working on complex projects that require sustained debugging, testing and code changes.
However, the decision depends on individual usage patterns. Developers who frequently exhaust their weekly allowance may not benefit as much from removing the session cap. They could still reach the weekly limit before completing their work. Users should therefore consider both their session patterns and their total weekly consumption before upgrading. The additional API credits may also influence the decision for developers who build applications using Anthropic’s platform.
Claude Max And Ultra: Key Specifications
| Feature | Max | Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Previous Plan Name | Max 5x | Max 20x |
| Monthly Subscription Price | $100 | $200 |
| Weekly Usage Allowance | 5x Pro’s weekly usage | 10x Pro’s weekly usage |
| Monthly API Credits | $100 | $200 |
| Five-Hour Session Cap | No removal announced in this update | Removed for verified users |
| Verification Requirement | Not specified for this change | Required for removal of the cap |
| Additional Usage | Available through usage credits at standard API rates | Available through usage credits at standard API rates |
| Existing Subscribers | No action required for the plan rename | No action required for the plan rename |
Conclusion
Anthropic’s decision to remove Claude Code’s rolling five-hour usage cap gives verified Ultra subscribers more flexibility during demanding coding sessions. The change addresses a specific frustration for developers who previously had to stop working despite having weekly usage remaining.
However, Ultra is not becoming an unlimited plan. Its weekly allowance remains unchanged, and users must complete account verification before the session cap is lifted.
For developers who regularly hit the five-hour limit, the update could make the $200 subscription more worthwhile. Those who already run out of weekly usage may see fewer benefits. Ultimately, the value of Ultra will depend on how frequently users rely on Claude Code and how much of their included usage they consume.
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