Choose a Claude plan

Claude has a free plan and paid plans. The paid plans give you more use, and they include Claude Code: the part of Claude that builds apps. You will use Claude Code from Part 4 on.

The plans in plain words

• Free: $0 (no payment needed). Includes chatting with Claude on the web, in the desktop app on your computer and in the phone apps, with a smaller amount of use than the paid plans. Claude Code: no (the Free plan does not include Claude Code).
• Pro: $20 a month when you pay month by month, or $17 a month if you pay a whole year up front ($200 in one payment). Includes everything in Free, at least 5 times more use in each 5-hour session, Claude Code, and first access to new features. Claude Code: yes.
• Max: $100 a month (the Max 5x level: 5 times more use than Pro), or $200 a month (the Max 20x level: 20 times more use than Pro). Billing: paid month by month only (no yearly option). Everything in Pro with much more use. Claude Code: yes.

Claude Code comes with Pro and Max (and the Team and Enterprise plans for companies).

What to choose

• For Parts 2 and 3 (talking and planning): the Free plan is enough. Stay on it.
• From Part 4 (building): you need a plan that includes Claude Code. Start with the lower paid plan, Pro. Pay month by month at first, so you can stop any time.
• Move up to Max only if you keep hitting the usage limit (explained below) and waiting for it slows you down most days. Many people never need it.

Prices can differ by country, and taxes may be added. The page always shows the price before you pay.

What a usage limit is

Every plan has a usage limit. Think of it as a tank that refills on its own. Every message you send, and every job Claude does for you, takes a little out. Long chats and big jobs take more. When the tank is empty, Claude stops and shows a message like "5-hour limit reached - resets [time]". Then it refills: the tank is measured in 5 hours windows. And paid plans also have a weekly limit, which resets at a fixed day and time set for your account, with a message like "You've reached your weekly limit. It resets [day] at [time].".

This is normal, not an error. Nothing is lost. Take a break, or do a paper step from Part 3, and come back after the time shown. On paid plans you can see how full your tank is at claude.ai/settings/usage (paid plans only). Note that chat, the Mac app and Claude Code all draw from the same limit. Also, paid plans can turn on usage credits in Settings, which lets you keep working past a limit and pay for the extra use. Leave that off for now; waiting is free.

How to pay, when you are ready

You can do this now or at the start of Part 4.

1. In your browser, go to claude.ai/upgrade. Or, from the chat screen, click your name or initials at the bottom left, then Settings, then Billing, then Upgrade plan.
2. Find the Pro box and click its button, which says something like Get Pro plan or Upgrade.
3. Choose Monthly (not yearly) for now.
4. Type your card details on the payment page and click Subscribe.