What Claude Code Costs
The question every business asks first. Claude Code isn't free, but it's not mysterious either. This page gives you real numbers based on how businesses actually use it — not theoretical per-token pricing.
The two pricing options
Max plan — $200/month per person
Unlimited use for a flat monthly fee. Best for people who use Claude Code daily — salespeople doing meeting prep, support agents drafting replies, managers generating reports. If someone uses it for more than about 2 hours per day, this plan is cheaper than pay-as-you-go.
Pay-as-you-go — based on usage
You pay for what you use, measured in "tokens" (roughly one token per word of input and output). Best for occasional users or when you're still evaluating. Typical daily cost:
- Light use (a few tasks per day): $5–15/day
- Moderate use (regular throughout the day): $15–40/day
- Heavy use (continuous or automated): $40–100+/day
What does a team actually spend?
Small team (5 people)
Three regular users on the Max plan ($600/month) plus two occasional users on pay-as-you-go ($200–400/month). Total: $800–1,000/month.
Medium team (15 people)
Ten regular users on the Max plan ($2,000/month) plus five occasional users ($500–750/month). Total: $2,500–2,750/month.
Large team (50+ people)
Volumes at this level usually warrant a conversation with Anthropic about enterprise pricing. Budget $150–200 per regular user/month as a planning figure.
What drives costs up
- Long, complex tasks — A task that requires reading many files and producing lengthy output costs more than a quick summary
- Repeated context loading — Every new session reads your files again. Longer sessions that stay focused cost less than many short ones
- Using the most powerful model for simple tasks — Not every task needs the top-tier model. Your technical team can configure cheaper models for routine work
- Autonomous agents running unattended — Agents that run in the background (like CI/CD integrations) add to costs. Budget separately for these.
How to keep costs predictable
- Start with the Max plan for regular users — Flat pricing means no surprises
- Set spending limits — Your technical team can configure daily and monthly caps so no one accidentally runs up a large bill
- Review usage monthly — Check who's using it, for what, and whether the value justifies the cost. Adjust plans accordingly.
- Use skills — Well-designed skills complete tasks faster and more efficiently than ad-hoc requests, reducing token usage
Is it worth it?
The maths is straightforward. If a salesperson spends 30 minutes on meeting prep and the skill reduces that to 5 minutes, you're saving 25 minutes per meeting. At three meetings per day, that's 75 minutes — over an hour of recovered selling time, every day.
A support agent handling 30 tickets per day who saves 5 minutes per ticket recovers 2.5 hours daily. At average support salaries, the tool pays for itself many times over.
The value isn't just time savings. It's consistency (every meeting brief is thorough), quality (every proposal follows the template), and capacity (your team handles more work without hiring).
Next steps
If cost is your main concern, start small. Pick one use case — sales meeting prep, customer support, or proposals — and run a pilot with 2–3 people for a month. Measure the time savings against the cost. Then decide whether to expand.