Claude Ultra replaces Max 20x, with no 5-hour limit
Claude Ultra is the new name for the $200 Max 20x plan. Verified accounts lose the 5-hour limit, the weekly one stays. Here is what changes.
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On October 30, Anthropic renamed its two most expensive Claude plans: Max 5x is now simply Max, and Max 20x is now Claude Ultra. Prices stay the same, and verified Ultra accounts lose the 5-hour usage limit, as the @claudeai account announced on X.
What does Claude Ultra change?
The biggest change isn’t the name. On verified Ultra accounts, the limit that reset every 5 hours is gone, the one that would pop up in the middle of a long session to tell us we could get back to work only after a while. Only the weekly limit remains.
In practice, we can spend our weekly allowance at any pace we like: even in one long day with agents running for hours in Claude Code, with no break every five hours.
According to the announcement, the limit is lifted right away for most existing subscribers. Newer accounts keep a temporary 5-hour limit until they’re verified, because (according to the announcement) this helps prevent fraud and abuse. Once the limit is lifted, we get an email.
What do the plans look like after the rename?
Here’s how the Claude pricing page describes them now:
| Plan | Monthly price | 5-hour limit | Weekly limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | yes | yes |
| Pro | $20 ($17 billed annually) | yes | yes |
| Max (formerly Max 5x) | $100 | 5x Pro | 5x Pro |
| Ultra (formerly Max 20x) | $200 | none (verified accounts) | 10x Pro |
Interestingly, the pricing page lists a few extras marked as new on both higher plans:
- Max gets access to Fable for up to half of the weekly limit and $100 a month in Claude Platform API credits.
- Ultra gets “everything in Max” and $200 a month in API credits (“up from $100 on Max”).
On the Pro plan, Fable is available through paid credits (“paid with usage credits”). Prices on the pricing page exclude tax.
Do existing subscribers have to do anything?
No. According to the announcement, there’s nothing to do (“If you’re a subscriber, there’s nothing you need to do”). If you paid for Max 20x, you now have Ultra for the same $200, and if you paid for Max 5x, you have Max for $100.
What should you watch out for?
First, the weekly limit. According to the announcement, weekly limits aren’t changing, so the total amount of work per week stays the same. Only how we can spread it out changes. How fast we hit the limit depends (according to the pricing page) on the model, conversation length and file size (it’s worth checking what actually eats into our allowance, as in my Claude Code token usage measurements).
Second, verification. There aren’t many details yet: neither the announcement nor the pricing page says what account verification involves or how long it takes. All we know is that it applies to newer accounts and that an email will tell us when the limit is lifted.
Third, the Max plan. At $100, the 5-hour limit stays, so the change applies only to the most expensive plan.
FAQ
How much does Claude Ultra cost?
$200 a month, the same as Max 20x before. The price excludes tax.
Does Claude Ultra have limits?
Yes, a weekly one: 10x the Pro plan. Verified accounts no longer have the 5-hour limit, and newer accounts have it temporarily, until they’re verified.
What’s the difference between Claude Max and Ultra?
Max costs $100 and gives 5x Pro usage both per 5 hours and per week. Ultra costs $200, gives 10x Pro usage per week, has no 5-hour limit (on verified accounts) and comes with $200 in API credits instead of $100.
What happened to the Max 20x plan?
It was renamed Ultra. Subscribers don’t need to do anything, and the price hasn’t changed.