Anthropic tightens usage limits for Claude Code – without telling users

Since Monday morning, users of Claude Code have been hit with unexpectedly limiting usage limits. The problems, many of which have been broadcast on Claude Codes Gitub pageseem to be concentrated among heavy users of the service, many of whom are on the $ 200-per-month MAX plan.

Users are only told: “Claude Usage Limit reaches” and get a time (usually within a few hours) when the limit is reset. But without an explicit announcement of a change in limits, many users have concluded that their subscription has been downgraded or that their use is being followed inaccurately.

“Your tracking of usage limits has changed and is no longer accurate,” A user complained. “There is no way in the 30 minutes of a few requests that I have reached the 900 messages.”

When he was reached for comment, an anthropic representative confirmed the problems, but refused to work out further. “We are aware that some Claude Code users experience slower response times,” said the representative, “and we are working on solving these problems.”

The change is alarming for users who have not received prior notice of the changes and no guidelines on what to expect in the future. A user, who asked not to be identified, said it was impossible to promote his project because the user limits came into force. “It just stopped the possibility to make progress,” the user told WAN. “I tried Gemini and Kimi, but there is really nothing else that is currently competitive with the capacity set of Claude Code.”

These problems have emerged in addition to broader problems within the Anthropic network. Many API users reported overload errors in the same period, and The company’s status page Shows six separate problems in the past four days. In particular, the network still shows 100% uptime for the week.

Although loading errors are commonplace, the new approach of Anthropic for usage limits caused a significant confusion among users, many who did not know they were subject to usage limits. Part of the confusion comes from the Anthropic price system, which sets layered limits without ever guaranteeing a fixed level of access. The most expensive Max plan, priced at $ 200 per month, promises usage limits 20 times higher Then a Pro subscription. The Pro plan in turn offers limits five times higher Then the free plan. But anthropic says the free user limit “will vary by the question“And sets no absolute value. The result does not allow users to use usage limits, because they have no clear idea of when their service is limited.

The $ 200 MAX plan has been especially popular with heavy users of the service, where some consider the plan as untenable for anthropic in the long term. The user with whom we spoke said that the plan often enables him to make more than $ 1,000 in calls (measured in API prices) in one day. As a result, it was not surprising that the user limits became more limited – but hoped that the company would communicate the changes more clearly.

“Just be transparent,” he said. “The lack of communication simply ensures that people lose trust in them.”