Anthropic removes Claude Ultra’s five-hour usage limit
Anthropic renames its highest Claude tier Ultra and removes the five-hour cap for verified users, while retaining weekly limits.
What happened
Anthropic renamed its $100 Max 5x plan to Max and its $200 Max 20x plan to Ultra. The company also removed the five-hour session limit for verified Ultra accounts, beginning with most existing subscribers. Newer accounts may retain a temporary restriction until verification is complete.
Anthropic’s current plan information says Ultra still has a weekly usage allowance and that usage across Claude, Claude Code and Claude Desktop counts toward applicable limits. The change therefore removes a rolling session barrier rather than creating unlimited access.
Why it matters
The five-hour cap had become a defining constraint for heavy Claude and Claude Code users, especially developers running long tasks. Removing it from the top tier changes the product from a burst-limited subscription into a service designed for sustained work, while preserving a weekly ceiling that protects capacity and economics.
The restructuring also sharpens Anthropic’s price ladder. Max remains a $100 plan with five-times Pro usage, while Ultra costs $200, offers ten-times Pro usage each week, and includes larger monthly API credits. That makes the most expensive consumer tier more clearly aimed at professional users who value continuity over a lower monthly bill.
The unresolved issue is demand management. If heavy users consume more of their weekly allowance in long-running coding sessions, Anthropic may face stronger pressure on inference capacity even without changing headline prices. The policy also makes verification and quota accounting central parts of the customer experience.
Uncle Cat take
Removing the timer is meaningful for sustained coding, but the unchanged weekly ceiling shows Anthropic is selling continuity, not infinite compute.