Claude pricing looks confusing on the surface—Free, Pro, Max, API—but it’s actually simple once you stop mixing the buckets. In this video I walk you through what each option really is, how the usage limits work, and how to keep your costs predictable. If you want full cost control, you pick a subscription plan (Pro or Max). You pay a fixed monthly amount, you get a token-based usage allowance, and your limits reset on a daily and weekly cadence. For most professionals, I recommend starting with the $20/month Pro plan. It’s honestly mindblowing value when Claude is doing the friction work—admin, organization, drafting—so your team can focus on what matters. If you hit the ceiling constantly, then Max can make sense. I personally run two Max subscriptions (effectively $400/month total) because I’m on Claude Code all day building and running an AI team 24/7—most people do not need that. The biggest trap is the API. The API is pay-per-token, and it scales fast—I spent $50 in 30 minutes testing openClaw. Also: tools like openClaw use the API, not your Pro/Max subscription, and trying to run them on an individual plan can violate Anthropic’s terms and get you banned. If you’re not a developer connecting Claude to external systems, stick to Pro first.