Anthropic has announced that starting August 28, 2025, it will introduce new weekly usage limits for Claude subscribers on both Pro and Max plans to reduce abuse and improve reliability
Why the Change?
The decision targets a small subset of power users—fewer than 5%—who have been using Claude Code continuously and in violation of policy by sharing or reselling accounts. This misuse impacted service stability and triggered multiple outages. Anthropic says most users won’t notice any difference
What’s New?
- Five‑hour limits on sessions remain unchanged.
- Weekly cap: Reset every seven days; applies across all paid plans.
- Opus 4-specific limit: A separate weekly cap applies for usage of the Opus 4 model
What Users Can Expect
Estimated weekly access thresholds for Claude Code usage:
| Plan | Sonnet 4 (hours/week) | Opus 4 (hours/week) |
|---|---|---|
| Pro ($20/month) | ~40–80 | Not specified |
| Max $100/month | ~140–280 | ~15–35 |
| Max $200/month | ~240–480 | ~24–40 |
Heavy users working across multiple instances or Opus-intensive workflows may hit these limits earlier
If limits are reached, users can optionally purchase additional usage at standard API rates—a flexibility only offered to Max subscribers India Today
Community Reaction
Users voiced mixed feelings: many appreciate fair resource allocation, while others argue strict weekly caps may disrupt workflows and seem arbitrary. Some Reddit users noted a lack of transparency around usage tracking metrics like token count or compute time
Broader Implications
Anthropic’s move aligns with peers who have tightened usage policies—like Anysphere (Cursor) and Replit—to manage compute resources, prevent abuse, and ensure sustainable service delivery
By limiting access for the heaviest users, Anthropic aims to ensure reliability for the broader user base and prevent system overloads or unfair resource drain.
