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Claude usage credits explained: keep coding past your limit
Quick answer: usage credits let you keep using Claude and Claude Code after you hit your plan's limit, billed at standard API rates instead of blocking you. They are available on Pro, Max 5x and Max 20x (and Team, set up by an owner). Turn them on in Settings > Usage on claude.ai, or run /usage-credits in Claude Code, prepay a balance and set a monthly spend limit. There is a daily redemption limit of $2,000.
What are Claude usage credits?
They are a pay-as-you-go top-up for a paid Claude subscription. Normally, when you reach your session limit, Claude stops you until the limit resets. With usage credits turned on and funds in your balance, you can choose to keep working, and everything after that point is billed at standard API rates.
Your session limit still resets every five hours as usual. Credits are charged separately from your subscription and show up as additional charges on your bill.
Older pages and Claude Code versions call the same thing "extra usage". The Claude Code command used to be /extra-usage and is now /usage-credits.
Which plans can buy usage credits?
- Pro, Max 5x and Max 20x: yes. Anthropic's pricing page lists usage credits for these three and not for Free.
- Team and seat-based Enterprise: yes, but an Owner or Primary Owner turns them on in Organization settings > Usage. On Team, owners prepay; on seat-based Enterprise, credits are billed at the end of each month for actual use.
- Usage-based Enterprise: no. Those plans have no included allowance to run out of, because all usage is billed at API rates from the first token.
- Mobile subscribers: if you subscribed through the iOS or Android app, you can only turn on usage credits on the web version of Claude.
What do usage credits cost?
There is no fixed price per message. Credits are billed at standard API rates, so the cost depends on which model you use and how many tokens each request reads and writes. You prepay a balance, and usage past your limit draws it down.
Anthropic's API pricing on 23 Sep 2026, per million tokens:
| Model | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Fable 5.1 | $10 | $50 |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $4 | $20 |
| Claude Sonnet 5 | $2 | $10 |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | $1 | $5 |
Cached input is priced differently, so a long session is not a simple tokens times price sum. Anthropic's tip for keeping credit costs down is to use Haiku or the latest Sonnet for most tasks, since they cost less per token than Opus. On Pro, the pricing page lists Fable as available only through usage credits.
How do I turn on usage credits and set a cap?
On claude.ai:
- Open Settings > Usage and find the Usage credits section.
- Click Enable and add a payment method if you have not already.
- Click Adjust limit to set a monthly spend limit, or Set to unlimited if you want no cap.
- Click Add funds, enter an amount and click Purchase. Credits are prepaid.
- Optionally turn on auto-reload, which buys more when your balance falls below a threshold you choose.
In Claude Code, run /usage-credits. On Pro or Max it opens Settings > Usage in your browser, where you can turn credits on or off and see your balance, this month's spend and your monthly spend limit. The command only works when you are signed in with a claude.ai subscription through /login, not with an API key. Team and Enterprise members without billing access send a request to their admin instead.
If you reach your spend limit while you still have credits, Claude Code on Pro and Max prompts you to raise or remove the limit without leaving the terminal. There is also /rate-limit-options, which lists your choices when a limit blocks you: wait and continue automatically at the reset, add usage credits, or upgrade.
Is there a daily limit on usage credits?
Yes. Anthropic's help article for Pro and Max says there is a daily redemption limit of $2,000.
Anthropic's Team article adds that spend limits are checked before each request, so one large request can go slightly over; the next one is blocked.
Do usage credits work in Claude Code, claude.ai and Desktop?
They apply to Claude conversations and to Claude Code in the terminal, and your combined use of both counts toward your limits. They also cover Research mode and project files.
The credits article does not name Claude Desktop, but Anthropic's limits article says claude.ai, Claude Code and Claude Desktop share one usage limit, the one credits take over from.
Do usage credits expire, and can I get a refund?
In most cases credits do not expire. The exception Anthropic gives is certain jurisdictions such as Japan, where, starting 10 Sep 2026, credits expire six months after purchase. You get an email seven days before.
On refunds, Anthropic's refund article says payments are non-refundable except as its Consumer Terms state or the law requires, with a 14-day prorated window for customers in the EEA and UK. The one credit-specific case it names: if you upgrade from Pro or Max to Team, any prepaid usage credits on your individual account are refunded. A refund for unused credits in other cases is not stated.
Should I buy credits, upgrade or wait for the reset?
Anthropic's own list of options when you hit a limit is exactly these three. Which one fits depends on how often it happens.
| Usage credits | Upgrade your plan | Wait for the reset | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | API rates per token, prepaid, capped by your spend limit | Max from $100 a month (Pro is $20 a month) | Free |
| Best when | You hit the limit now and then and need to finish one job | You hit the limit most weeks | The reset is close or the task can pause |
| Catch | A heavy Opus session can spend quickly | A fixed monthly cost even in quiet weeks | You lose the time until the reset |
Prices from claude.com/pricing on 23 Sep 2026. If the 5-hour window resets in twenty minutes, waiting is cheap. If the weekly limit stops you with days to go, only credits or an upgrade keep you working.
How do I avoid needing usage credits?
Know where you stand before you hit the wall. In Claude Code, /usage shows your plan limits, and Settings > Usage shows the 5-hour session and weekly bars. Our guide to checking your Claude Code and Codex usage limits covers every place to look, and the Claude Code status line guide shows how to keep the numbers on screen while you work.
Vibepanions, a macOS 14+ app, shows how close you are to the 5-hour and weekly limits for Claude Code and Codex, with reset times and a line that says how much of the tighter limit is left. So you decide between credits, a lighter model or a break before you are cut off. It reads only local files, costs SGD 7.99 once, with a 14-day refund.
Is there an equivalent for Codex?
Yes. OpenAI sells credits that let you keep using Codex after your plan's included usage runs out. The Codex help article says eligible Plus and Pro users can buy credits without changing plans. Included usage goes first, then your credit balance. You buy them in Settings > Usage in ChatGPT or Usage & Billing in the Codex app.
Two differences from Claude: OpenAI credits are valid for 12 months from purchase, and they are non-refundable unless the law, a contract or an approved exception says otherwise. They are not API credits.
FAQ
Can I use Claude usage credits on the Free plan?
No. Anthropic's pricing page lists usage credits for Pro, Max 5x and Max 20x, and not for Free. Team plans have them too, set up by an organization owner.
Do usage credits reset my 5-hour limit?
No. Anthropic says your included limit resets every five hours as usual and usage credits do not affect that timing. Credits only pay for the work you do after you hit the limit.
Can I turn usage credits off again?
Yes. You can disable them at any time in Settings > Usage on claude.ai. After that you only have your plan's included usage.
Will Claude warn me before it starts charging credits?
Yes. Anthropic says you see a notification when you approach and reach your included limit, with a confirmation that you will continue on usage credits.
Why does /usage-credits say unknown command?
The command needs you to be signed in with a claude.ai subscription through /login; it is not available with API key authentication. In self-serve Enterprise organizations, Enterprise trials and Enterprise organizations billed through AWS Marketplace it also needs Claude Code v2.1.248 or later.
See the limit coming. Get Vibepanions to keep your 5-hour and weekly limits and their reset times on screen.
Sources
Fetched 23 Sep 2026. Prices as shown on that date.
- Claude Help Center, Manage usage credits for paid Claude plans
- Claude Help Center, Manage usage credits for Team and seat-based Enterprise plans
- Claude Help Center, How do usage and length limits work?
- Claude Help Center, Request a refund for a paid Claude plan
- Anthropic, Claude pricing
- Claude Platform docs, Pricing (API model rates)
- Claude Code docs, Manage costs effectively (
/usage-credits) - Claude Code docs, Commands (
/usage-credits,/rate-limit-options,/usage) - OpenAI Help Center, Using credits for flexible usage in ChatGPT (personal plans)
- OpenAI Help Center, Using Codex with your ChatGPT plan
- OpenAI, Codex pricing