Claude
Claude by Anthropic in 2026: Sonnet 5, Cowork, computer use, and 200k context. Compare Free, Pro, Max, and Enterprise pricing to find your best fit.
About Claude
What is Claude (2026 update)
Claude is Anthropic’s AI assistant for chat, coding, and knowledge work. As of September 2026, Claude runs on web, desktop, iOS, and Android, and it includes web search, memory, artifacts, voice mode, code execution, skills, and connectors. Consumer plans have a 200k-token context window, while the newer Claude Fable 5.1 API model supports 1M tokens by default. Claude Sonnet 5 is the default model for Free and Pro users.
What is new in 2026
- Claude Sonnet 5 launched in 2026 as the most agentic Sonnet yet, with improvements in reasoning, tool use, coding, and knowledge work. Anthropic made its API price permanent at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens.
- Claude Cowork expanded to web and mobile in addition to desktop. It runs sessions remotely in beta, saves work to your account, continues when you close your laptop, and can run scheduled tasks. Rollout started with Max plan.
- Computer use is now available to Pro and Max users, letting Claude open files, run dev tools, and click through the screen.
- Claude Fable 5.1 is available via the API with a 1M-token default context window, 128k max output tokens, always-on adaptive thinking, and cache reads at $0.25 per MTok.
Key features
- Chat and collaboration across web, desktop, mobile, Slack, and Google Workspace, with voice mode, incognito chats, and desktop extensions.
- Web search, memory, artifacts, extended thinking, and file/code execution on every plan.
- Claude Code for agentic coding, included in Pro and above.
- Claude Cowork for remote sessions and scheduled tasks, included in Pro and above.
- Projects to organize chats and documents, included in Pro and above.
- Claude Design and Claude Science are part of Pro and above.
- Claude for Microsoft 365 in Pro and above.
- Model access: Sonnet and Haiku on Free; Opus on paid plans.
Pricing in 2026
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Everyday questions with web search, voice mode, memory, artifacts, code execution, connectors, and Sonnet/Haiku within usage limits. |
| Pro | $20/month monthly; $17/month with annual billing ($200 up front) | Everything in Free plus at least 5x more usage per 5-hour session, Claude Code, Claude Cowork, Claude Design, Claude Science, unlimited projects, Opus access, and Microsoft 365. |
| Max | From $100/month | Everything in Pro plus 5x or 20x more usage than Pro, higher output limits, early access to features, and priority during high traffic. |
| Team | Check the official site | For 2 to 150 users; Standard seats exceed Pro usage, Premium seats give 5x more than Standard. |
| Enterprise | $20 per seat/month plus API usage | Everything in Team plus SCIM, audit logs, custom data retention, and role-based access; billed annually. |
Every plan has usage limits that reset on a rolling five-hour session window, and paid plans add weekly limits on top. Your activity across web, desktop, mobile, and Claude Code draws from the same pool. There is no fixed message count. Free covers everyday questions; Pro gives at least 5x more usage per 5-hour session than Free; Max gives 5x or 20x more than Pro. When you reach a limit, you can wait for it to reset, move to a higher plan, or on paid plans enable usage credits to continue at standard API rates. You can track your standing in Settings > Usage. Separate API pricing includes Sonnet 5 at $2/$10 per million tokens, Opus 5 at $5/$25 per million tokens, and Fable 5.1 at $10/$50 per million tokens.
Who should use it
- Casual users who want a capable free assistant: Free.
- Professionals and developers who need Claude Code, Projects, and higher limits: Pro.
- People who work with Claude all day and want longer sessions: Max.
- Small to mid-size teams: Team.
- Large organizations with compliance and admin needs: Enterprise.
Limitations and alternatives
Claude’s usage limits are intentionally flexible rather than message-based, so you may need to monitor your session window and weekly caps. Computer use requires Pro or Max. Claude Cowork’s web and mobile expansion is rolling out gradually; Anthropic said it would begin with Max and extend to more plans. Team pricing is not listed publicly, so check the official site for exact quotes. If Claude does not fit your workflow, compare other AI assistants on their official sites to verify current pricing and features.
Frequently asked questions
What does Claude cost in September 2026?
Free is $0. Pro is $20 monthly or $17 per month billed annually. Max starts at $100 per month. Enterprise is $20 per seat per month plus API usage. Team pricing is on the official site.
What is included in Claude's free plan?
Free includes chat on web, desktop, iOS, and Android, plus web search, voice mode, memory, artifacts, code execution, connectors, and extended thinking. It does not include Claude Code, Projects, or Opus model access. Limits reset on a rolling five-hour session window.
What are the latest Claude models in 2026?
Claude Sonnet 5 is the default model for Free and Pro, with permanent API pricing of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens. Paid plans can use Opus 5. Claude Fable 5.1 is available via the API with a 1M-token default context window at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens.
Can Claude work autonomously on my computer?
Yes. On Pro and Max you can enable computer use, and Claude can open files, run dev tools, and interact with the screen. Claude Cowork also runs remote sessions, saves files to your account, and continues when your laptop is closed.
Information last verified: September 2026.
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