Anthropic tightens utilization limits for Claude Code – with out telling customers

Since Monday morning, Claude Code customers have been hit with unexpectedly restrictive utilization limits. The issues, lots of which have been aired on Claude Code’s GitHub web page, appear to be concentrated amongst heavy customers of the service, lots of whom are on the $200-a-month Max plan. 

Customers are solely instructed “Claude utilization restrict reached,” and given a time (sometimes inside a matter of hours) when the restrict will reset. However with no specific announcement of a change in limits, many customers have concluded that their subscription has been downgraded or that their utilization is being inaccurately tracked. 

“Your monitoring of utilization limits has modified and is not correct,” one person complained. “There isn’t a means within the half-hour of some requests I’ve hit the 900 messages.”

When reached for remark, an Anthropic consultant confirmed the problems however declined to elaborate additional. “We’re conscious that some Claude Code customers are experiencing slower response instances,” the consultant stated, “and we’re working to resolve these points.”

The change has been alarming for customers, who obtained no advance discover of the adjustments and no steerage on what to anticipate going ahead. One person, who requested to not be recognized, stated it has been unattainable to advance his challenge for the reason that utilization limits got here into impact. “It simply stopped the flexibility to make progress,” the person instructed TechCrunch. “I attempted Gemini and Kimi, however there’s actually nothing else that’s aggressive with the potential set of Claude Code proper now.”

These issues have emerged alongside broader points inside Anthropic’s community. Many API customers reported overload errors throughout the identical interval, and the corporate’s standing web page exhibits six separate points in the course of the previous 4 days. Notably, the community nonetheless exhibits one hundred pc uptime for the week.

Whereas loading errors are commonplace, Anthropic’s new method to utilization limits has precipitated vital confusion amongst customers, lots of whom had been unaware they had been topic to utilization limits. A part of the confusion comes from Anthropic’s pricing system, which units tiered limits with out ever guaranteeing a set stage of entry. The most costly Max plan, priced at $200 a month, guarantees utilization limits 20 instances increased than a Professional subscription. The Professional plan, in flip, provides limits 5 instances increased than the free plan. However Anthropic says the free person restrict “will differ by demand” and doesn’t set an absolute worth. The end result leaves customers unable to plan round utilization limits, since they haven’t any clear thought of when their service might be restricted.

The $200 Max plan has been significantly standard amongst heavy customers of the service, with some viewing the plan as unsustainable for Anthropic in the long run. The person we spoke to stated the plan usually permits him to make over $1000 value of calls (measured in API pricing) in a single day. Consequently, he wasn’t stunned utilization limits had been changing into extra restrictive — however hoped the corporate would talk the adjustments extra clearly.

“Simply be clear,” he stated. “The dearth of communication simply causes individuals to lose confidence in them.”