ANTHROPIC
Claude Code users just got the pay-as-you-go memo
Anthropic is making it more expensive for Claude Code subscribers to use its coding assistant through third-party tools like OpenClaw.
In an email shared on Hacker News, the company said that from noon Pacific time on April 4, subscribers would no longer be able to use their existing Claude subscription limits with third-party harnesses, including OpenClaw.
Any extra usage through those tools will now be charged separately on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Anthropic said the change starts with OpenClaw but will eventually apply to all third-party harnesses.
Claude Code lead Boris Cherny said on X that Anthropic’s subscription model was not designed for the way these outside tools are being used.
He said the company is trying to manage growth more carefully so it can keep serving customers over the long term.
The move comes shortly after OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger announced he was joining OpenAI.
OpenClaw will remain open source and continue with support from OpenAI.
Steinberger said he and OpenClaw board member Dave Morin had pushed back on Anthropic’s decision, but were only able to delay the pricing change by a week.
He also suggested the timing was notable, claiming Anthropic had copied popular features into its own closed system before restricting open-source access.
In brief:
Anthropic is separating third-party tool usage from normal Claude subscriptions.
The company says the change is about infrastructure and sustainability, not open source.
The decision lands in the middle of growing tension between Anthropic, OpenAI, and developers building around their tools.
Open source side-eye
Cherny rejected that framing, saying the Claude Code team supports open source and that he had recently contributed pull requests to help improve OpenClaw’s prompt cache efficiency.
He said the change was driven by engineering limits, not opposition to open-source projects, and noted that Anthropic is offering full refunds to subscribers who were not aware this use case was unsupported.
The update also comes as competition between Anthropic and OpenAI continues to heat up.
OpenAI recently shut down its standalone Sora app and video models, reportedly to shift computing resources toward software developers and enterprise customers, two areas where Claude Code has been gaining traction.
Some AI bills just skyrocketed overnight. - MV