Claude API free tier
Anthropic publishes no free API tier. New users receive a small amount of free credits to test the API; the amount is not stated on the pricing page, and extended trials are arranged through sales.
Signup credit: Claude API
Published on the provider page| Limit | Value | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free credit | Unpublished | Account | The pricing FAQ says a small amount of free credits; no figure is published. |
- What moves you past this tier
- Adding a payment method and using the API; organizations start in an Evaluation or Start tier and move up automatically with usage history.
- Card required
- Not stated by the provider
- Source
- Claude API pricing, FAQ 'Are there free tiers or trials?' Read 2026-10-16
Paid entry tier: Claude API, Start tier
Published on the provider pageThe Start tier carries a $500 monthly spend cap; Build ($1,000 cap) and Scale ($200,000 cap) follow with usage history, and the Custom tier has no cap. The page publishes one table of standard per-model rate limits; new organizations may begin in an Evaluation tier with lower limits. Cache reads do not count toward input-token limits on most current models.
| Limit | Value | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly spend cap | $500 | Account | Start tier |
| Requests per minute | 1,000 | Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Standard limit |
| Input tokens per minute | 2,000,000 | Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Standard limit; uncached input only |
| Output tokens per minute | 400,000 | Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Standard limit |
| Requests per minute | 1,000 | Claude Sonnet 5 | Standard limit |
| Input tokens per minute | 2,000,000 | Claude Sonnet 5 | Standard limit; uncached input only |
| Output tokens per minute | 400,000 | Claude Sonnet 5 | Standard limit |
| Requests per minute | 1,000 | Claude Haiku 5.5 | Standard limit |
| Input tokens per minute | 2,000,000 | Claude Haiku 5.5 | Standard limit; uncached input only |
| Output tokens per minute | 400,000 | Claude Haiku 5.5 | Standard limit |
| Requests per minute | 1,000 | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Standard limit |
| Input tokens per minute | 2,000,000 | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Standard limit; uncached input only |
| Output tokens per minute | 400,000 | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Standard limit |
| Requests per minute | 1,000 | Claude Opus 5.5 | Standard limit |
| Input tokens per minute | 2,000,000 | Claude Opus 5.5 | Standard limit; uncached input only |
| Output tokens per minute | 400,000 | Claude Opus 5.5 | Standard limit |
| Requests per minute | 1,000 | Claude Opus 5 | Standard limit |
| Input tokens per minute | 2,000,000 | Claude Opus 5 | Standard limit; uncached input only |
| Output tokens per minute | 400,000 | Claude Opus 5 | Standard limit |
| Requests per minute | 1,000 | Claude Fable 5.x | Standard limit; combined across Fable 5.1 and Fable 5 |
| Input tokens per minute | 500,000 | Claude Fable 5.x | Standard limit; combined |
| Output tokens per minute | 100,000 | Claude Fable 5.x | Standard limit; combined |
- What moves you past this tier
- Tiers advance automatically on usage history and account standing; higher limits can be requested from the Console.
- Card required
- Yes
- Source
- Claude API rate limits and spend limits Read 2026-10-16
The page lists one standard rate-limit table; Build, Scale and Custom differ by monthly spend cap.
Questions
Is there a free Claude API tier?
No. Anthropic’s pricing page lists no free production tier. New users receive a small amount of free credits to test the API, an amount the page does not state, and extended trials go through sales. Claude’s free consumer plan is a separate product and does not include API access.
How many free credits does Anthropic give new accounts?
Anthropic does not publish the figure. Its pricing FAQ says only that new users receive a small amount of free credits. We record the value as unpublished; any number you see elsewhere is not from Anthropic’s page.
What are the Claude API rate limits on the Start tier?
A $500 monthly spend cap, and per model 1,000 requests a minute with 2,000,000 uncached input tokens and 400,000 output tokens a minute for Claude Sonnet 5, Opus 5 and Haiku 4.5; the Fable 5 family shares 500,000 input and 100,000 output tokens a minute. Cache reads do not count toward input limits.