Claude Code works on your computer, in your folders, with your tools. Cowork works on Anthropic's servers and reaches your computer only through the desktop app. From 6 October 2026 that is the only way new Cowork tasks run on Pro and Max, and most comparisons still describe a virtual machine on your laptop.
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Pick Claude Cowork if what you want back is a document, a spreadsheet or a deck, you never want to open a terminal, and you are fine with the work happening on Anthropic's servers while your laptop is shut.
Pick Claude Code if the work is a codebase, or it has to run on your own machine, because Claude Code is where Anthropic itself now sends people whose tasks must stay local.
Pick neither if the job is a question, a draft or one file made from something you can paste or upload, because the free Claude plan already searches the web, creates files and runs code, and an agent would spend a paid usage limit on steps you did not need.
prices checked 2026-10-05 · by dan scutaru
| Claude Cowork | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| price | from $20/mo | from $20/mo |
| free tier | No Cowork on the Free plan. Free Claude chat can still search the web, create files and run code. | None. Claude's Free plan does not include Claude Code. |
| runs on | web, ios, android, mac, windows | web, ios, android, mac, windows, linux, api |
| where the work runs | Anthropic's servers, in a sandbox destroyed when the session ends. Cloud sessions are labelled beta. | Your machine by default. A cloud session or an SSH host if you choose. |
| what it can touch on your computer | Only folders you connect, through the Claude Desktop app, while that app is open. A copy of each file it needs goes to the cloud. | Reads the project folder without asking. Asks before editing files or running shell commands in the default mode. |
| top individual plan | Max, $100/mo (5x Pro usage) or $200/mo (20x) | The same plan, the same allowance |
| scheduled work | Runs in the cloud with no device online. Tasks that use local files need the desktop app open. | Routines run in the cloud. Desktop scheduled tasks run on your machine. |
Claude Cowork is Claude Code's agent pointed at office work. You describe an outcome, it plans the steps, runs them and hands back files. Anthropic says it uses the same agentic architecture as Claude Code, with no terminal required.
The name is on its way out. Since 16 September 2026 Anthropic has been merging Cowork into ordinary chat on Pro and Max. On a moved account there is no Cowork option, you just ask. Team and Enterprise keep the separate tabs for now.
Use chat when the answer is the product. Use Cowork when a finished file is the product and getting there takes many steps across your folders, your connected apps or a browser.
The line is thinner than the tabs suggest. Free chat already searches the web, creates files and runs code. What it lacks is the handing off: tasks that continue in the background, schedules, and folders on your computer. If you need none of those three, you do not need Cowork.
If the files must not leave your machine, the choice is made for you. Anthropic's help page for the 6 October change points Pro and Max users who need local work to Claude Code in the desktop app, which keeps folders and history on your computer.
You do not need a terminal. The Code tab is a window with a folder picker and visual diffs. The cost for a non-developer: it is built around a project folder and git, and Cowork projects and scheduled tasks do not carry over.
Neither has its own price. Both come with every paid Claude plan: Pro at $20 a month ($17 if you pay $200 for the year), Max, Team from $25 a seat, and Enterprise.
Both draw on one usage limit shared with chat, a five-hour session limit and a weekly one. Anthropic publishes no figure for how many tasks that buys, only that multi-step tasks use more than a quick question.
No. Cowork needs a paid plan: Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise. The free plan gets chat, which can create files and run code but cannot take background tasks, schedules or folders on your computer.
No. Anthropic's setup page says the free claude.ai plan does not include Claude Code. You need a paid plan, or a Console account that bills per token. The full answer →
Yes, in the Claude Desktop app for Windows on all paid plans. It also runs at claude.ai and in the iOS and Android apps, in beta. Local files and browser control only work while the desktop app is open.
Safer for your computer than for your data. Its code runs in an isolated sandbox on Anthropic's servers. But it reads web pages and email, so prompt injection is a real risk, and Anthropic's own guidance is to keep it away from sensitive files such as financial documents.
Neither is better. They are the same agent with different reach. Cowork wins at office files and at working while you are away. Claude Code wins at anything in a repository or anything that must stay on your machine.