Claude is the chat: you bring it text and files, it answers. Claude Code is an agent that works inside a folder on your computer, editing files and running commands. You do not pay twice, because every paid Claude plan includes both, but they share one usage limit and Claude Code spends it far faster.
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Pick Claude if what you want back is an answer, a draft or a single file, and everything it needs fits in a paste or an upload, because chat does that on the free plan and barely dents a paid limit.
Pick Claude Code if the work lives in a folder of files you want changed, tested and committed, because Claude Code edits them in place and you stop copying code in and out of a chat window.
Pick neither if your real problem is running out of usage, because chat and Claude Code drain the same limit, so moving work between them changes nothing and the real choice is Max, usage credits at API rates, or a pay-per-token API key.
prices checked 2026-10-13 · by dan scutaru
| Claude | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| price | free tier · from $20/mo | from $20/mo |
| free tier | Chat, web search, file creation, code execution, memory and up to 5 projects, on Sonnet and Haiku, with a rolling five-hour usage window. No Claude Code, no Research, no Opus or Fable models, no image generation. | None. Claude's Free plan does not include Claude Code. |
| runs on | web, ios, android, mac, windows, linux | web, ios, android, mac, windows, linux, api |
| what it works on | What you type, paste, upload or connect | A project folder on your machine, a cloud session or an SSH host |
| usage limit | Five-hour session limit plus a weekly one on paid plans | The same limit, from the same pool. No number published for either. |
| what drains the limit fastest | Long conversations, a bigger model, higher effort | Long sessions (the whole context is resent every turn), subagents, scheduled tasks |
| without a Claude subscription | Only the Free plan. The API is billed separately. | An API key, Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud or Microsoft Foundry, per token |
You do not pay twice. Every paid Claude plan includes Claude Code, from Pro at $20 a month ($17 if you pay $200 for the year) to Max at $100 or $200. The Free plan gets chat and no Claude Code.
You do not get a second allowance either. Anthropic's pricing FAQ says your terminal work and your chats draw from one pool: a five-hour session limit plus a weekly one. Only the API is billed separately, and Max now includes $100 or $200 a month of API credits for it.
Claude Code empties the shared limit much faster than chat. Anthropic's cost guide says each turn carries file contents, tool calls and multi-step reasoning, and the whole conversation is resent with every request, so a one-line question in a session open all day pays for the day.
Pro users on Hacker News describe the result: the plan holds up for chat and runs dry once Claude Code joins in. Run `/usage` to see what ate it and `/clear` between unrelated tasks.
If you have the Claude desktop app, you already have Claude Code. Its Code tab runs the same engine as the terminal tool, with visual diffs, and needs a paid plan. The Chat tab is ordinary Claude.
A local Code session works in a folder on your machine: it reads files, edits them, runs commands and commits with git. In the terminal and VS Code, new sessions now start in auto mode, where a second model approves those actions instead of you. Manual mode, which asks every time, is one Shift+Tab away.
Past the limit you wait for the reset or switch on usage credits, which cover chat and Claude Code and bill at standard API rates on top of your subscription. You prepay and set a monthly cap, or choose unlimited.
Two surprises live here. Claude Code's prompt cache lasts an hour on a subscription but five minutes on credits, so the first message after a break reprocesses the whole session. And if an `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` is set and you approve it, Claude Code bills that key instead of your plan.
An Anthropic agent that works inside a project: it reads your code, edits files, runs commands and handles git, in a terminal, VS Code, JetBrains, the desktop app or at claude.ai/code. It uses the same models as the chat.
No. The free Claude plan has chat but not Claude Code. The cheapest way in is Pro at $20 a month, or an Anthropic Console account billed per token. The full answer →
Yes, at no extra charge, inside the same limit as your chats. Pro is the cheapest plan that includes it: $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly.
For code that lives in files, yes: it edits and tests in place instead of making you paste. For questions and drafts, no: chat is lighter on your limit and has a free plan.