Claude's Ultra plan drops the 5-hour limit for verified accounts
Max 5x is now Max and Max 20x is now Ultra at the same prices, and verified Ultra accounts lose the 5-hour limit while weekly limits stay.
If you pay $200 a month for Claude, check Settings > Usage today. If the Current session bar is gone, your account is verified and you can keep working past the old 5-hour wall until you hit your weekly limit. If you pay $100, your plan is now called Max and keeps its 5-hour limit.
What changed#
On Oct 30 at 1:29 PM ET, Anthropic posted on X that Max 5x is now Max and Max 20x is now Ultra. Prices stay at $100 and $200 a month, and "If you’re a subscriber, there’s nothing you need to do."
Before, per the pricing page, every plan reset on a rolling five-hour session window, with weekly limits on top for paid plans. Now Anthropic says it is "removing the 5-hour limit for verified Ultra accounts, starting today with most existing subscribers." Newer accounts keep a temporary limit until they're verified, which Anthropic says "helps us prevent fraud and abuse." The same post says "Weekly limits remain unchanged."
The pricing page now says "Max gives you 5x the usage of Pro, every 5 hours and every week" and "Ultra gives you 10x the weekly usage of Pro, with no 5-hour limit for verified accounts".
Why 10x, when the plan was called 20x#
You'll notice the $200 plan's number dropped from 20x to 10x. The old figure was a 5-hour number: on Oct 26 the pricing page said Max offered "5x or 20x the usage of Pro per 5-hour session", and it gave no weekly multiple (archived page). The 10x is the first weekly multiple the page has printed for the $200 plan. Anthropic says "Weekly limits remain unchanged" and hasn't explained the 10x figure. We can't tell from these pages whether it matches the old weekly cap, so we don't call it a cut.
Why it matters#
Chat, desktop, mobile and Claude Code share one usage pool, per the pricing page. Our read: Ultra users who hit the session wall mid-run but not the weekly one get more usable hours at the same price. If you already run out weekly, nothing changes.
How to check#
- Open Claude and go to Settings > Usage.
- The Ultra help page says "If you don't see a Current session bar, your account is verified."
- Still see it? The help page says "We remove it automatically once your account is verified, so there's nothing you need to do." The X post says you'll get an email.
Good to know#
- Who counts as newer isn't defined. The help page says Anthropic verifies Ultra accounts automatically "using factors like your account and payment history", and gives no cutoff date or wait time.
- Verifying your phone doesn't count. The help page says "Verifying your phone number at checkout is a separate step and doesn't remove this limit."
- Fable has its own cap. Ultra has a weekly limit across all models "and a separate weekly limit for Fable", per the help page.
- Not unlimited. Anthropic says it may still limit usage in other ways, "such as weekly and monthly caps or model and feature usage, at our discretion."
- Monthly only. Per the help page, Ultra is monthly only, and "Mobile pricing may vary depending on your app platform."
What to watch#
- How long verification takes. Anthropic hasn't said. The signal is the Current session bar disappearing from Settings > Usage, or the email.
- An explanation of the 10x. Watch the help page and @claudeai for any note on how the weekly multiple compares with Max 20x.
Last checked: Oct 30, 2026, 3:58 to 4:01 PM ET. What changed: first published Oct 30.
Sources#
Steps
- Open Claude and go to Settings > Usage.
- If you don't see a Current session bar, your Ultra account is verified and has no 5-hour limit.
- If you still see it, wait: Anthropic removes the temporary limit automatically and emails you when it's gone.