Claude Ultra Replaces Max 20x: What Changes in 2026

By PowerfulAI.tools Editorial Team

Anthropic has renamed its two top Claude subscriptions. The plan called Max 20x is now called Ultra, and the plan called Max 5x is now simply Max. Prices have not changed. The bigger news for heavy users is that verified Ultra accounts no longer have a five-hour usage limit.

Anthropic announced the change on 30 October 2026 (US time) and has updated its pricing page and help centre to match. Here is what changed, who it affects and what it means if you pay for Claude.

Image: Anthropic

What changed

There are two parts to this update: new names and a new rule for the top plan.

• Max 5x is now Max. It still costs US$100 a month on the web and still gives you five times the Pro plan's usage, both in each five-hour window and each week.
• Max 20x is now Ultra. It still costs US$200 a month on the web. Anthropic's help centre says existing Max 20x subscribers move to Ultra automatically, with no price change.
• No five-hour limit on verified Ultra accounts. Ultra now has only a weekly limit, which Anthropic lists as 10 times the Pro plan's usage each week. There is a single weekly limit across all models, plus a separate weekly limit for Fable, Anthropic's top model.

If you already subscribe, Anthropic says there is nothing you need to do.

What "verified" means

The removal of the five-hour limit only applies to verified Ultra accounts. According to Anthropic's help centre:

• Accounts are verified automatically, based on account and payment history.
• Unverified Ultra accounts get a temporary five-hour limit, which is removed automatically once the account is verified.
• Verifying a phone number at checkout does not remove the limit on its own.
• To check your status, go to Settings > Usage. If there is no "Current session" bar, your account is verified.

Anthropic also notes that it may apply other caps, such as weekly or monthly limits, and that how fast you reach a limit depends on the model you use, how long your chats are and how large your files are.

What each plan now includes

According to Claude's pricing page, as read on 31 October 2026:

Pro

US$20 a month billed monthly, or US$17 a month billed annually. It is the baseline paid plan, with more usage than Free every five hours and every week, Claude Code and access to more Claude models.

Max

US$100 a month. Five times Pro usage every five hours and every week, Fable included for up to half your weekly limit, US$100 a month in API credits for building on the Claude Platform, early access to advanced features and priority access at busy times.

Ultra

US$200 a month. Everything in Max, plus no five-hour limit for verified accounts, 10 times Pro usage every week, and US$200 a month in API credits, up from US$100 on Max.

Max and Ultra are billed monthly only. Prices are listed in US dollars on Claude's website. Anthropic says pricing through mobile app stores may differ, so the amount you pay in Australia can vary depending on where you subscribe.

What it means for ordinary users

If you use the Free or Pro plan, nothing changes for you.

If you were on Max 5x, your plan has a shorter name but works the same way.

If you were on Max 20x, the main difference is how your usage is measured. Instead of being stopped when you hit a limit within a five-hour session, a verified Ultra account only has to stay within its weekly allowance. That suits people who use Claude in long, intense bursts, such as a full day of coding in Claude Code or a large research task, and then use it less on other days.

If you are thinking about upgrading, it is worth checking your current usage first in Settings > Usage, so you know whether you regularly run into the five-hour limit or the weekly one.

How we checked

We checked this post against Anthropic's own pages on 31 October 2026: the help centre articles What is the Ultra plan? and What is the Max plan?, and the Claude plans and pricing page. The announcement date comes from Claude's official announcement post. Prices are Anthropic's listed US dollar web prices. We have not tested the plans ourselves.