UPDATE: 2026/04/28 21:42 EST BY SIMON BATT
Anthropic says that Claude Code Pro members are keeping Opus access after all
Since the publication of this article, the ClaudeOfficial Reddit account made a post stating that this information comes from an outdated support article before Opus was fully introduced into the Pro plans.
Anthropic points to a Wayback Machine link that shows what the page looked like when Opus 4.5 was introduced, and sure enough, the information box is there. Interestingly, the Wayback Machine also shows that when the page was updated to include Opus 4.6 and Opus 4.7 in the list, the message remained. It's likely that, while the supported model list was actively updated, the model access information box was not erased and subsequently forgotten.
We also got in touch with Anthropic directly and got confirmation that this was, in fact, an issue with updating the documentation, and not a sign of things to come. The representative also said that if Anthropic changes something that affects current subscribers, "they'll get plenty of notice before anything changes."
The original article now follows.
It hasn't been a good few days for Claude's Pro subscribers. First, we saw evidence that Anthropic was moving to remove Claude Code from the Pro tier, which didn't affect current subscribers but meant some new subscribers wouldn't be able to use it.
Now, an update to Anthropic's documentation gives us another insight into what the company wants to achieve with the Pro tier, and it's even more bad news. According to the documents, it seems that Anthropic is locking Claude Pro subscribers out of its powerful Opus models... unless they pay extra, of course.
Anthropic cut Claude Code from new Pro subscriptions, calling it an "A/B test"
It's no longer shown as available for Pro subscribers on the payment plan page.
Claude Code Pro users now need to purchase extra usage to unlock the Opus models
Anthropic is tightening the restrictions on Pro subscribers
On the Claude Support page for Claude Code model configuration, the company has added a new condition for using Opus on Claude Code. Previously, using Opus on Claude Code was included in the Pro subscription price, which wasn't originally possible when Anthropic first gave Pro subscribers access to its agentic tool. Now, it seems Anthropic wants to change how Pro subscribers pay and use Opus on Claude Code for a second time.
Under the "Supported models" section of the documentation, it now reads:
⚠️ Model access: When using a Pro plan with Claude Code, you will only be able to use Opus models after enabling and purchasing extra usage.
Clicking that link leads you to the page for managing extra usage for Claude plans. Extra credits are like an emergency stash of usage that you can buy on a pay-as-you-go basis. When Claude goes over your usage limit, it begins burning your extra credit to ensure your workflow doesn't get interrupted. It's a nice bonus to prevent interruptions, but if you're a Claude Code Opus user on a Pro plan, this optional tool is now required to use Opus. It doesn't seem this move affects the chatbot side of Claude; it's just for Claude Code.
Some folks over on the ClaudeCode subreddit have theories about why Anthropic added another paywall to using Claude Code Opus on Pro. Some believe this was done because Claude Code Opus was tearing through Pro subscribers' usage limits, so this is Anthropic's way of signaling that you need a fair bit more credit to comfortably use Opus on the Pro plan. One commenter believes this may be a one-time purchase unlock, where any amount of added credit unlocks Opus permanently. We'll just have to see what happens when Claude Code Pro users start using the Opus model.
