Do I need a paid Claude subscription to use Claude Code?

No — the free tier is enough to follow this course. Pricing details are in Module 2.

How long does the course take?

About 90 minutes if you complete the hands-on exercises.

Will I keep access if I buy?

Yes. Purchase is one-time and gives lifetime access to the curated reader view, plus updates as we add lessons.

What if I'm on Linux or Mac?

Module 1's install lesson covers Windows in depth; Mac/Linux setup is a 5-minute appendix linked from the lesson.

Claude Code Basics — Claude Code Course

TL;DR

Claude AI offers 6 pricing tiers in 2026: Free ($0 with daily limits), Pro ($20/month — currently 50% off for first 3 months), Max ($100-200/month for power users), Team ($25-150/seat for organizations), Enterprise (custom pricing), and pay-as-you-go API access. Here's exactly what each tier includes and which one you should choose.

Claude Pricing Plans at a Glance

Plan	Price	Best For	Key Features
Free	$0	Casual users	Chat, code gen, image analysis, web search (daily limits)
Pro	$20/mo	Developers & power users	Claude Code CLI, unlimited projects, research mode
Max 5x	$100/mo	Heavy daily users	5x Pro usage, Cowork agent, conversation memory
Max 20x	$200/mo	Professional developers	20x Pro usage, maximum capacity
Team	$25-150/seat/mo	Organizations	Central billing, SSO, admin controls
Enterprise	Custom	Large companies	SCIM, audit logs, compliance API, 500K-1M context

Claude Free Tier ($0)

Claude's free tier is surprisingly capable:

Chat & analysis — Full access to Claude's reasoning, writing, and coding abilities
Code generation — Write, debug, and explain code in any programming language
Image analysis — Upload screenshots, diagrams, and photos for analysis
Web search — Claude can search the web for current information
File uploads — Analyze documents, PDFs, spreadsheets

Limitations: Daily usage caps that vary based on demand. During peak hours, you may hit limits more quickly. No Claude Code CLI access.

Best for: Students, casual users, and anyone evaluating Claude before committing to a paid plan.

Claude Pro ($20/month)

Pro is the sweet spot for most developers. Currently 50% off for the first 3 months ($10/month).

Everything in Free, plus:

Claude Code — Terminal-based AI coding CLI that reads your codebase, writes code, and handles multi-file changes
Unlimited projects — Organize conversations with persistent context
Research mode — Deep research with extended reasoning
Google Workspace integration — Connect Gmail, Docs, Calendar
Extended context — Longer conversations with more context retention
Priority access — No waiting during peak hours

Best for: Software engineers, content creators, and anyone who uses AI tools daily for work.

Get Claude Pro with our referral link and support Prograamer.

Claude Max ($100-200/month)

Max is for power users who need maximum capacity:

Max 5x ($100/month):

Everything in Pro
5x the usage limits of Pro
Cowork — Desktop AI agent that executes multi-step tasks autonomously
Conversation memory — Claude remembers context across conversations
Early access — First access to new features and models
3 Guest Passes — Share 7-day trials with friends

Max 20x ($200/month):

Everything in Max 5x
20x the usage limits of Pro
Maximum capacity for the heaviest users

Best for: Professional developers using Claude Code extensively, AI researchers, and anyone who hits Pro limits regularly.

Claude Team ($25-150/seat/month)

For organizations that need central management:

Team Standard ($25/seat/month annual, $30/month monthly):

Everything in Pro per seat
Central billing and admin dashboard
SSO (Single Sign-On)
Connectors: Slack, Microsoft 365
1.25x Pro usage per seat

Team Premium ($150/seat/month):

Everything in Team Standard
Claude Code CLI access for all team members
6.25x Pro usage per seat
Priority support

Best for: Engineering teams of 3+ who want shared billing and admin controls.

Claude Enterprise (Custom Pricing)

For large organizations with compliance and security requirements:

Everything in Team Premium
SCIM provisioning (automated user management)
Audit logs and compliance API
Enhanced context window (500K-1M tokens)
Dedicated support and SLAs
Custom data retention policies

Best for: Fortune 500 companies, regulated industries, organizations with strict security requirements.

Contact Anthropic directly for Enterprise pricing.

Claude API Pricing (Pay-As-You-Go)

For developers building applications with Claude:

Model	Input (per 1M tokens)	Output (per 1M tokens)
Claude Opus 4	$15.00	$75.00
Claude Sonnet 4	$3.00	$15.00
Claude Haiku 3.5	$0.80	$4.00

Context: 200K tokens for all models. Prompt caching available for up to 90% cost reduction on repeated content.

Best for: Developers building AI-powered applications, chatbots, content generation tools, and coding assistants.

Which Claude Plan Should You Choose?

Decision flowchart:

Trying Claude for the first time? Start with the Free tier
Using Claude daily for coding? Pro ($10/month with current discount)
Hitting Pro limits regularly? Max 5x ($100/month)
Team of 3+ developers? Team Standard ($25/seat)
Building an app with Claude API? Pay-as-you-go API (start with Haiku for cost efficiency)
Enterprise with compliance needs? Enterprise (contact sales)

For most individual developers, Claude Pro at $10/month (50% off promotion) is the best value.

Check our AI Tools deals page for the latest Claude offers and free trials on competing tools.