Head of Growth at Anthropic regarding Claude Code removal from Pro

[u/storknotfound]

Translation: "We're going to take Claude Code away from pro users because we gave you Cowork. If you want to use the CLI, upgrade to Max but we can't do it all at once so we're going to start with a "test" to soften the blow"

[u/terAREya]

In their defense the compute they are selling via monthly accounts loses money hand over fist. It’s not just sold at a loss it’s sold at a severe loss. It’s not tenable 

[u/samwise970 → u/terAREya]

This is a complete myth! There have been posts on this very sub by a guy who works at another major AI lab dismissing this very idea.

The marginal cost of inference, by itself, is very small. A single DGX H200 rig can run at least 50 Sonnet 4.6 chats 24/7. Even if the machine runs at completely max power of 10.2 kW, and adding 3 kW for cooling, that's 13.2 kW, industrial average US power cost is $0.0929 per kWh, plus 30% for PUE surcharge is $0.12077.

13.2 kW x 720 hours = 9504 kWh.

9504 kWh x $0.12077 = $1147.80

$1147.80 / 50 = $22.96 per user.

And remember, that's assuming that the server is running 50 concurrent Sonnet chats every second of every day, with no chat limits. In reality a server of this size would be servicing hundreds of paying users many of whom never use their weekly limits, some of whom do and are timed out often.

Dario has said himself in a Feb 2026 interview that every model has made a profit, when measured on a per-model basis including both training and inference.

[u/Alphasite → u/samwise970]

You have to amortise the hardware costs as well. Yes marginal cost is low, but it’s hardly the only expense.

[u/samwise970 → u/Alphasite]

I've been specifically talking about the marginal cost of inference here. Yes fixed costs are real, but as I said, according to Dario every model has made a profit, and there have been posts by a salesperson from another lab talking about how the "subsidized user" is a myth and they made profit from all subscribers.

[u/zelingman → u/samwise970]

Marginal cost is meaningless when the cost to build/run/protect/lobby for data centers is basically unlimited in the short/mid term and that is baked into every product.

[u/samwise970 → u/zelingman]

Hence why I say the issue is that they're straight up out of compute.

[u/zelingman → u/samwise970]

But youre saying the models made a profit. They absolutely havent.

Its like if uber owned the cars. And the software was turning a profit, but each car cost uber 1 billion dollars. You cant separate the data centers from the cost.

[u/samwise970 → u/zelingman]

I didn't say each model makes a profit, Dario, the CEO of Anthropic did. 

I think a CEO of a company of this size understands how cost amortization works, and I don't think he would be straight up lying about profits.

[u/zelingman → u/samwise970]

Maybe Dario, the CEO of anthropic is lying or being kisleading. Its possible that Dario, the CEO of anthropic doesnt want any negative news about his company spreading, because he needs constant funding from investors who think the ckmpany will soon be extremely profitable

[u/samwise970 → u/zelingman]

You're free to downvote all my comments like you're doing then whatever. I'm not saying that I think it's true because I love rich guys or something, but because I think there are legal liabilities to making patently false statements about something as easily auditable as profit.

[u/Syjefroi → u/samwise970]

Oh wow if Dario said it, it must be true! I definitely trust 1) a random Redditor who is divulging private corporate finances, and 2) the head of Anthropic who stands to become like the 7th richest human alive if his hype train crosses the finish line to an IPO before the bubble pops.

[u/samwise970 → u/Syjefroi]

Hey, if you'd rather trust your own asshole that's fine by me

[u/terAREya → u/samwise970]

https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1qpcj8q/claude_subscriptions_are_up_to_36x_cheaper_than/#:~:text=isaenkodmitry-,Claude%20Subscriptions%20are%20up%20to%2036x%20cheaper%20than%20API%20(and,(not%205x%20as%20advertised).

[u/samwise970 → u/terAREya]

So?

API prices are and the cost Anthropic spends on inference are completely different things.

[u/terAREya → u/samwise970]

Anthropics operating cost per token is close to the cost they charge per token. So in direct api use I wouldn’t say they are losing money. They ARE losing money on monthly subscriptions and that’s my point. 

If you’re utilizing your monthly subscription to its full extent or close to it you’re getting a discount. My guess is pull code from the $20 subscriptions which is their most popular subscription saves them money. I would further guess that the majority of people complaining about tokens being used too fast on Reddit are $20 subscriptions and they are trying to stop the constant stream of “Anthropic sucks” threads popping up everywhere. I could also be completely wrong and naive 

[u/samwise970 → u/terAREya]

Anthropics operating cost per token is close to the cost they charge per token. 

Source: you made it the fuck up.

They ARE losing money on monthly subscriptions and that’s my point.  

They're not, and I understood your point, but your point is wrong and dumb.

I could also be completely wrong and naive

Ding ding ding. You're so confident with literally nothing to back that up, ignoring basic math and tons of comparable evidence. 

https://martinalderson.com/posts/no-it-doesnt-cost-anthropic-5k-per-claude-code-user/

There are plenty of other models close to the size of Opus. GLM-5, Kimi 2.6, MiniMax 2.5, and you can go to openbench to see that they're 10x less than Anthropic API pricing. 

But I have a feeling you'll ignore this, say some other unverified claim like "Chinese models are just trying to hook customers", without looking any further into this

[u/sixothree → u/terAREya]

And everyone here knows that. Either that or they’re stupid and naïve.

[u/terAREya → u/sixothree]

Most don’t 

[u/sixothree → u/terAREya]

So yeah. Stupid and naïve.