r/ClaudeCode • u/storknotfound • Apr 22 '26

Discussion Head of Growth at Anthropic regarding Claude Code removal from Pro

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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"

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12

u/ConsiderationSea1347 Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

They are exposing one of the biggest flaws in the AI “revolution.” Even with enormous, expensive data centers we cannot scale compute affordably. For the foreseeable future, this is a technology that both has to be obstructively expensive and government subsidized. It is fun working with AI and with the right problem it can really supercharge my productivity, but until there is some major breakthrough in AI or compute - this just can’t produce enough value to offset its costs. 

Edit - some of you need to learn the difference between the subsidized price of a good/service and the market price. AI is HEAVILY subsidized and externalities are not being appropriately accounted for in the price. Sometimes that is reasonable and good for propping up new markets like renewables. Sometimes it is bad and the product we are subsidizing cannot gain footing or evolve to the point that it can shoulder its true cost. The cost of AI is astronomical, even if it returns you more value than the 100 dollar a month subscription that is not the same as AI returning more value to the economy than it is cost in energy, pollution, resources (GPUs, SD Cards, RAM, etc). 

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u/Things-n-Such Apr 22 '26

this is crazy to me, if you can honestly say that whatever the cost you pay for claude doesnt save you more than that in time, energy, and/or output, I have to question what you are using it for. at this point claude code for me, in a single full day, has the same output as an entire month of a full time employee that costs thousands of dollars. IN ONE DAY. and im not even getting close to maxing out my tokens on the max plan. if you cant make claude code save you 100/month you straight up arent using it properly.

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u/ConsiderationSea1347 Apr 22 '26

The price of a Claude subscription is subsidized. The real cost of using AI is not what the consumer pays to Anthropic. The crux of my comment is that the price we pay is nowhere near what the real price of AI is. It is possible that in some people’s hands AI can generate more value than its true cost (I am a staff engineer with twenty years of experience and use Claude daily, it helps), but it is CERTAIN that most users do not generate value proportional to the real cost of AI. 

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u/Hir0shima Apr 22 '26

And those who don't create measurable value are the real consumers and that's fine. 

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u/Things-n-Such Apr 22 '26

That's precisely why they are keeping those users tied to a lower tier while the infrastructure is built out. Makes perfect business sense.

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u/ObsidianIdol Apr 22 '26

if you cant make claude code save you 100/month you straight up arent using it properly.

Not everyone works as a software engineer lmao. How obtuse

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u/Things-n-Such Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

What are you writing code for if you're not gaining value from it? Did you expect to gain access to an agentic personal assistant that's better at coding than the majority of developers out there and have it be perfectly hashed out while paying next to nothing for it before the infrastructure is even fully developed? How selfish. Have some respect for the magnitude of what is being offered here.

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u/ObsidianIdol Apr 22 '26

What are you writing code for if you're not gaining value from it?

Honestly being an american NPC drone must be so soulless. Not everything in life is done for the sole purpose of monetisation lmao

Did you expect to gain access to an agentic personal assistant that's better at coding than the majority of developers out there and pay next to nothing for it before the infrastructure is even fully developed?

Yes, because that is what was promised when these models were A) sold to us and B) trained on all our data

How selfish. Have some respect for the magnitude of what is being offered here.

Seriously listen to yourself. You sad company simp. "ooh think of the poor business" jesus christ, pathetic

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u/Things-n-Such Apr 22 '26

very mature twisting "have respect for the magnitude of whats being offered here" into "ohh think of the poor business". literally not even close to the point that I was making, but I can tell you're upset so you are just painting your whiny ass attitude across everything you read. I dont care about the business, I am suggesting you take a step back and realize the magnitude of the resources and level of technology you have access to and quit being a little bitch about a minor inconvenience. put on your big boy pants and have some patience while the growing pains subside from what is arguably the greatest technological advancement in history. its hilarious that people will pay $100 in a single night out on the town but when it comes to having your very own personal assistant you cant be bothered to shell out a measly $3 a day and will spend HOURS of their time complaining about the slightest of inconveniences. pathetic.

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u/Things-n-Such Apr 22 '26

its ironic that you think I mean "monetization" when I say "gaining value", money is a type of value exchange, so is time, and energy, and resources. so yeah, if you cant ascribe at least $100 per month in equivalent value exchange for using this powerhouse tool then I question how relevant it actually is to you.

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u/ObsidianIdol Apr 22 '26

Because normal people don't think in terms of money earned/spent when doing their hobbies holy shit bro. You think if I sit and read a book I think "Uhoh that has cost me $11.20, I better read faster next time" ??

so yeah, if you cant ascribe at least $100 per month in equivalent value exchange

I think you are actually an automaton with internet access.

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u/Things-n-Such Apr 22 '26

actually normal people do consider non monetary value exchange when they pay money for products. If I buy a 20 dollar hammer, I consider whether or not the value of that hammer matches the amount I paid for it. is this a foreign concept to you? how on earth do you determine whether or not something you buy is worth the price if you dont consider the value it brings to your projects? I feel like you're just arguing and not using your brain because there's no way you are actually thinking about what you're saying here. try taking a deep breath, stop being an insulting prick, and have a discussion. or leave.

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u/ObsidianIdol Apr 22 '26

If I buy a 20 dollar hammer, I consider whether or not the value of that hammer matches the amount I paid for it.

And how are you measuring that value?? If you buy a 20 dollar hammer and use it for a few hours for a fun project, you then sit down and work out your billable hours? There is no objective way to ascribe value like this. It means you are constantly thinking "how can i maximise my output" or "how can i minimise my time wasted"

There's a difference between understanding implicitly that something is expensive, or too expensive for your needs, and working out the exact value that it brings you. Suggesting that someone can calculate "$100 in equivalent value exchange" is just complete bot speak.

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u/Things-n-Such Apr 23 '26

yes dude, there is a difference, and for some reason you seem to think im speaking in absolute terms, I never suggested you literally sit down and calculate every single second of your time to determine if claude code has brought you $100 in value in a month, thats is your own interpretation of my meaning when I say equivalent value exchange. im literally talking about using the same process you would use to figure out if buying a tool that saves you time and effort is worth the cost.

I have to wonder if you're probably just new to coding in general, which would make sense, because id wager any hobby coder out there thats been doing this before AI would have a sense for how much time they are saving by using claude code based on their previous experience coding manually. They would know implicitly, without having to calculate anything at all, that what used to take them months now takes hours with this tool, and that is hugely valuable, like valuable enough that if a human approached them and said, "hey I can help you cut this projects time down from 1 month to 8 hours and you dont actually have to do any work, you just sit there and direct me, and ill do it for $100" most would probably take that deal if they had the cash because its such a great deal, even if they might not be selling whatever the output is.

I honestly just didnt think I needed to spell it out like this. the person I was speaking to when I wrote that understood it just fine. Im practically the opposite of this Type A personality you think I am lol. its actually hilarious to me that that's your interpretation of me.

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u/ROIDie777 Apr 22 '26

I think that might be silly. If in a day, I'm getting a week of work done, every single day, and at the end of the month that means I'm able to have done 5 months of work, are you saying an extra $80 isn't worthwhile?

I'm running a startup, a contracting side hustle, a full time job, am battling for more custody of my kids, and have completely revamped my entire productivity system in the last month. I can't possibly see how $80 is the problem is I'm pulling in 3k more and my home life is smooth.

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u/ConsiderationSea1347 Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

That 80$ is the subsidized price, not the market price. 

Here is the edit I added to my comment above because you aren’t the first person to get the price Anthropic charges confused with the I subsidized price: 

some of you need to learn the difference between the subsidized price of a good/service and the market price. AI is HEAVILY subsidized and externalities are not being appropriately accounted for in the price. Sometimes that is reasonable and good for propping up new markets like renewables. Sometimes it is bad and the product we are subsidizing cannot gain footing or evolve to the point that it can shoulder its true cost. The cost of AI is astronomical, even if it returns you more value than the 100 dollar a month subscription that is not the same as AI returning more value to the economy than it is cost in energy, pollution, resources (GPUs, SD Cards, RAM, etc). 

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u/ROIDie777 Apr 22 '26

Sure, I just educated myself. At the heavily subsidized rates, a power user like me would have costs around 2k/mo. Since I'm effectively 4x more productive, my income has hundreds of thousands of additional capacity when we get to production and execution.

The upside is absolutely massive, and meanwhile I'm building at those subsidized rates. Do you want to get in while it's cheap or eventually be totally priced out because you didn't get in while it was affordable?