Anthropic copies OpenAI's $200/month homework, but fumbles with restrictive rate limits that frustrate users: "I am canceling."

As generative AI scales greater heights and becomes more advanced, it continues to demand more resources, including more computing power with the rising demand for GPUs among major AI labs, cooling water, and operational costs.

Last year, during OpenAI's 12 days of shipmas, the ChatGPT maker unveiled a new $200 monthly plan called ChatGPT Pro. The paid plan ships with unlimited access to OpenAI's flagship models, including its o1 reasoning model, which "can think harder for the hardest problems."

Now, Anthropic has joined the fray with a new subscription plan called the Max plan, specifically for "those who collaborate with Claude extensively and need expanded access for their most important work."

Like OpenAI's ChatGPT Pro plan, Anthropic's new subscription tier will cost $200/month, giving users priority access to the latest features and models. Perhaps more interestingly, the company has categorized the new plan into two: "Expanded Usage" and "Maximum Flexibility."

The first level costs $100/month with 5x more usage than Pro, while the latter costs $200/month and ships with 20x more usage than Pro. Anthropic says the Maximum Flexibility level is "Ideal for daily users who collaborate often with Claude for most tasks."

Anthropic copied OpenAI's homework, but fumbled the rate limits

While Anthropic's new subscription tier seems like good news, especially for power users, some users aren't too pleased with the plan's rate limits. Users are currently limited to 50 sessions/month, with a single session translating to 5 hours.

The session starts as soon as a user sends a message to Claude. Interestingly, if you message the chatbot within 5 hours after you first interacted with the chatbot, it'll still count as one session. However, if you message the chatbot after the 5 hours have lapsed, it'll count as another session.

This could be an attempt by Anthropic to drive more interest in its AI tool, but users aren't having it. Users shared their frustrations and disappointment on Reddit's r/ClaudeAI's subreddit about Claude's Max plan and its rate restrictions and limitations.

BREAKING 🚨: Anthropic introduces Claude MAX from r/ClaudeAI

According to one user:

"So, if you send one message in the morning, one in the midday, one in the evening, that is three sessions and doing that for 16 days will see you limited. Calling this shit-tier would be a compliment. I am canceling. And leaving the subreddit. I am done with Claude."

Another user got more creative with their frustrations:

"Hi there, we've noticed you still have money in your bank account, and we'd like to help with that problem. Today, we're introducing the new "Max Your Credit Card" plan!"

"With the Max plan, you can get: Substantially more ways to be rate limited when you actually need Claude. 5x more disappointment ($100/month) or 20x more frustration ($200/month) than Pro. Be among the first to complain about our most advanced Claude capabilities. Flexibility to empty your wallet as your desperation grows."

"Your best ideas deserve to be interrupted mid-thought. We're excited to see the new workarounds you'll develop when the Max plan inevitably fails you too!"

Following the launch of Anthropic's Max plan, some Pro users have reportedly experienced a degraded user experience, indicating that they are hitting their rate limits faster than before. It'll be interesting to see if the company will attract more interest with its new Max plan or if it will drive its user base to rivals.