Claude Code Limits: Max, Ultra, and What to Do at the Ceiling

On October 31, 2026, Anthropic renamed the Claude plans:

Old name	New name	Price
Max 20x	Ultra	$200/mo
Max 5x	Max	$100/mo
Plus	Plus	$20/mo

The meaningful change is not the names. Ultra finally removes the long-standing 5-hour single-session limit.

Usage caps by tier

Tier	Price	Session cap	Weekly limit	When capped
Plus	$20	Yes	Lower	Throttled
Max	$100	Yes	Medium	Throttled
Ultra	$200	None	Highest	Throttled

All tiers throttle when hitting the weekly ceiling: not a hard stop, but a noticeable slowdown. Speed under load is the biggest experiential gap between tiers.

What the 5-hour removal actually means

Claude Code previously dropped every session after five hours regardless of tier. For long-running agent work that spans a morning, it was a hard wall.

Ultra removes that wall. No per-session time limit as long as you stay under the weekly cap.

The weekly cap still exists. Ultra's is meaningfully higher, but no fixed public number applies because limits adjust dynamically.

At the ceiling: bring your own key

Two paths when the cap hits:

Upgrade the plan. Enough for light users.

Bring your own API key. The direct path. Point Claude Code at a HiAPI key (see the Claude Code setup guide):

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.hiapi.ai
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=YOUR_HIAPI_API_KEY

Pay-as-you-go. No weekly cap. No session timer. No throttling. Cost scales with usage.

Plans versus your own key

	Plus/Max/Ultra	Your API Key
Billing	Monthly, capped	Per-use, uncapped
At the ceiling	Slower	Continues
Best fit	Daily, individual	Heavy, team, scripted

Most people use both: plan for daily coding, key for batch jobs and CI. Claude Code can separately route each mode.

FAQ

Does Ultra truly have no limits?

Session cap removed. Weekly limit still exists but is high. Most users never hit it.

What was the old session limit?

Five hours. The session was dropped at the five-hour mark.

Is Max different from the old plan beyond the name?

So far only the name change. Limits and features appear unchanged.

How slow is throttling?

Anthropic does not publish a number. The slowdown is perceptible.

Can I see both bills together?

No. Separate billing. Track them separately.

Bottom line

Ultra drops the 5-hour cap, a genuine improvement. Weekly ceilings still exist across all tiers. Plans are best for steady daily use. A your-own-key approach is best for bursty or high-volume work. Running both means never being blocked.

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Sources

• Plan rename aggregator: https://planyield.dev/limits/claude-code/history/ (cites official X post, verified November 2026; limits not officially published in full, check the UI for current values)
• Official release notes: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes