Anthropic Removes Five-Hour Rolling Limit for Top-Tier Claude Code Users; Plans Renamed

Anthropic announced on October 30, 2026, that it is removing the "rolling five-hour usage cap" for users of its AI coding tool, Claude Code, on the highest consumer tier. This change addresses interruptions faced by developers during long-running debugging sessions or large refactors.

The adjustment coincides with a renaming of Anthropic's top consumer plans: the former Max 5x is now simply Max, and Max 20x becomes Ultra. The monthly subscription prices remain unchanged at $100 and $200 respectively. Current subscribers do not need to take any action to switch to the new names.

However, the removal of the five-hour limit is not immediate for all Ultra users. Anthropic stated that some accounts must undergo verification to prevent fraud and abuse. This verification happens automatically based on account and payment history, with no option to request or expedite it. The cap is lifted only after this check is completed.

While the session-level constraint is gone, the weekly total usage allowance remains in place. Ultra users have a weekly quota ten times that of Pro users, compared to five times for Max users. This means that without the forced pauses from the five-hour cap, users may exhaust their weekly allowance sooner. Once the weekly limit is reached, users must wait for a reset or purchase additional API credits to continue working.

Additionally, the updated pricing page indicates that Max and Ultra plans now bundle monthly Claude Platform API credits equal to their subscription price ($100 and $200). This is a significant consideration for developers who use Claude Code alongside direct API calls for application building.