Ask HN: Claude code subscription vs. API, which is cheaper?

4 totisjosema 1 8/30/2025, 8:56:56 PM

I’ve been using Claude Code for a couple of weeks now, and on heavy use days the bill can get pretty steep. At what point does it make more sense to switch from paying per API call to a subscription or vice versa? Any of you done the math or can share any report where the tipping point lies? Thanks!

Comments (1)

biinjo · 18h ago

Isn’t the answer obvious?

When your API baes usage exceeds $100/month, it makes more sense to sign up for the subscription.

You can also do a hybrid approach; get the cheapest subscription and switch to API usage if you hit the limits. But depending on your usage, I think you will quickly discover that the subscription plan is a pretty decent bang for buck. (When the servers are not down or the limits aren’t touched).

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Ask HN: Claude code subscription vs. API, which is cheaper?

Comments (1)