Claude usage limits: the 5-hour window and the weekly cap
Paid Claude subscriptions have two usage limits: a session limit that resets every five hours, and a weekly limit that resets at a fixed time each week, assigned to your account. Max 5x and Max 20x give five and twenty times Pro's allowance per session. claude.ai, Claude Code and Claude Desktop all draw on the same limits. A usage-based Enterprise plan is the exception: it has no set usage limits and is billed on consumption.
Anthropic publishes no fixed number of messages: how fast a window empties depends on the length of your conversations, the model, the effort level and the features you use. What it does publish is the shape of the limits, the multipliers between plans and when each window comes back. That is what this page sets out, plan by plan, with the page each figure comes from.
Checked on , against Anthropic's pricing page and help center, listed under Sources. Anthropic notes that prices and plans are subject to change: if a figure below no longer matches, the page it links to is the reference.
The two windows
- The five-hour session limit resets on a rolling five-hour window. It is the one a long Claude Code job usually reaches first.
- The weekly limit is added on top on paid subscriptions and applies across all models. On Max, Fable also has a separate weekly limit of its own.
Both count at the same time. Anthropic's Claude Code documentation warns that a single burst of heavy activity can exhaust the weekly allowance before the session window resets: a fresh session does not mean the week still has room. Switching models does not restore access either, since the session and weekly limits are shared across all models.
Limits by plan
| Plan | Price | Per five-hour session | Weekly limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | A rolling five-hour window | Not published |
| Pro | $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly ($200 up front) | At least five times Free | Yes, across all models |
| Max 5x | $100 a month | Five times Pro | Yes, across all models, plus a separate weekly limit for Fable |
| Max 20x | $200 a month | Twenty times Pro | Yes, across all models, plus a separate weekly limit for Fable |
Source: claude.com/pricing and Anthropic's help center (articles 11049741 and 12429409), checked on . Prices in US dollars for web subscriptions, before tax; Anthropic notes that mobile pricing may vary.
On Max, Fable can use up to half of the weekly limits; on Pro, it is paid for with usage credits. Anthropic also says it may limit usage in other ways, such as weekly and monthly caps or model and feature usage, to manage capacity. Choosing between the plans is the subject of Claude Pro vs Max.
When each one resets
- The session: five hours after the window opened, on a rolling basis.
- The week: at a fixed day and time assigned to your account, which stays the same whenever you start using Claude and whenever your subscription began. You receive the full weekly allowance each cycle.
- A limit reset, when Anthropic grants one to your plan, sets your session or weekly limit back to full right away. It appears under Resets in Settings › Usage, with its expiry date, and can be used before you reach the limit.
Settings › Usage on claude.ai shows the time your next weekly reset falls; the other places that show your figures are covered in the guide to check your Claude usage.
“You've used 90% of your session limit”
Claude Code warns you before a window runs out, with a message such as You've used 85% of
your session limit · resets 3:45pm
. The percentage is the share of the five-hour window
already used, not the week. Once a window is used up, the message becomes You've hit your
session limit · resets 3:45pm
or You've hit your weekly limit · resets Mon
12:00am
, and Claude Code blocks further requests until the time shown.
- In an interactive session signed in with a claude.ai subscription, Claude Code can wait and continue the interrupted task shortly after the reset.
- The Opus and Sonnet limits, when you meet them, apply only to that model family:
switching to another family with
/modelkeeps you working. /usageshows your plan limits and when they reset.
Extra usage
Usage credits, formerly called extra usage, let a Pro or Max subscriber keep working once a limit is used up: requests switch to pay-as-you-go at standard API rates, up to a monthly spend limit you set, until the window resets. They are off until you turn them on and prepay. Prices, settings and warnings are in the guide to Claude extra usage and usage credits.
Where every account stands
Each of Anthropic's screens shows the account you are signed in to. With a work account and a personal one, the windows of the other stay out of sight until you sign in again. Codex works differently, with its own windows per ChatGPT plan: see how to check your Codex usage.
Quotum keeps your Claude accounts in the Mac menu bar: the windows each account publishes, the share used, and how long ago each figure was measured. The time a window resets appears when Anthropic gives it; an account read only from the history Claude keeps on your Mac shows no reset time; once a window runs dry, it shows only a latest time, marked “by” or “at the latest”. An account without windows, such as a usage-based Enterprise plan, is followed by the spending it publishes instead. An account whose week has run dry, measured within the last hour and not carrying on with usage credits, folds into a single line under “Recharging”, with the time it comes back, or the latest time it can, when either is known. How it works: the Claude usage tracker.
The trial is free, lasts fourteen days and covers the first two lines of the panel. Launch price: €4.99, then €9.99. Reading a provider's quota from a third-party app is not something the provider provides for: the pricing page explains the risk before any purchase.
Sources
Consulted on .
- Anthropic, How do usage and length limits work?:
support.claude.com/en/articles/11647753 - Anthropic, What is the Max plan?:
support.claude.com/en/articles/11049741 - Anthropic, Usage limit best practices:
support.claude.com/en/articles/9797557 - Anthropic, Use Claude Code with your Pro or Max plan:
support.claude.com/en/articles/11145838 - Anthropic, Manage usage credits for paid Claude plans:
support.claude.com/en/articles/12429409 - Anthropic, What is a limit reset?:
support.claude.com/en/articles/17007452 - Claude, Pricing:
claude.com/pricing - Claude Code, Errors:
code.claude.com/docs/en/errors
FAQ
Is there a limit to how much I can use Claude?
Yes, on every plan but one. Free and the paid subscriptions have a usage limit that resets on a rolling five-hour window, and paid subscriptions add a weekly limit on top; a usage-based Enterprise plan has no set usage limits and is billed on consumption. Anthropic publishes no fixed message count: usage depends on the length of your conversations, the model and the features you use.
What is the 5-hour limit on Claude?
It is the session limit: a budget of usage that resets five hours after the window opened, on a rolling basis. Max 5x and Max 20x give five and twenty times Pro's allowance per session.
How often does Claude's weekly limit reset?
Once a week, at a fixed day and time assigned to your account. The time stays the same whenever you start using Claude, and Settings › Usage shows when your next reset falls.
Can I get unlimited usage on Claude?
No plan gives unlimited usage for a fixed price. Free, Pro, Max, Team and seat-based Enterprise plans have usage limits; on Pro and Max, usage credits let you keep working past a limit at standard API rates, up to the monthly spend limit you set. A usage-based Enterprise plan has no set usage limits, but every use is billed on consumption.
Why does Claude say “You've used 90% of your session limit”?
Because 90% of your five-hour session window is used. The warning gives the time the window resets; it says nothing about your weekly limit, which counts at the same time.
How do I continue Claude Code after hitting the usage limit?
Wait for the reset time shown in the message, turn on usage credits, or move to a higher plan. In an interactive session, Claude Code can also wait and continue the interrupted task shortly after the reset.