For instance, Anthropic, an AI research company, was recently called out by users of its Claude Code platform. This criticism comes on the heels of the introduction of suddenly draconian usage caps. The new changes have especially affected the popular $200 Max plan. This plan has received popularity amongst the frequent users of the service. Many users are expressing frustration as these limits disrupt their projects, prompting questions about the long-term sustainability of the plan.
With a $200 usage cap, the new Max expensive plan has limits on usage 20 times higher than a Pro subscription. In reality, it offers five times the limits of the free plan! For heavy users, tremendous problems have already surfaced since the new limits went into effect. One user indicated that he has been unable to advance his project due to these restrictions, stating, “It just stopped the ability to make progress.” This user’s experience sheds light on a huge, often hidden problem in the community. Some people are reaching their message cap of 900 in less than half an hour!
In reality, reports from users everywhere on the Max plan have suggested that many if not most have faced repeated issues with mysterious drains on their usage. Instead, they get messages that read, “Claude usage limit exceeded,” with the time of reset included. Unfortunately, these messages don’t tell them why. As one user noted, he often runs up over $1,000 in calls within a single day’s time. This put into question if the current guardrails imposed by Anthropic were even feasible.
Though usage restrictions have increased sharply, Anthropic insists that this free user cap does not set a clear boundary of worth. Furthermore, within the network, they claim to have had 100 percent uptime for the past week, a sign that hard technical functionality is still there. But users have additionally noted problems with the accuracy of Anthropic’s tracking of these limits.
In response to the growing dissatisfaction, an Anthropic representative acknowledged the situation, stating, “We’re aware that some Claude Code users are experiencing slower response times.” to work on solving these things, and we appreciate their clarity and candor. Many users are still not convinced regarding the time frame for the issue to be fixed.
While similar heavy users have pored over alternatives to Claude Code, they often find it tough to figure out truly competitive options. One individual stated, “I tried Gemini and Kimi, but there’s really nothing else that’s competitive with the capability set of Claude Code right now.” This sentiment reflects a reliance on Claude Code among its user base, complicating their decision to seek alternatives amid current frustrations.