Claude Code subscribers from Anthropic will soon find their experience with the coding assistant and third-party tools like OpenClaw comes at a higher cost. Starting April 4, users will no longer be able to utilize their subscription limits for these external tools without incurring extra charges through a separate pay-as-you-go billing system.
This policy shift, as communicated in a customer email shared on Hacker News, will initially affect OpenClaw but is expected to extend to other third-party tools in the near future. Anthropic's head of Claude Code, Boris Cherny, noted that the current subscription model was not designed to accommodate the usage patterns associated with these tools. He emphasized the company's commitment to sustainable growth while serving its customers effectively.
The announcement follows the recent news that Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, is joining Anthropic's competitor, OpenAI. Despite this transition, OpenClaw will remain an open-source project supported by OpenAI. Steinberger mentioned that he and a board member attempted to negotiate with Anthropic to delay the price increase, but only managed to postpone it by a week.
Steinberger remarked on the timing of these changes, suggesting that they reflect a trend where popular features are replicated in proprietary tools, potentially sidelining open-source initiatives. In contrast, Cherny asserted that the Claude Code team values open-source contributions, citing his own recent efforts to enhance OpenClaw's efficiency.
While Anthropic is implementing these new policies, they will continue to offer full refunds to subscribers who may not have been aware of these changes. Cherny clarified that this initiative aims to provide clarity regarding the company's support for various tools.
In a related development, OpenAI has recently shut down its Sora app and specific video generation models as part of its strategy to reallocate computing resources and better cater to software engineers and enterprises that are increasingly utilizing products like Claude Code.
As the landscape of AI tools evolves, these changes may influence user engagement and the dynamics of open-source versus proprietary software in the tech industry.