Author：Wall Street CN
Anthropic announced an adjustment to its subscription policy, removing the cost of using third-party AI tools from the subscription package. This move significantly raises the barrier for users to access Claude through tools such as OpenClaw.
According to an email sent to users by Anthropic on Friday evening Eastern Time,Starting at 3 p.m. local time on April 4, Claude subscription credits will no longer cover the use of third-party tools such as OpenClaw.
Users who wish to continue accessing Claude through OpenClaw can still log in via Claude, but will need an additional usage plan (currently discounted) or a Claude API key to use these tools.
This policy change came suddenly. OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger revealed that he and OpenClaw board member Dave Morin had attempted to communicate with Anthropic.
In the end, all they managed to do was postpone the adjustment by one week.
Some netizens complained:
I was a Claude Premium member, and I was previously using an OpenAI $200 Premium account. Guess what? I've canceled my Claude subscription and am going back to OpenAI. Switching to Claude/Anthropic was a terrible decision.
However, some netizens expressed their support, arguing that the Claude membership package wasn't intended for running AI agents with consumption levels 100 times higher than normal.
The word "sustainably" carries a lot of weight here. To be frank: the $20 monthly subscription fee wasn't intended for running multi-agent systems with 100 times the normal resource consumption. That vulnerability definitely exists.
Demand Management and Sustainable Growth
Boris Cherny, an executive at Anthropic Claude Code, explained the rationale behind the adjustments:
We have been struggling to meet the growing demand for Claude, and our subscription plans are not designed for the usage patterns of these third-party tools. Capacity is a resource we need to manage carefully, and we are prioritizing serving customers who use our own products and APIs.
Cherny stated on social media:
Affected users will receive a one-time compensation credit equal to their monthly subscription fee. For increased usage, a discounted plan can be purchased; for a full refund, users can submit an application via a link in the email sent the following day.
Third-party tool users can still use the relevant functions through the Claude API key, but will need to pay a separate fee.
OpenClaw, nicknamed "Lobster," quickly gained popularity earlier this year. This AI agent can efficiently handle tasks such as inbox management, calendar scheduling, and even flight check-in, accumulating a large and active user base.
However, this high-intensity usage pattern clearly put considerable strain on Anthropic's infrastructure, ultimately triggering this policy tightening.
It is worth noting that Peter Steinberger, the founder of OpenClaw, has now joined OpenAI.
Against this backdropAnalysts believe that Anthropic's adjustment may also have another consideration: to guide subscribers to its own collaboration tool, Claude Cowork, and reduce reliance on competing third-party ecosystems.
A shift in business models: monetization opportunities beyond subscriptions.
This policy adjustment marks a clear shift in Anthropic's business model for the consumer market.
By separating high-frequency, non-standard usage scenarios from fixed subscriptions and converting them to pay-as-you-go billing, Anthropic is able to obtain revenue from high-consuming user groups that matches their resource usage while ensuring the core user experience.
The introduction of discounted usage packages indicates that Anthropic does not intend to completely drive out users of third-party tools, but rather to try to strike a balance between capacity management and retaining users' willingness to pay.
However, for OpenClaw users who are accustomed to a subscription-based, uniform billing system, the rising cost of use will remain an unavoidable reality.
