To begin testing Claude on the API, you can claim a one-time $5 free credit by verifying your phone number. These credits can be applied to your initial testing of the API, but you will need to select a commercial plan to add additional funds and start building with the API.

If you are ready to start building, you can select a commercial plan by navigating to the Plans and Billing page and click on “Upgrade” or “Select Plan”. You will be prompted to select between our available plans.

Get started with the Build plan to add usage credits to your balance and to use Claude in production via the API and Workbench. You’ll need to fill out some additional information about your organization and use case. After this is completed, you will enter your payment details and fund your account.

If you need custom rate limits, choose the Scale plan to contact us for further information.

Once you have selected a plan and purchased usage credits for your account, you’re ready to use the API in a commercial application. You can find more information on prepaid billing and credits here.