Claude Max plan costs more in mobile apps than on the web

Buying the Max plan via App Store or Google Play costs more than on the web; the Pro plan stays at $20 everywhere. Reddit flagged this discrepancy 11 months ago.

Author: Michael Kokin ·

A few people I know got hit with price changes — exactly like in the screenshot. My own prices stayed the same; still trying to figure out why.

The trail leads to something Reddit noticed 11 months ago: in the mobile app — through the App Store or Google Play — the Max plan genuinely costs more than on the web. The Pro plan is $20 everywhere.

Why this happens

Apple and Google take up to 30% on purchases through their app stores. Standard practice: many services — Spotify, Netflix, others — either remove the buy button from the app entirely or mark up the price by the commission amount. Anthropic apparently went with option two for the Max tier.

There's also a theory floating on Reddit that this is A/B testing of higher prices.

If you're buying a Claude subscription, do it on the web — not through the mobile app.