Claude usage limits explained: session, weekly, and extra usage

The two limits

The session limit (the "5-hour limit")

Each plan gives you a budget of usage for a five-hour session, and the session limit resets every five hours. In Settings → Usage, the Current session bar shows how much you've used and "Resets in X hr Y min". If you haven't used Claude for a while, it shows "Starts when a message is sent" instead, so the next window starts with your next message.

The weekly limit

Pro and Max also have a weekly limit that applies across all models. It resets at a fixed day and time assigned to your account. That day stays the same no matter when you subscribed or when you started using Claude that week. Settings → Usage shows an All models bar, plus separate bars for specific models when they have their own limit.

The two work independently. Waiting out a session clears the session limit but does nothing for the weekly one. If you've used most of your week by Wednesday, fresh sessions won't help.

How much usage each plan gets

Anthropic doesn't publish fixed message counts. It describes each plan relative to the one below it:

On Max you can spend up to 50% of your weekly limit on Fable models. On Pro, Fable models are available only with usage credits. Anthropic's plan pages also say it may add further caps on models or features at its discretion. For a full comparison, see Claude Pro vs Max.

What uses up your limit

Usage isn't counted per message. According to Anthropic's help center, it depends on:

• Conversation length. Each reply processes the conversation so far, so message 60 in a long thread costs far more than message 2 in a new one.
• Attachments. Long files and many files cost more.
• Tools and features. Research, web search, and artifact creation all add usage.
• Model and effort level. Bigger models and higher effort use more.

Two things help. Documents in a project's knowledge are cached, and Anthropic says reused cached content doesn't count against your limits again. Turning off extended thinking or tools you don't need also cuts usage.

Claude Code shares the same limits

On Pro and Max, Claude Code, claude.ai, and the desktop app draw from one pool. Claude Code sends your whole conversation with each request, so a session left open all day keeps getting more expensive. When you hit a limit there, you'll see "You've hit your session limit" or "You've hit your weekly limit". Those apply across all models, so switching models with /model won't restore access. If you see "You've hit your Opus limit" or "You've hit your Sonnet limit" instead, switching to a model outside that family does keep you working.

The messages you'll see

Anthropic's help center lists these for the Claude apps:

• "Approaching 5-hour limit." A warning that you're close to your plan's limit for this session.
• "5-hour limit reached - resets [time]" You're blocked until the time shown.
• "5-hour limit resets [time] - continuing with usage credits." You hit the limit, and usage credits are covering you until the reset.

Seeing a percentage warning? Read what "You've used 90% of your session limit" means. "Claude reached its tool-use limit for this turn" is a different thing, not a usage limit. See the tool-use limit.

Usage credits (extra usage)

Usage credits let Pro, Max 5x, and Max 20x subscribers keep using Claude after reaching their plan's limits, by switching to pay-as-you-go. You'll still see "extra usage" in older links and posts. Here's how they work:

• Where: Settings → Usage, in the Usage credits section. Turn them on from the web. Mobile app subscribers can't enable them in the app. In Claude Code, /usage-credits opens that same page.
• Price: standard API rates, billed separately from your subscription.
• Controls: set a monthly spend limit or choose unlimited, and optionally turn on auto-reload to buy more funds when your balance runs low.
• Daily cap: a $2,000 daily redemption limit.
• Bundles: you can prepay for discounted bundles, saving up to 30% versus standard credit rates, up to $2,000 a month on Pro and Max.
• Expiry: credits don't expire in most regions. In some, such as Japan, credits bought from September 10, 2026 expire six months after purchase.

In Claude Code, the prompt cache lifetime drops from one hour to five minutes once you're drawing on usage credits. Returning after a short break can then cost more than you'd expect.

How to check where you stand

• claude.ai: Settings → Usage shows the current session, weekly limits, and usage credits.
• Claude Code: run /usage for plan usage bars and a breakdown of what's driving them.

Step-by-step: how to check Claude usage.