Anthropic API ends holiday promo, drops 2x usage boost for paid subscribers
What happened
Between the Dec 29, 2025 and Jan 5, 2026 captures of Anthropic's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: Holiday promotional banner removed: paid subscribers no longer receive 2x higher usage limits. The temporary 'Happy holidays' promotion offering doubled usage through 12/31 has expired. Pulse files it as a pricing change (discount removed) with a neutral direction. Pulse's latest capture (Oct 12, 2026) lists Haiku 4.5 at $5 per MTok output + $1.25 per MTok cache write, Sonnet 5 at $2 per MTok input + $10 per MTok output, Opus 5 at $6.25 per MTok cache write + $0.5 per MTok cache read, Fable 5 at $12.5 per MTok cache write + $1 per MTok cache read and Opus 4.8 at $6.25 per MTok cache write + $5 per MTok input.
Anthropic's previous recorded change was "Anthropic API Cuts Flagship Opus Model Prices by 67% in Major Update to Version 4.5, Launching New Pricing Structure" (Jan 10, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "Anthropic API Introduces Tiered Pricing and Prompt Caching for Sonnet 4.5, Restructuring Costs Based on Token Length" (Q3 2025). Anthropic has been tracked since 2024-11-17.
In the same window OpenAI, Microsoft and X also changed their AI & Machine Learning pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- — · DiscountRemoved
BeforeHoliday promotional banner
AfterNo Holiday promotional banner
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Discount | Holiday promotional banner | No Holiday promotional banner | Removed |
Values as written on Anthropic's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Anthropic's pricing page (anthropic.com) from Dec 29, 2025 and Jan 5, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where the Holiday promotional banner no longer appears.
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The two full-page captures with this change marked up are free with an account.
Anthropic, the last 90 days
Full history- Feb 18, 2026packagingAnthropic API replaces Sonnet 4.5 with 4.6 at same price point
- Week 7, 2026packagingAnthropic API rolls out tiered pricing for Opus 4.6 by context length
- Feb 9, 2026packagingAnthropic API unveils Opus 4.6 pricing with new >200K token tiers
- Week 2, 2026packagingAnthropic API ends holiday promo, drops 2x usage boost for paid subscribers · this change
- Jan 10, 2026packagingAnthropic API Cuts Flagship Opus Model Prices by 67% in Major Update to Version 4.5, Launching New Pricing Structure
- Q3 2025improvedAnthropic API Introduces Tiered Pricing and Prompt Caching for Sonnet 4.5, Restructuring Costs Based on Token Length
Across AI & Machine Learning in the same window
All AI & Machine Learning changesQuestions about this change
Did Anthropic raise prices in January 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Dec 29, 2025 and Jan 5, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a pricing change: discount removed.
What changed on Anthropic's pricing page between Dec 29, 2025 and Jan 5, 2026?
Discount: Holiday promotional banner → No Holiday promotional banner, removed. Pulse compared the captures it took on Dec 29, 2025 and Jan 5, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Anthropic change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 1 other pricing-page change for Anthropic in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Anthropic API Cuts Flagship Opus Model Prices by 67% in Major Update to Version 4.5, Launching New Pricing Structure" on Jan 10, 2026; Anthropic has been tracked since 2024-11-17.