It's set to get pricier for Claude Code customers who want to use Anthropic’s coding assistant with third-party tools like OpenClaw. Starting today, subscribers will need to pay extra usage fees through a pay-as-you-go option.
The move comes after Anthropic announced that subscription plans weren’t designed for these third-party tools and are now trying to manage growth sustainably. CEO Boris Cherny stated that while the company is big fans of open source, they're facing engineering challenges in supporting such usage patterns.
However, the timing isn't ideal; OpenClaw's creator Peter Steinberger recently joined Anthropic rival OpenAI, and has expressed dissatisfaction with the pricing changes. He claims the move is about copying features rather than fostering an open environment.
Around the same time, OpenAI shut down some of its models to refocus on software engineers and enterprises. This could signal a broader trend as proprietary AI tools gain more traction in the market.
