Anthropic ends free Claude access for third party tools like OpenClaw
Anthropic has ended free access to Claude Code through third party tools like OpenClaw, meaning standard Claude subscriptions no longer cover those integrations. Since April 4 at 3 PM ET, users accessing Claude through third party apps must either buy a usage bundle or use their own Claude API key.
Boris Cherny, Anthropic’s head of Claude Code, said the change is tied to engineering and capacity constraints. He explained that Claude subscriptions were not built for the usage patterns common in third party tools, and that Anthropic is now prioritizing customers using its own products and API directly.
One of the main apps affected is OpenClaw, , the recently popular free and open source AI assistant for personal workflow automation. Users who still want to use Claude through OpenClaw now need a paid usage bundle or a Claude API key. Otherwise, they will have to switch to another available model like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, xAI, Perplexity, or DeepSeek. It is also worth noting that Anthropic offers its own assistant for similar task automation called Claude Cowork, so it seems reasonable to assume this move is also meant to steer users toward its own platform.
- AI Coding Assistant
- Paid
- Proprietary
Related news
External links
- Boris Cherny's Thread on X@bcherny on X • Official source
- Anthropic: You Can't Use OpenClaw With Claude Without Paying ExtraPCMAG
- Anthropic says Claude Code subscribers will need to pay extra for OpenClaw usageTechCrunch
- Anthropic essentially bans OpenClaw from Claude by making subscribers pay extraThe Verge
- It's no longer free to use Claude through third-party tools like OpenClawEngadget
Comments
Hence back to OpenAI, which allows use of third-party tools via subscription instead of paying the full API like Anthropic now requires. OpenAI models are currently smarter, faster, and cheaper.
The system is changing. Now all AI companies will require either a paid subscription or mandatory ad watching to use their services. Offering services for free was stupid, and now investors know it too. Let's see how much demand for AI services people and companies will have and how much they will be able to pay. Hopefully fewer demands and fewer data centers that exclusively generate AI slop or AI girlfriends/boyfriends.
Yeah right Anthropic, try your best to fill your IPO papers without looking too disastrous.
Even if you may not hide the fact that you've raised $60B to make only $5B of revenue, and that you will never get 10x revenue every year, and your $50B investment in US AI infrastructure is still nowhere to be seen.
But at least try to ask user to pay for what they're using, or you'll soon have to tell as much cracks as Sam Altman, and people are nowadays less willing to believe any of them.