--- title: "How to Buy Claude Code: Pro vs Max Subscriptions and Paying from China (2026)" description: "Claude Code isn't sold on its own: it comes with Claude Pro or Max. Pick Pro, Max 5x or Max 20x, buy Claude Code from China and order a Claude Max subscription." language: "en" type: "article" url: "https://xingqiaosub.com/en/blog/claude-code-plans-how-to-buy" published: "2026-10-16T04:42:03.996+00:00" lastModified: "2026-10-20T05:10:42.938969+00:00" --- # How to Buy Claude Code: Pro vs Max Subscriptions and Paying from China (2026) There's no separate way to buy Claude Code: subscribe to Claude Pro or Claude Max and Claude Code comes with it. Sign in with the same account and you're set. Official monthly prices: Pro $20, Max 5x $100, Max 20x $200. How do you buy Claude Code from mainland China? Official checkout only takes cards. Without an international card, you can use a top-up service for Claude Pro or a Claude Max subscription: pay in RMB, and it's activated on your own account. ## The four plans compared | Plan | Official monthly price | Claude Code | Usage | Who it's for | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | No | Everyday questions | Trying Claude out | | Pro | $20 (about $17/mo billed annually) | Yes | At least 5x Free per 5 hours | Letting Claude Code make small changes now and then | | Max 5x | $100, monthly only | Yes | 5x Pro per 5 hours | Coding every day | | Max 20x | $200, monthly only | Yes | 20x Pro per 5 hours | Long agent runs, several projects at once | All paid plans also have a weekly limit. Not sure? Start with Pro and move to Max once you keep hitting the limit. ## What to know about a Claude Code subscription **The web app and Claude Code share one allowance.** Chat a lot on the web during the day and Claude Code hits the limit sooner that evening. The VS Code, Cursor and JetBrains extensions count toward the same allowance. **You can check usage anytime.** On the web it's Settings → Usage; in Claude Code, type `/status`. **When you hit the limit.** Wait for it to reset, upgrade, or turn on usage credits and pay API rates. **Don't let an API key jump the queue.** If the `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` environment variable is set on your machine, Claude Code uses it first and bills you at API rates instead of using your plan. **Max's API credits don't apply to Claude Code.** The monthly Claude API credits that come with Max can't be used in Claude Code or the Claude apps, as Anthropic states. ## Pro or Max? - **Pro**: you sometimes have Claude Code look at a project, edit a few files or write a script. - **Max 5x**: you use it every day, and on Pro you often run out before a session is over. - **Max 20x**: you run it for hours at a time, or keep several projects going at once. Upgrades take effect right away, and Anthropic credits your unused days. Downgrades wait until the current billing period ends. ## How to buy Claude Code from China Two things get in the way. **Payment.** claude.ai only takes cards, not Alipay or WeChat Pay. Cards issued in mainland China are often declined, and trying one card after another only makes risk systems more suspicious. **Region.** Mainland China and Hong Kong aren't among [Anthropic's supported regions](https://www.anthropic.com/supported-countries); Taiwan is. Using Claude while you're in an unsupported region is outside what Anthropic supports, and a VPN doesn't change that. Whether an account gets restricted is Anthropic's call, and nobody can guarantee otherwise. See [service availability](/en/support/service-availability). The usual routes: | Route | Whose account | What you need | Main risk | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Foreign card, official checkout | Yours | An international card that goes through | Most mainland-issued cards get declined | | In-app purchase | Yours | An Apple ID / Google account from another region | Price depends on the store region and may differ from the web | | RMB top-up service | Yours | Just the ability to pay in RMB | Quality varies; read the terms | | Pre-made / shared accounts | Not yours | Nothing | Can be taken back anytime; not recommended | ## How to order a Claude Max or Claude Pro subscription top-up Xingqiao Subscriptions tops up Claude Pro and Max on your own account. **Price**: billed monthly, Pro from ¥199, Max 5x from ¥850, Max 20x from ¥1650. The [Claude Code plans page](/en/services/claude-code) has the latest prices. **Payment**: WeChat Pay, Alipay, bank card or Apple Pay. See [payment methods](/en/support/payment-methods). **Your account needs all three:** - It's on Free right now, with no active subscription. - It has had a paid Claude plan before, or has passed Anthropic's identity verification (ID plus a selfie). - Your sign-up region, phone number region and usual sign-in region match. **How to order:** 1. Check the account. Search your inbox for "Your receipt from Anthropic". If it's there, you have a payment record. If not, look at Settings → Billing: verification is only done once the Verify prompt is gone. 2. On the [plans page](/en/services/claude-code), pick a plan, pay and enter the email of the account to top up. 3. Add support on WeChat with the note "Claude" and send the order details and email. 4. Support starts a sign-in on Anthropic's official page, and you forward the one-time code from your inbox. No password at any point. 5. Once it's active, run `claude` in your terminal and sign in with the same account. If you were signed in with an API account before, type `/login` in Claude Code to switch to your subscription. A Pro plan bought from Xingqiao can go straight to Max mid-cycle at the new plan's full price, with no credit for the current one; just ask support to arrange it. If activation fails, you get a full refund. If Anthropic restricts the account after activation, there's usually no refund. See the [refund policy](/en/support/refund-policy). Xingqiao doesn't sell pre-made or shared accounts, isn't an official Anthropic partner, and won't help anyone get around identity verification. ## FAQ ### Do I pay separately to buy Claude Code? No. Pro and Max both include Claude Code, sharing usage with the web app. You only pay extra at API rates if you set an API key or turn on usage credits yourself. ### Is a Pro subscription enough for Claude Code? For light use, yes. Anthropic's advice: if you keep hitting the limit on Pro and your projects are on the bigger side, move to Max 5x. ### What's the difference between Max 5x and Max 20x? Per 5 hours you get 5x or 20x Pro's allowance. Both also have a weekly limit, and both are monthly only. ### Can I pay for a Claude Max subscription with Alipay or WeChat Pay? Yes. Official checkout only takes cards, but a top-up through Xingqiao can be paid with Alipay or WeChat Pay. ### Do I have to give my password for a Claude Pro top-up? No. Support starts the sign-in on the official page, and you forward just one one-time code. ### I've never subscribed and haven't verified my identity. Can I order? Hold off. Accounts like that will very likely fail to activate, so finish identity verification with Anthropic first. If you've already ordered and it can't be activated, you get a full refund. ### I'm already on Pro. Can I upgrade straight to Max? Yes, if the Pro plan came from Xingqiao; you can upgrade mid-cycle at the new plan's full price, with no credit for the current one. Plans bought elsewhere can't be switched for now, so wait until it expires and the account is back on Free, then order. ### Can my account get banned? It can, and it's Anthropic's call. The most common causes are sign-in regions that keep jumping around, several people sharing one account, and content that breaks policy. See the [usage guidelines](/en/support/usage-guidelines). --- Further reading: [ChatGPT Plus vs Claude Pro: which to choose](/en/blog/chatgpt-plus-vs-claude-pro-which-to-choose)