Staxly

Anthropic API vs Claude Code

API for Claude — frontier models for chat, tool use, agents, and long-context reasoning
vs. Anthropic's terminal-native coding agent — built for deep codebase work

Anthropic website ↗Claude Code ↗

Pricing tiers

Anthropic API

Opus 4.7 — usage
Input $5 / output $25 / cache-write $6.25 / cache-read $0.50 per 1M tokens. Batch = 50% off.
Custom
Sonnet 4.6 — usage
Input $3 / output $15 / cache-write $3.75 / cache-read $0.30 per 1M tokens. Batch = 50% off.
Custom
Haiku 4.5 — usage
Input $1 / output $5 / cache-write $1.25 / cache-read $0.10 per 1M tokens. Batch = 50% off.
Custom
Anthropic website ↗

Claude Code

API (pay-per-token)
Pay-per-token via Anthropic API. Sonnet: $3/$15 per 1M in/out. Opus: $15/$75. Best for heavy/team use.
$0 base (usage-based)
Claude Pro
$20/mo. Includes limited Claude Code usage via subscription (Sonnet). Heaviest users will hit caps.
$20/mo
Claude Team
$30/user/mo. Shared workspace, admin controls, priority support.
$30/mo
Claude Max
$200/mo. Higher Claude Code quotas + priority access to Opus.
$200/mo
Enterprise
Custom. SSO, audit logs, SOC 2, dedicated support, HIPAA-eligible.
Custom
Claude Code ↗

Free-tier quotas head-to-head

Comparing opus-4-7 on Anthropic API vs api-pay-per-use on Claude Code.

MetricAnthropic APIClaude Code
discount batch50 % off—

Features

Anthropic API · 0 features

    Claude Code · 16 features

    • Background Tasks — Long-running processes.
    • Claude Agent SDK — Build custom agents on same primitives.
    • claude CLI — Terminal command.
    • Git Worktrees — Isolated worktree per session.
    • Hooks — Lifecycle shell commands.
    • IDE Extensions — VS Code + JetBrains + Zed.
    • MCP Client — Connect any MCP server.
    • Memory (CLAUDE.md) — Persistent per-project instructions.
    • Native Tools — Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, WebFetch.
    • Plan Mode — Dry-run — Claude shows plan without executing.
    • Prompt Caching — 90% discount on repeated context.
    • Sandbox Modes — Safe execution of risky commands.
    • Slash Commands — User-defined workflows.
    • Task Tool (subagents) — Spawn parallel Claude subagents.
    • TodoWrite Tool — Internal task tracking.
    • WebSearch + WebFetch — Live internet access.

    Developer interfaces

    KindAnthropic APIClaude Code
    CLIClaude Code CLIclaude CLI
    SDKGo SDK, Java SDK, Python SDK, Ruby SDK, TypeScript SDK (@anthropic-ai/sdk)Claude Agent SDK
    RESTAWS Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, Microsoft Azure AI, REST API (Messages + Agents)—
    MCP—MCP Client (built-in)
    OTHER—Claude Code Web, GitHub/PR Bridge, Hooks System, JetBrains Plugin, Slash Commands, VS Code Extension
    Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Anthropic API and Claude Code may be affiliate links — Staxly may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.

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