Staxly

Claude Code vs Anthropic API

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

Claude CodeAnthropic website

Pricing tiers

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

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

Free-tier quotas head-to-head

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

MetricClaude CodeAnthropic API
discount batch50 % off

Features

Claude Code · 16 features

  • Background TasksLong-running processes.
  • Claude Agent SDKBuild custom agents on same primitives.
  • claude CLITerminal command.
  • Git WorktreesIsolated worktree per session.
  • HooksLifecycle shell commands.
  • IDE ExtensionsVS Code + JetBrains + Zed.
  • MCP ClientConnect any MCP server.
  • Memory (CLAUDE.md)Persistent per-project instructions.
  • Native ToolsBash, Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, WebFetch.
  • Plan ModeDry-run — Claude shows plan without executing.
  • Prompt Caching90% discount on repeated context.
  • Sandbox ModesSafe execution of risky commands.
  • Slash CommandsUser-defined workflows.
  • Task Tool (subagents)Spawn parallel Claude subagents.
  • TodoWrite ToolInternal task tracking.
  • WebSearch + WebFetchLive internet access.

Anthropic API · 0 features

    Developer interfaces

    KindClaude CodeAnthropic API
    CLIclaude CLIClaude Code CLI
    SDKClaude Agent SDKGo SDK, Java SDK, Python SDK, Ruby SDK, TypeScript SDK (@anthropic-ai/sdk)
    RESTAWS Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, Microsoft Azure AI, REST API (Messages + Agents)
    MCPMCP Client (built-in)
    OTHERClaude 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 Claude Code and Anthropic API 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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