Anthropic says Claude Code subscribers will need to pay extra for OpenClaw support

Claude Code users will soon see an increase in costs when utilizing Anthropic's coding assistant alongside OpenClaw and other external tools. In an email shared on Hacker News, the company announced that effective at noon Pacific on April 4, subscribers will no longer be able to apply their Claude subscription limits to third-party integrations, including OpenClaw. Instead, they will be required to opt for additional usage via a separate pay-as-you-go plan. This shift in policy is an extension beyond just OpenClaw, as it is set to affect all third-party harnesses, with further rollouts anticipated shortly. Boris Cherny, head of Claude Code, explained on social media that the existing subscription model wasn't designed to accommodate the usage patterns associated with these external tools. He emphasized that the company is making these changes to manage growth sustainably and continue providing quality service to its customers. The announcement follows the news that OpenClaw’s creator, Peter Steinberger, is transitioning to OpenAI, which will maintain OpenClaw as an open-source project with its backing. Steinberger mentioned in a post that he and a board member attempted to persuade Anthropic against the price increase but were only able to postpone it for a week. He noted the timing seemed suspicious, suggesting that Anthropic had initially adopted some popular features from OpenClaw before restricting access to open-source options. In response, Cherny highlighted the Claude Code team's appreciation for open source, mentioning his contributions to improve OpenClaw's functionality. He clarified that the decision was primarily driven by engineering limitations, assuring subscribers that full refunds are available for those who may not have understood the implications of the changes. Meanwhile, OpenAI has also been making headlines, having recently discontinued its Sora app and video generation models to optimize its computing resources and better focus on attracting software engineers and enterprises reliant on tools like Claude Code.