OpenAI and Anthropic make money by charging for access to their AI products in several ways: individual subscriptions, business seats, and usage-based services such as developer APIs. A seat or subscription can cover product access while extra usage—or API access—costs more. These public prices explain how customers may be billed; they do not show either company’s total revenue, revenue mix, margins, or profitability.
How OpenAI charges customers
ChatGPT Business seats
OpenAI sells ChatGPT Business in Standard and Premium seat tiers. The pricing page lists Standard at $20 per user per month with annual billing or $25 with monthly billing, and Premium at $100 per user per month with annual billing or $125 with monthly billing. These are USD prices listed on OpenAI’s page as checked on October 7, 2026; prices can vary by country and change over time. Business workspaces require at least two seats and may combine seat types. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Business pricing page and Business overview describe the plans and billing.
Additional workspace usage
Business customers can purchase workspace credits to extend usage beyond included limits. For eligible Enterprise agreements, OpenAI also offers token-based pricing calculated from input, cached input, and output tokens. Which billing method applies depends on the workspace agreement, so a seat price alone may not capture total spend. OpenAI’s pricing page and Business overview explain these options.
Developer API
ChatGPT Business does not include API usage; API access is billed separately. A Business subscription therefore is not a shared credit pool for an application built with OpenAI’s API. API costs depend on the models used and the amount of input and output processed; consult OpenAI’s API pricing page for current rates.
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How Anthropic charges customers
Claude subscriptions
Anthropic offers individual Claude subscriptions, including Pro and Max, as well as Free access. Its pricing page listed Claude Pro at $17 per month with an annual subscription ($200 billed up front) or $20 month to month when checked on October 7, 2026. These are customer plan prices, not company revenue figures, and the plan page may change. Anthropic’s pricing page lists current plans and terms.
Team and Enterprise plans
Anthropic’s Team plan charges per person and has a minimum team size. Enterprise combines a seat fee for access with separate usage charges: Anthropic says usage in Claude, Claude Code, and Cowork is billed at standard API rates based on consumption. As a result, the recurring seat fee is not necessarily the full cost for an Enterprise customer. See Anthropic’s pricing page and its Enterprise plan explanation for plan details.
API and Console billing
API and Console usage is billed separately from a paid Claude subscription. Most organizations pay for API and Console use with prepaid usage credits; organizations with an invoicing arrangement are billed monthly. API costs vary with model choice and token consumption. Anthropic’s API billing guidance explains payment arrangements, while its API access guidance distinguishes API access from Claude subscriptions.
How the charging models compare
| Customer or billing question | OpenAI | Anthropic |
|---|---|---|
| Individual access | Paid ChatGPT plans are available; the detailed prices above are for Business seats. | Claude offers Free and paid plans, including Pro and Max. |
| Organization access | Business uses Standard and Premium seats; eligible arrangements can add credits or use token billing. | Team charges per person; Enterprise charges a seat fee for access and bills usage separately. |
| Does a subscription include API use? | No. Business API usage is billed separately. | No. A paid Claude subscription does not include API or Console access. |
| How extra or API usage is billed | Business may use workspace credits; eligible Enterprise agreements may use token-based pricing. API rates depend on model and usage. | Enterprise usage is billed at API rates. Most API and Console customers use prepaid credits; invoicing customers pay monthly. |
For some organizations and developers, Anthropic model access is also listed through cloud platforms, including AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, and Microsoft Foundry. Pricing can depend on the provider, model, and sometimes region; Anthropic’s model-pricing information lists these routes. Their presence does not establish a partner commission or reveal how much Anthropic earns through any one platform.
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Listed prices and billing pages show the ways customers can pay: a recurring subscription or seat fee, usage charges, or both. They are not a financial statement. The official pricing and billing sources cited here do not establish either company’s total revenue, the share attributable to subscriptions versus APIs, costs, margins, or profitability. Comparing a monthly seat price directly with a per-token API rate would also compare unlike units.
To estimate a customer’s likely bill, first identify whether the user is buying an individual plan, a team or Enterprise workspace, or developer access. Then check what the seat includes, whether usage is capped or metered, whether API access is separate, and how additional usage is charged. Confirm current rates and terms on the relevant provider page before budgeting, since plans and model prices can change.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
