Can you use Claude Code for free? Free plans, a 7-day guest pass trial, and actual pay-as-you-go costs

Claude Code cannot be used with Claude's free plan. The only way to try it for free is with a guest pass from someone with a Pro or Max subscription—that is, a 7-day free trial of Pro. Otherwise, you need a monthly subscription or a pay-as-you-go API key. Although the CLI and editor extensions are free to install, Claude Code calls paid Claude models whenever it performs work.

This page explains what is free and what costs money, whether each plan supports Claude Code, guest pass requirements and automatic conversion after 7 days, the actual cost per task when using an API key, and the cheapest way to use it without a subscription.

Sources (checked October 10, 2026): Anthropic's Claude Code setup documentation, the Help Center's guest pass article and article on using Claude Code with Pro or Max plans, and the pricing page at claude.com/ko/pricing. Kunavo's unit prices and minimum top-up are read from the model catalog and pricing configuration; no figures have been entered manually.

What is free and what costs money

Claude Code calls a Claude model for each individual operation, such as reading a file, suggesting changes, running a command, or checking the result. These calls cost money; the tool itself does not. Installation and configuration are free, but you need either a plan you're signed in to or an API key when you send your first prompt. See Claude Code installation for instructions.

Claude Code availability by plan

Anthropic's setup documentation states that Claude Code requires a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan, or a Console (API) account, and that the free claude.ai plan does not include access to Claude Code. Prices in the table are listed at claude.com/ko/pricing and exclude tax.

If you use a subscription, you should also be aware of the usage limits. Pro and Max have 5-hour session limits and weekly limits, shared between Claude chat and Claude Code. This means that if you use chat heavily on a given day, you have less available for Claude Code. See Claude Pro limits for what you can do when you hit a limit, and Claude Code pricing for the break-even point between a subscription and API usage.

The only way to try it for free: guest pass (7-day Pro free trial)

There is no free trial offer listed at claude.com/ko/pricing. The only way to try Claude Code for free is through Anthropic's invitation program, called guest passes. Eligible Pro and Max subscribers receive a limited number of passes to share, and recipients can use Pro for 7 days for free, including Claude Code, Cowork, and Claude Design. The Help Center lists the following requirements:

• Who can send one: Only eligible Pro or Max subscribers. Run /passes in Claude Code to see your remaining passes and invitation links.
• Who can receive one: Only people who are new to paid Claude subscriptions. If you have used a paid plan before, you are not eligible.
• What's included: 7 days of Pro for free, including Claude Code.
• When signing up: You must enter payment information. You will not be charged unless you continue using it after the 7-day trial ends.
• After 7 days: Unless you cancel, your plan automatically switches to paid Pro.
• Number of passes: The number of passes is limited, and they may expire or be revoked. If invitations are sent to more people than there are passes, they are used on a first-come, first-served basis.

In short, Claude Code's free trial lasts 7 days and requires both an invitation from a subscriber and that you have never used a paid plan. If you do not plan to continue, cancel before the end of day 7. The payment information you enter when signing up for the trial is for payments to Anthropic and is unrelated to Kunavo top-ups described below.

How much does each task cost with an API key?

If you cannot get a guest pass or do not use Claude Code enough to justify a monthly fee, you can use a pay-as-you-go API key. You can create an API key in Anthropic Console or through a gateway such as Kunavo; both charge by token usage.

Claude Code resends the system prompt, conversation, and file contents together for each operation. As a result, one round trip with the model (an agentic step) uses about 25,000 input tokens and 1,200 output tokens. Calculated using claude-sonnet-5, the costs are as follows.

These figures do not account for prompt caching. Inputs read from the cache are billed at a much lower rate than regular inputs, so actual charges are usually lower (How caching works). Occasional use costs a few dollars per month, while months with substantial daily workloads cost more.

At the minimum top-up of $10, you can run about 230 steps, or about 11 20-step tasks. When you do not have a guest pass, this is a paid way to try it with a smaller initial outlay than Pro at $20 per month.

The cheapest way to use it without a subscription: Kunavo pay-as-you-go key

Claude Code reads the ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL environment variable by default, so you can change the endpoint without replacing the CLI, as long as it is compatible with Anthropic's Messages API. Kunavo is an independent API gateway not operated by Anthropic and offers the same Claude models at 30% below Anthropic's list price. There is no monthly fee; top-ups start at $10, and balances do not expire.

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.kunavo.com
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=sk-kn-...
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-sonnet-5
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL=claude-opus-5-5
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL=claude-sonnet-5
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL=claude-haiku-4-5

Do not omit the four lines that specify the models. Claude Code's default model and the opus and sonnet aliases point to Anthropic's latest models, so a request will return 404 if Kunavo does not yet offer that model. The Sonnet 5.5 model currently referenced by the sonnet alias is not available on Kunavo, so without setting ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL, the execution phases of /model sonnet and opusplan will fail. Pinning opus to the Claude Opus 5.5 model requires Claude Code v2.1.280 or later, so if your installed version is older, run claude update first. ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL routes minor calls Claude Code makes in the background, such as summarization, to the Claude Haiku 4.5 model, which costs $0.70 per 1M input tokens and $3.50 per 1M output tokens.

As long as the environment variable contains a key, Claude Code prioritizes that key over subscription login, and usage is deducted from the key's balance. Remove the variable to switch back to your subscription. Check which one is active with /status. See How to get a Claude API key for how to obtain a key, and Claude Code API key setup for details on setting the variable.

Payments in Korea

Kunavo top-ups are paid through Stripe Checkout. You can use domestic or international credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, UnionPay), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link. If the checkout is displayed in Korean won, KakaoPay, Naver Pay, PAYCO, Samsung Pay, and domestic cards are also offered. Toss Pay is not supported. Payments in Korean won include a 2–4% currency conversion fee in Stripe's converted exchange rate; this fee does not apply when paying in US dollars.

The money paid here becomes a Kunavo API balance and cannot be used for claude.ai Pro or Max subscription fees or charges after a guest pass trial. Kunavo does not issue tax invoices, cash receipts, or invoices. See Claude payments with KakaoPay for top-up instructions using KakaoPay or Naver Pay, and Claude payments with a Korean card that does not support international payments for how to top up with a card that blocks international payments.

How to interpret claims that it is “free”

• Connecting to a different model: Search results may include articles that describe Claude Code as free by connecting it to a free model other than Claude. The CLI itself is free, but in that case the model responding is the one you connected, not Claude.
• “A Pro subscription includes API access”? It does not. claude.ai subscriptions and API usage fees are separate, and API usage is not included in the Pro fee.
• “Haiku is free”? It is inexpensive, but not free. Claude Haiku 4.5 also costs $0.70 for input and $3.50 for output per 1M tokens.
• “Anyone can get a guest pass”? Only eligible Pro or Max subscribers can send one, and only people new to paid plans can receive one. Payment information is required at signup, and the plan switches to paid unless you cancel.

See How to use Claude Code for everyday use after installation.

Frequently asked questions