How to Pay for Claude with Pix — API and Claude Code, No International Card

For people programming in Brazil, the obstacle to using the Claude or GPT API is almost never the code — it is payment. The direct route charges in dollars and requires an international credit card enabled for purchases abroad, which not everyone has and not every corporate card permits. This guide walks through the alternative, from sign-up to the model’s first response: paying with Pix, in reais, without a card — through Kunavo, an independent gateway compatible with the OpenAI API that resells access to Claude and GPT with a single key and a prepaid balance.

Short answer: can I pay for Claude with Pix?

It depends on which Claude product you are paying for — they are separate products and charges:

• Claude Pro or Max subscription through the website: no. For subscriptions purchased on the web, Anthropic accepts only credit or debit cards (Anthropic help center, consulted on October 1, 2026).
• Subscription through the Claude mobile app: the App Store or Google Play handles the charge, using the payment methods accepted by your store account — check the store itself.
• Claude API and Claude Code with an API key: yes. Through Kunavo, with Pix in reais, from a prepaid wallet billed per token — the step-by-step guide follows. Claude Code uses the same key; the comparison between subscription and API is in the Claude Code pricing guide.

If your question is about GPT: OpenAI accepts Pix for ChatGPT subscriptions but not for API credits — the Pix route to the GPT models is in how to pay for the OpenAI API with Pix.

What you need before starting

Three things, and none of them is a card: an email address, your banking app, and $10 — the minimum top-up, converted into reais at payment time. The wallet is prepaid: there is no subscription, no monthly fee, and the balance never expires. If you only want to test a model before deciding, those $10 go a long way — Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $0.70 per 1M input tokens, so a genuine test round costs cents.

Step by step

1. Create an account

Sign up with an email address or Google account. No card is requested during registration, and you reach the dashboard without having paid anything.

2. Open the top-up page and choose the amount

In the dashboard, go to Billing and choose a top-up tier. The amount is set in dollars because per-token rates are in dollars — conversion to reais happens in the next step, and you see the amount before confirming anything.

3. Choose Pix at Stripe checkout

The button opens checkout hosted by Stripe. For people paying from Brazil, Pix appears in the list of payment methods alongside card and Link—and, in Safari or on iPhone, Apple Pay as well; in Chrome or on Android with Google Pay configured, Google Pay. The amount is displayed in reais, already converted, before you confirm. This is the amount that will leave your account; there are no surprises later and no dollar bill to check at the end of the month.

4. Pay in your banking app

Stripe generates a QR code and a copy-and-paste code. Open your banking app, choose Pix, point the camera at the code or paste it, check the amount, and confirm. If you are paying on your phone, copying the code is usually faster than photographing your own screen.

5. The balance is credited immediately

Pix settlement is immediate: Stripe confirms the payment, a webhook credits the wallet, and the new balance appears in Billing within seconds. If it takes longer, refresh the page before paying again — the top-up is recorded only once, so a second Pix payment becomes extra balance, not a correction.

6. Create the key and make the first call

Once you have a balance, generate a key at /app/keys. It starts with sk-kn- and is shown only once — copy it before closing. Then it is a curl:

# Depois que o saldo entrar, a primeira chamada é esta.
curl https://api.kunavo.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KUNAVO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "claude-sonnet-5",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Responda em uma linha: deu certo?"}]
  }'

If you already have code written for OpenAI, migration is one line: the API is compatible with the OpenAI format, so the same SDK works after changing the base_url.

# O mesmo SDK da OpenAI, apontando para outra base_url.
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="sk-kn-...",                    # crie em kunavo.com/app/keys
    base_url="https://api.kunavo.com/v1",   # a única linha que muda
)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="claude-sonnet-5",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Olá!"}],
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)

What it costs in reais in practice

Token prices are set in dollars, and Stripe converts the amount at the time of payment. The exchange rate used is shown on the checkout screen and already includes the conversion spread. IOF applies to both payment methods: according to Stripe, Pix payments to a company outside Brazil are subject to 3.5% IOF (check the current rate), added to the amount shown in the banking app. International credit cards are also subject to IOF, plus any international transaction fee charged by the card issuer.

To estimate usage: Claude Sonnet 5 costs $1.40 per 1M input tokens and $7.00 per 1M output tokens. A $10 top-up covers far more than most projects spend while still in development. Per-model prices are all listed in the Claude API pricing guide and the pricing table.

If Pix does not appear

Pix is offered to people paying from Brazil, and Stripe determines this when the payment page loads. Two causes cover almost every case:

• VPN or proxy routing traffic outside the country. Turn it off and open checkout again — this is the most common explanation.
• You opened the link on another device or network. Start again from Billing using the connection you will pay from.

In any country, cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link remain available as alternatives—Pix is the most convenient option for people paying from Brazil, not the only one.

Receipt, invoice, and refund

Top-up history, including the date, amount, and status, is available in Billing; if you need proof for accounting, write to contact@kunavo.com. Kunavo does not issue Brazilian invoices — the full note appears in the Claude API guide for Brazil, together with what changes for LGPD and São Paulo latency. Refunds of unused balance follow the billing policy.

The same balance also pays for video models — the price per Veo 3 clip is listed in how much Veo 3 costs.

Frequently asked questions