Anthropic just made a move that… let’s just say won’t win many fans among power users. One of the most popular ways to top up Claude by using OpenClaw is to virtually turn off the paywall. And yes, it’s just as messy as it sounds.
Anthropic just made OpenClaw a lot more expensive
According to Boris Cherny, CEO of Anthropic Claude Code, Anthropic has changed the way Claude subscriptions work. Effective immediately, your regular Claude subscription no longer covers use by third-party tools. Instead, this usage is transferred to a separate pay-as-you-go billing system.
So what does that mean? Essentially, the hack that many users relied on, which leveraged Claude credits in OpenClaw to run advanced workflows, is essentially dead. If someone still wants this setup, they will now have to pay on top of their subscription, either through usage packages or API access.
And it’s not like OpenClaw was some niche experiment. It exploded because it could handle real-world tasks like emails, calendars, and even flight check-ins, making Claude something more like a real assistant. But this popularity appears to have backfired, as it reportedly put pressure on Anthropic’s infrastructure, forcing this action.
This feels less like an optimization and more like a crackdown
Let’s be honest: this is not just a price change, but a pretty clear signal. Anthropic seems to be drawing a hard line: if you use Claude in a way they didn’t design (or monetize properly), expect that door to close quickly.
There’s a bit of strategy built in here too. By making third-party usage more expensive, Anthropic is pushing users to its own ecosystem like Claude Cowork. This is great for control, but not so great if you like mixing and matching tools to create your own workflows. To mitigate the blow, the company is offering a one-time credit equal to a monthly subscription and discounted packages. But let’s be honest, this feels more like a temporary cushion than a real solution.
