Claude Code on Pro: What's Actually Included Right Now

Claude Code is currently included in Anthropic's Pro plan — but if your phone app and desktop are showing you two different things when you look at plan features, there's a real reason for it. Anthropic ran a confirmed A/B test that removed Claude Code from Pro for a subset of new subscribers. The test was acknowledged and reverted, but the platform display inconsistency it surfaced hasn't fully settled. Here's a clear breakdown of what the Pro plan actually includes right now, why the confusion happened, and exactly how to check your own entitlement.

TL;DR

• Claude Code is currently included in Anthropic's Pro plan
• Anthropic ran and confirmed an A/B test removing Claude Code from Pro for approximately 2% of new subscribers
• The test was caught, acknowledged, and reverted after community pushback
• Your mobile app upgrade screen may not show Claude Code under Pro even if your desktop does — this is a platform display inconsistency, not your actual account entitlement
• The most reliable way to check your access: try to open Claude Code directly, not the upgrade tab

Why is this so confusing right now?

Three separate things collided in the same short window, and together they created a genuinely disorienting experience for anyone trying to evaluate or use the Pro plan.

The A/B test. As XDA Developers reported, Anthropic cut Claude Code from new Pro subscriptions and described it as an "A/B test." The test targeted approximately 2% of new users. When the community caught it, Anthropic acknowledged it was a deliberate experiment — and then reverted it. The test itself is notable: A/B testing the removal of a flagship feature from a paid plan signals that Anthropic is actively evaluating where Claude Code sits in the plan hierarchy.

The mobile vs. desktop display split. Even setting the A/B test aside, the upgrade screens on the mobile app and the desktop web interface were rendering different plan states to different users. This isn't uncommon — mobile upgrade sections are often built on separate code paths with different cache behaviors than the web app. But it created a scenario where two users on identical plans were looking at genuinely different things.

The plan tier opacity. Claude Code is an agentic coding tool — it reads codebases, edits files, runs commands, and integrates with your dev tools — which makes it substantively different from the conversational Claude interface most people encounter first. Because it's a distinct product with distinct compute costs, its plan-level availability has been adjusted more than once. That history makes users appropriately skeptical when something looks off.

This Reddit thread in r/claudexplorers was among the first to surface the A/B test and document it publicly. Within the same collection window, a separate thread in r/ClaudeAI captured the exact split: users insisting Claude Code was gone from Pro, other users insisting it was still there. Both groups were correct — they were just looking at different surfaces.

What's actually going on under the hood

The root cause of the mobile vs. desktop split is a combination of test rollout mechanics and platform rendering differences — not a difference in your actual plan entitlement.

When Anthropic ran the A/B test, the changes were applied at the point-of-purchase and plan-display layer, not universally at the account permission layer. That means the upgrade screen — the section you'd look at before subscribing — was where the test variant was applied. For users already subscribed to Pro, the test primarily affected what they saw on those screens, not necessarily what they could actually access.

Mobile app upgrade sections are also more likely to cache plan descriptions than the desktop web app. The web interface typically pulls plan state fresh from the server, while mobile apps can serve cached UI for hours or days between forced updates. When Anthropic reverted the test, the web updated quickly. The mobile upgrade tab, in some cases, did not.

One user described the experience clearly in a thread in r/claude while trying to decide whether to subscribe: "I just checked my phone app, and sure enough, I can't see Claude Code listed under the Pro plan in the upgrade section. However, when I open it on my computer, it's still showing there." A different Pro subscriber, checking the same plan from a different surface, reported the opposite: "It's clearly there." Neither person was wrong. They were looking at different UI states that hadn't converged yet.

How to check your actual Claude Code entitlement right now

Don't rely on the upgrade screen as your source of truth. The most reliable way to check is to try to use Claude Code directly.

Step 1: Try opening Claude Code at claude.ai/code

Open claude.ai/code in a browser while logged into your account. If you have Pro access, you'll be able to enter a workspace and start a session. If you hit a hard paywall or an "upgrade required" prompt, that's your actual entitlement — not what the upgrade tab says.

Step 2: Check your plan page on desktop, not the upgrade tab

On the desktop web app, go to Settings → Account (or Plan/Billing depending on your interface version). The active plan overview reflects your actual subscription state. The upgrade/plan marketing section is a sales funnel and can show test variants; your account settings do not.

Step 3: On mobile — check Settings, not the Upgrade section

The Upgrade tab in the mobile app is precisely the screen most likely to show stale or test-variant content. Navigate to your account settings within the app and look at your current subscription tier. If you're already subscribed to Pro, the features listed in the Upgrade tab are largely irrelevant to what your account can access.

Step 4: Try running claude in your terminal

If you have the CLI installed, the simplest test is to run it. Claude Code will tell you immediately if your account doesn't have access. This is more reliable than any UI screen.

Step 5: If you're still uncertain, contact support

If you subscribed during the test window and your access seems inconsistent, the Ars Technica discussion thread on the topic documents how others navigated the same situation. Anthropic support can verify your exact entitlement and correct it if the test affected your account.

What the A/B test actually tells you about Pro going forward

The revert is real — Claude Code is back in Pro. But the test itself is worth sitting with for a moment.

Anthropic doesn't run pricing experiments on a whim. Testing the removal of a feature from a paid plan — even at 2% of new users — means someone internally was modeling what happens if Claude Code moves up the tier ladder. The fact that they ran the test, caught friction, and reverted doesn't mean the question is settled. It means they got an answer and are deciding what to do with it.

For developers using Claude Code seriously — multi-hour autonomous tasks, parallel repos, real production workflows — this is a signal worth noting. The Pro plan is $20/month and was designed primarily around conversational usage. Claude Code's compute costs are substantially higher. The practical implication: if Claude Code is load-bearing for your workflow, the Max or Team tiers have been more stable historically and come with higher usage limits. That stability has real value when your work depends on the tool being available.

If you're also concerned about running Claude Code across surfaces — particularly from mobile when you're away from your desk — our breakdown of the best mobile apps for coding agents covers the current landscape independently of the plan question. And if you've been wondering whether a dedicated mobile interface for Claude Code even exists, this post covers that directly.

Quick verification checklist

Run through this to confirm your state before concluding you don't have access:

• Opened claude.ai/code while logged in and attempted to start a session
• Checked active plan status in desktop Settings (not the Upgrade tab)
• On mobile: checked account Settings, not the Upgrade section
• Ran claude in terminal and got a usable response, not an auth error
• If still uncertain: contacted Anthropic support with your account email

If all of these are clear, you have Claude Code access. If one of them surfaces a wall, that's your real entitlement state — and support is the right next step.

FAQ

Does Claude Code come with the Anthropic Pro plan?

Yes, as of April 2026. Anthropic briefly ran an A/B test removing Claude Code from Pro for approximately 2% of new subscribers, but reverted it after community pushback and public acknowledgment. Claude Code is currently included in Pro.

Why does my phone app show Claude Code missing from Pro when my desktop shows it's included?

This is a platform display inconsistency. The mobile upgrade screen can show cached or test-variant content that doesn't reflect your actual account entitlement. Check your subscription status in your account's Settings page on desktop, or go directly to claude.ai/code and attempt to start a session — that's the most reliable signal.

Did Anthropic permanently remove Claude Code from the Pro plan?

No. Anthropic ran a time-limited test removing it for a small segment of new users and then reverted it. The test signals that Anthropic is evaluating feature-tier boundaries, but Claude Code is currently part of Pro.

How do I know if my account was affected by the A/B test?

If you subscribed to Pro during the test window and found Claude Code inaccessible, you may have been in the affected group. The clearest check: go to claude.ai/code and try to open a workspace. If you hit a paywall despite an active Pro subscription, contact Anthropic support directly — they can confirm your entitlement and correct it.

What's the most reliable way to verify I have Claude Code access?

Attempt to use it directly: open claude.ai/code in a browser while logged in, or run claude in your terminal. Both will tell you immediately whether your account has access. The upgrade and plan marketing screens are less reliable than the product itself.

If Claude Code gets removed from Pro, what are my options?

Upgrade to Max or Team for more stable inclusion and higher usage limits. Alternatively, Claude Code's underlying models are accessible via the Anthropic API on a pay-per-use basis, which doesn't depend on the Pro plan tier at all.

This post is published by Grass — a VM-first compute platform that gives your coding agent a dedicated virtual machine, accessible and controllable from your phone. Works with Claude Code and OpenCode.