Claude Pro & Claude Max: is there a cheap way?
Updated 2026-10-26
Official vs top-up, side by side
| Plan | Official (before tax) | Through Yaoyao |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Pro | USD 20/month, or about USD 17/month billed yearly | ¥159 ≈ USD 24 |
| Claude Max 5X | USD 100/month | ¥900 ≈ USD 135 |
| Claude Max 20X | USD 200/month | ¥1,800 ≈ USD 270 |
Official prices are from public pricing information checked 2026-10-26; tax depends on your country, and claude.com's checkout is final. USD conversions use open.er-api.com rates for 2026-10-26. You pay in CNY; the shop's checkout page is final. All plans, including ChatGPT, Grok and Gemini, are on the English overview.
When a top-up is worth it, and when it isn't
- Not worth it: your card works on claude.ai. Subscribe officially. It's cheaper, especially on the annual plan.
- Worth considering: your card keeps getting declined, you have no card that takes foreign payments, or you'd rather pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay.
- Be careful: if you're in a region Anthropic doesn't serve, such as Hong Kong or mainland China, using Claude there can get the account deactivated whoever paid for it. Bans aren't covered by our warranty; we only help with an appeal through Anthropic's official channel.
Why some "cheap Claude Max" offers cost so little
Offers far below the official price usually involve one of these: a shared account used by several people, a pre-made account you don't own, or a promotional or regional pricing trick that may be reversed later. Anthropic's consumer terms don't allow sharing your login with others, and a shared or pre-made account can disappear with your chats in it.
Whoever you buy from, ask three things: is it activated on my own account? Do you need my password? What happens if the membership drops mid-month?
How activation works (manual)
- Have a Claude account that you can log in to normally. New and old accounts both work.
- Order: Claude Pro, Max 5X or Max 20X (pages are in Chinese). No need to add anyone on WeChat first.
- Fill in the form: after payment the order page shows a form. Follow the picture guide and submit it, and the plan is activated on your account.
- Still showing Free? Log out and back in, and check that you're logged in with the email you gave. If it still says Free, send that email and your order number to Yaoyao on WeChat.
Max 5X gives about 5 times Pro's usage and Max 20X about 20 times, with priority at busy times. Per Anthropic, both Pro and Max include Claude Code. A claude.ai plan doesn't include API usage, which is billed separately.
Payment
The checkout page takes two payment methods: Alipay QR and WeChat Pay QR, in CNY. You can't enter a credit card at checkout, and we don't take PayPal or crypto there.
| Option | How | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Alipay with a non-Chinese phone number | Sign up for Alipay with your own phone number, add a Visa or Mastercard, and scan the checkout QR code | Not guaranteed: payments to personal QR codes and small payments are often declined. Payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3%, as shown in the app. |
| WeChat Pay with a foreign card | Add a Visa or Mastercard in WeChat Pay | Paying merchants usually works; paying personal QR codes may not. Same fee rule as above. |
| Order first, then ask Yaoyao | Place the order to get an order number, then message Yaoyao on WeChat with the order number and your country | Yaoyao tells you which payment method is available at the time. Activation follows as usual once paid. This waits for a human reply, so it isn't instant. |
Whether the first two work depends on Alipay's and WeChat Pay's risk checks and on the type of QR code, so we can't promise they will. If one attempt fails, don't keep retrying; use the third option. Full guide (Chinese): how overseas buyers pay.
After-sales rules
- Activation failed: the card code is not used up and is returned automatically, so you can retry. If you'd rather not, ask Yaoyao on WeChat for a refund. For manually activated plans, we either try again or refund you.
- Membership dropped after a successful activation (within the paid period the subscription is revoked and the account goes back to Free): send the order number and a screenshot, and one more month is added to the same account.
- Account banned or deactivated: not covered and not refunded. For ChatGPT, we can help you register a new account. For Claude, we help with an appeal through Anthropic's official channel; the outcome is up to Anthropic.
These rules apply to every product in the shop; anything written on a product page takes precedence. Full rules (Chinese): after-sales and warranty. Because you didn't pay OpenAI or Anthropic yourself, they can't refund a topped-up subscription; contact Yaoyao instead.
FAQ
What is the cheapest way to get Claude Pro?
Anthropic's annual Pro plan, at about USD 17 a month billed yearly, is the cheapest legitimate option if you can pay Anthropic directly. A top-up through Yaoyao costs ¥159 CNY (about USD 24) a month, more than the official price, and is mainly useful if you can't pay with a card.
How much is Claude Max?
Officially, Max 5x is USD 100 a month and Max 20x is USD 200 a month, before tax. Through Yaoyao, Max 5X is ¥900 CNY and Max 20X is ¥1,800 CNY.
Is a cheap Claude Max account safe?
Be wary of anything far below the official price. It's often a shared or pre-made account you don't control. Make sure the plan is activated on your own account and that nobody asks for your password.
Do you need my Claude password?
No. After payment you fill in the activation form on the order page; no password is needed, and after-sales support never asks for it.
Does Claude Pro include Claude Code?
Yes. According to Anthropic, both Pro and Max include Claude Code. Max 5X has about 5 times Pro's usage and Max 20X about 20 times.
What if my account goes back to Free?
If, within the paid period, the subscription is revoked after a successful activation, send the order number and a screenshot to Yaoyao and one more month is added to the same account. Bans aren't covered.
Contact Yaoyao
After-sales, payment questions and order status are handled by Yaoyao herself on WeChat. Anyone who messages you first claiming to be our "support" or "assistant" is not us, and we never need your password.