How to Buy Claude API Credits: Console Prepaid Credits, Auto-Reload and Plan-Included Credits
As of 2026-10-08, you buy Claude API credits in advance: sign in to the Claude Console with an Admin or Billing role, open Settings > Billing, click Buy credits, enter an amount and confirm — the credits are available immediately. Auto-reload can buy more whenever the balance falls below a threshold you set. Anthropic accepts credit and debit cards, not PayPal or Venmo; purchased credits expire one year after purchase and are non-refundable. Max and Team plans now also include monthly API credits. Everything below quotes Anthropic's own pages, then compares how topping up works on QCode.
Updated 2026-10-08
Four numbers to know
Validity of purchased credits
Per the Help Center, credits expire one year from the purchase date, the expiry can't be extended, and all credit purchases are non-refundable.
Monthly credits in Max 5x / Max 20x / Team
Since 2026-10-07, Max and Team plans include monthly Claude API credits (Team is pooled across seats, capped at $500); they can't be used for Claude Code.
Monthly spend cap, Start / Build tier
Per the rate-limit docs, the Start, Build and Scale tiers each carry a monthly spend cap; once it's reached, API usage pauses until 00:00 UTC on the first of the next month.
QCode USD top-up range
Per the QCode docs, a USD top-up runs from $1 to $2,000 and a CNY top-up starts at ¥100; the two balances are kept separate.
How Anthropic sells API credits
As of 2026-10-08, the Claude API runs on prepaid credits: the Help Center says "Claude API and playground usage is billed through prepaid usage credits" — you buy credits first, and usage is deducted from them at current pricing; purchased credits cover API access, the playground and Claude Code. Only successful API calls and completed tasks are charged; failed requests aren't. But if your client disconnects or times out in the middle of a request that was on track to succeed, that request is still charged. Once the credits run out, you can't call the API or use the playground until you add more. Anthropic also states that a paid Claude subscription and the Claude API are billed separately.
A new option: monthly API credits in Max and Team (2026-10-07)
The official release notes for 2026-10-07 say "Claude Max and Team plans now include monthly API credits." Per the docs, Max 5x gets $100 a month, Max 20x $200 and Team up to $500 pooled across seats; you claim them by linking a Claude Console organization to the plan, new subscribers can claim after 7 days, and Free, Pro and Enterprise plans aren't eligible. These credits don't cover Claude Code or extra usage in the Claude apps, and whatever is unused expires at the end of the billing cycle with no rollover. When both kinds sit in one organization, included credits are spent first, then purchased ones — and auto-reload watches only the purchased balance, so it reloads when that balance hits your threshold even if included credits remain.
Timeline
Anthropic's Supplemental Credit Terms take effect: credits can't be transferred or sold, and they expire automatically and can't be recovered if the account is closed.
Max and Team plans start including monthly API credits; the same day the Help Center notes that the Agent SDK monthly credit announced in June is no longer available.
The quotes on this page were checked against Anthropic's Help Center, official docs and docs.qcode.cc on this date.
Confirmed vs not stated by Anthropic
Confirmed (verbatim on official pages)
All of these can be checked word for word: credits are prepaid; you buy them under Settings > Billing with Buy credits and they're available immediately; auto-reload buys more automatically based on a minimum balance and a reload-to amount you set; credit and debit cards are accepted, PayPal and Venmo are not; credits expire after one year, the date can't be extended and purchases are non-refundable; failed requests aren't charged; the $100 / $200 / up-to-$500 monthly credits in Max 5x, Max 20x and Team and the order they're spent in; the exact error text when the balance runs out; and usage tiers are assigned automatically, not bought.
Not stated by Anthropic
First, the minimum top-up: as of 2026-10-08 the Help Center's purchase steps only say to enter the amount you want and confirm, and this page found no official minimum or maximum for a single Console purchase — go by what the Console shows. Second, the idea that buying more credits moves you up a tier faster: the Help Center says tiers are assigned automatically and no deposit or purchase moves you up. Third, the exact reason a card was declined: Anthropic lists common factors and says it doesn't receive detailed reasons from issuing banks.
Console credits or a QCode top-up?
Credits bought in the Anthropic Console
Fits teams that want their account directly with Anthropic. Payment is by credit or debit card, usage is deducted at Anthropic's current pricing, and credits expire one year after purchase with no refunds; auto-reload keeps the balance from running dry mid-job. The organization is also bound by its tier's monthly spend cap (Start $500, Build $1,000).
Topping up on QCode
Fits people who would rather pay with a wallet, a local method or crypto, or who want one key for Claude and other models. QCode bills per token, with each model's unit price on /models; the top-up page takes credit cards (Visa / Mastercard / AMEX), Apple Pay, Google Pay, WeChat Pay, Alipay and crypto across many coins and networks; a USD top-up runs from $1 to $2,000.
Buying credits and turning on auto-reload in the Console
Per the Help Center: first, sign in to the Claude Console with an Admin or Billing role; second, go to Settings > Billing and click Buy credits; third, enter the amount you want and confirm — credits are available immediately, and your balance and usage appear on the same Billing page; fourth, for automatic top-ups, click Edit in the Auto-reload section of the Billing page, switch it on, and set the minimum balance that triggers a purchase and the amount to reload to; fifth, to change cards, click the pencil icon next to your current payment method. When the balance is exhausted, requests return: Your credit balance is too low to access the Anthropic API. Please go to Plans & Billing to upgrade or purchase credits. If an organization holds only plan-included credits and sends a request they don't cover, such as a Claude Code session, Claude Code shows: Credit balance too low · Add funds: https://platform.claude.com/settings/billing
Topping up on QCode
QCode is prepaid, and the console spells the order out in three steps: top up, buy a plan, start using. First, top up at qcode.cc/recharge after picking a currency tab (the CNY and USD balances are separate): the USD tab has credit cards (Visa / Mastercard / AMEX), Apple Pay, Google Pay and crypto, and the CNY tab has Alipay and WeChat Pay. Second, choose a plan at qcode.cc/subscribe — this step deducts balance rather than charging a card. Third, put the key from the console into your tool; for Claude Code the base URL is ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.qcode.cc/api. Billing is per token, with each model's unit price on /models, and the same key calls claude-sonnet-5-5, claude-opus-5-5 and other models. Crypto deposit addresses appear only on the top-up page after you sign in.
Frequently asked questions
How do I buy Claude API credits?
You prepay in the Claude Console: sign in with an Admin or Billing role, go to Settings > Billing, click Buy credits, enter an amount and confirm — the credits are available immediately. The Help Center says API and playground usage is drawn from these prepaid credits, and purchased credits also cover Claude Code.
Which payment methods does Anthropic accept? Can I use PayPal?
Credit and debit cards — PayPal isn't accepted. The Help Center's wording is "We accept credit cards and debit cards for all purchases," and it adds that third-party payment processors such as PayPal or Venmo aren't accepted.
Is there a minimum top-up? Do credits expire? Can I get a refund?
Anthropic doesn't state a minimum, so go by the Console; purchased credits expire one year from the purchase date, the expiry can't be extended, and all credit purchases are non-refundable. Under the official credit terms, credits can't be transferred or sold, and they expire automatically and can't be recovered if you close the account.
What error do I get when the balance runs out?
The text is: Your credit balance is too low to access the Anthropic API. Please go to Plans & Billing to upgrade or purchase credits. Once credits are gone you can't call the API until you add more. It's a different thing from the 429 rate_limit_error you get at a tier's monthly spend cap, and from 402 billing_error, which points to a problem with your billing or payment information.
Does buying more credits raise my usage tier?
No. The Help Center says "Usage tiers are assigned automatically. There's no deposit or purchase that moves you up, and you don't need to take any action." Each of the Start, Build and Scale tiers carries a monthly spend cap — $500 on Start, $1,000 on Build — and once you reach it, API usage pauses until 00:00 UTC on the first day of the next month unless you request a higher limit sooner.
How do I top up on QCode, and what can I pay with?
Top up first, then buy a plan: at qcode.cc/recharge you can pay by credit card (Visa / Mastercard / AMEX), Apple Pay, Google Pay, WeChat Pay, Alipay or crypto (many coins and networks), with USD top-ups from $1 to $2,000 and CNY from ¥100; then buy a plan with that balance at qcode.cc/subscribe. Billing is per token, with each model's unit price on /models. The QCode FAQ says top-ups aren't refundable, apart from a few listed cases such as a mistaken top-up reported within 24 hours with no usage at all.
Sources
Anthropic Help Center, crawled 2026-10-08: How do I pay for my Claude API usage? (prepaid credits, purchase steps, auto-reload, one-year expiry, no refunds), Why was my card declined? (accepted payment methods), How can I get higher rate limits on the Claude API? (tiers are assigned automatically), and the article on why a paid Claude plan and the API are billed separately. Anthropic's official docs, same day: API credits for Max and Team plans (amounts, spending order, error text), Rate limits (monthly spend caps), API errors (402 billing_error) and the 2026-10-07 release-notes entry, plus Anthropic's Supplemental Credit Terms. QCode: the Payment Methods Overview, Billing Description, Dashboard Guide and FAQ on docs.qcode.cc, same day.
One key, billed per token
Top up by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, WeChat Pay, Alipay or crypto from $1, then call Claude and other models with one key; unit prices are on /models.
Related reading
Pay for Claude API with Apple Pay / Google Pay
QCode's USD tab: wallets, cards and the three top-up steps.
Credit balance is too low in Claude Code: 3 causes
Console credits ran out, a Console API key is overriding your plan, or the organization holds only plan-included credits that don't cover Claude Code — and how to fix each.
Buy Claude Code credits with USDT: 18 networks
Topping up QCode with USDT: networks, the 0% platform fee and manual review.
Checked on 2026-10-08 against Anthropic's Help Center, official docs and docs.qcode.cc; the official pages prevail, and upstream changes may happen without notice. Payment methods, amount limits and fees are whatever the top-up page shows at the time; model availability is as listed on /models.