Two AI subscriptions for $40 a month, or one for $100? For a growing number of heavy AI users, the math is obvious - and it is not in Anthropic's favor.
Anthropic currently sells Claude Pro at $20/month and Claude Max at $100/month. There is nothing in between. OpenAI's structure is similar: ChatGPT Plus runs $20/month, with Pro at $200/month. The result is a peculiar market dynamic where power users who hit their Pro limits are choosing to buy both Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus rather than upgrade to either company's premium tier.
The logic is straightforward. At $40/month total, you get two different frontier models, each with their own usage allowances. You can route tasks to whichever model handles them better - Claude for writing and analysis, ChatGPT for browsing and image generation. When one hits its rate limit, you switch to the other. Compare that to Claude Max at $100/month: you get 20x the Pro usage limits on a single model, but you are still locked into one provider's strengths and weaknesses.
The Mid-Tier Problem
This is not just a Claude issue. The entire AI subscription market has a missing middle. Google's Gemini Advanced is $20/month with no higher consumer tier. Perplexity Pro is $20/month. Every major provider clusters at the same $20 price point, then jumps to $100+ for power users or $25-30/seat for teams.
The gap creates a real business problem for Anthropic specifically because Claude's Pro rate limits are noticeably tighter than ChatGPT Plus. Heavy users report hitting Claude's limits mid-conversation during complex coding or long writing sessions. That friction pushes them toward the dual-subscription workaround rather than a 5x price increase.
A $40-50/month tier with 3-5x Pro usage would likely capture significant revenue from users currently splitting their spend across providers. Anthropic has not announced any plans for mid-tier pricing, but the pattern of users stacking cheap subscriptions across competitors suggests the current jump from $20 to $100 leaves real money on the table.