How to cancel Claude Max, and the usage credits that bill separately

Where do you cancel Claude Max?

You cancel Claude Max wherever you bought it. Anthropic's cancellation article, updated on 7 October 2026, gives one path for the web and one for each phone. The web button sits under Settings, Billing.

Not sure which one it is? Check your inbox. A receipt from Anthropic means the web route. A receipt from Apple or Google Play means the store, and claude.ai can't cancel it for you. Deleting the app cancels nothing on either phone. Google's help page says it plainly: "When you uninstall an app, your subscription won't cancel."

Timing matters more than the button. Anthropic says "To avoid being charged for your next billing period, cancel your subscription at least 24 hours before your next billing date." Max is sold monthly only, so you're never more than a month from that date. You can cancel on day two and still use Max until the period ends.

Does Claude Max cost more on iPhone?

Yes. Apple's US App Store listing for Claude, read on 25 October 2026, sells Max 20x at $249.99 and Max 5x at $124.99 a month. Anthropic's Max plan article lists $200 and $100 for web subscriptions and notes that "Mobile pricing may vary depending on your app platform." Pro is $20 in both places.

So an iPhone subscriber who wants to keep Max has a cheaper move than cancelling outright. Cancel in iOS Settings, let the Apple plan run out, then subscribe on claude.ai. That saves $49.99 a month on Max 20x. You'll be on the free plan for the gap between the two, so time it near the end date. If you're leaving Claude for good, the store is still the only place that can stop the charge.

What keeps charging after you cancel Claude Max?

Cancelling stops the Max renewal and the monthly API credits. Usage credits and Console billing run on their own, and the cancellation article mentions neither one.

Usage credits are the one to check first. Anthropic's usage credits article says they are "charged separately from your paid Claude subscription and appear as additional charges on your bill." Auto reload buys more whenever your balance drops below a threshold you set. You can disable them "at any time through Settings > Usage." Do it before you cancel, while the panel is still in front of you.

A leftover balance is the catch. Anthropic says usage credits generally don't expire (in Japan, credits bought since 10 September 2026 lapse six months after purchase). But Anthropic's plan table lists usage credits as "No" on the free plan, and no Anthropic page says what happens to an unspent balance once Max ends. So don't top up in your last week. Spend down what's there, or keep it for the day you resubscribe.

The monthly API credits work the other way: they can't outlive the cycle. The cancellation article says "Monthly API credits included with Max and Team plans aren't purchased, so they can't be refunded." Anthropic's API credits article, updated on 19 October 2026, adds that "Unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle." When you cancel, new credits stop. The ones already in your Console organization stay usable until they expire at the end of the billing cycle. If you've got $200 of it sitting there, use it before the end date.

What happens when you cancel Claude Max?

Your account drops to the free plan on the end date, and your history stays. Anthropic's pricing FAQ says "your chats, projects, and files stay with your account whichever plan you're on." What changes is the toolset, and for many Max subscribers the loss is Claude Code.

Free keeps chat on web, desktop and mobile, Claude Sonnet and Haiku, memory, web search and Artifacts. It doesn't keep Claude Code, Claude Opus or Research. If you have more than five projects, open the ones you need before the end date.

Deleting the account is a different action, and you don't need it to stop paying. Cancel first and let Max lapse. How to delete a Claude account covers the rest.

Can I get a refund for Claude Max?

Usually not. Anthropic's refund article opens with "all payments are non-refundable" except where its Consumer Terms or the law say otherwise. Cancelling mid month means you keep Max until the end date. You don't get the unused days back.

The exceptions are narrow. In the EEA and the UK you may get a refund within 14 days of purchase, prorated by use, and the option may show up in your Settings. Outside Europe you ask through Get help, Send us a message, Claude Refund Request, which checks eligibility first. Apple refunds App Store charges itself, at reportaproblem.apple.com, and Anthropic notes that requesting one "doesn't cancel your subscription." For an active Google Play plan, Anthropic's support team checks eligibility before it helps. The API credits are never refunded.

The full fork, with the wording that works in a refund request, is in how to get a refund for Claude Pro. It applies to Max as well.

Cancel Max or drop to Pro?

Drop to Pro if you still want Claude Code. Pro is $20 a month, keeps Claude Code, Claude Opus and Research, and carries a twentieth of the Max 20x session allowance. Anthropic says a downgrade takes effect at the end of the current billing period, the same timing as a cancel. How to downgrade Claude Max has the steps and what Pro takes away.

Cancel if you've stopped opening Claude Code at all, or if another plan already covers your week. Some people leave Max because they want Claude Opus a few times a day, not an agent running all day. Whizi Pro is $29.99 a month and carries Claude Opus and Claude Sonnet next to ChatGPT Sol. Credits per message vary by model and can change. It has no Claude Code and nothing close to a Max session allowance, so a developer who lives in the terminal should take Anthropic's Pro instead.