Anthropic localizes Claude pricing for India, its second-largest market
Anthropic has begun offering Claude subscriptions in Indian rupees for users in India, making it the second market after the US with localized rates. The move targets India's large developer base but faces challenges such as lack of UPI payments and recent model access restrictions.
Localized Pricing in India
Anthropic has started localizing the pricing of its AI assistant Claude for India, its biggest market outside the US. Local pricing has appeared for some users on Claude's website and mobile apps, but the company has yet to enable payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India's widely used instant payment network. Users still need to pay by card or through Apple and Google's app store billing systems. This contrasts with OpenAI, which rolled out Indian rupee pricing for ChatGPT in August with UPI support.
In India, Claude Pro is priced at ₹2,000 (about $21) per month when billed annually, compared to $17 per month in the US. Claude Max starts at ₹11,999 (approximately $125) per month in India, versus $100 in the US, while Team plans start at ₹2,399 (about $25) per seat per month, compared to $20 in the US. The India prices include local taxes. Prices on mobile apps vary slightly from those on the website.
India's Importance to Anthropic
According to Anthropic, India accounts for 5.8% of global Claude usage, making it the service's second-largest market after the US. The Indian rupee pricing comes amid Anthropic's growing focus on India. The company opened an office in Bengaluru in February, following an announcement in October, and in January appointed former Microsoft India managing director Irina Ghose to lead its business in the country. Anthropic has also partnered with Indian IT services giants Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services in recent months to scale enterprise AI deployments.
However, this expansion faced a setback in June when Anthropic abruptly suspended access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for non-US entities, prompting some Indian developers and startup founders to consider alternatives to American AI models. The restriction on Fable 5 has since been lifted, though access to Mythos 5 remains limited.
India has become an increasingly important market for AI companies, driven by its large base of developers and technology workers. However, converting widespread usage into paid subscriptions remains a challenge in the price-sensitive market. Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment on the Indian rupee pricing rollout.
