Quick Answer
Anthropic has two live official statements that do not describe the same transition. Its Help Center says the temporary 50% increase in eligible Claude Code weekly limits runs through August 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT, then returns to standard. The official @ClaudeDevs account says the current 50% increase remains until September 14, when standard weekly limits permanently rise by 25%.
Do not silently treat one statement as an update to the other. Before 11:59 PM PT, save your current /usage view and reset time. Check the same view after the documented cutoff and again on September 14. Avoid upgrading, downgrading, or promising capacity to a client until the account meter shows which schedule Anthropic is applying.
The 25% increase and 17% reduction are not the contradiction. The first is measured against the old standard; the second is measured against today’s 50%-higher promotional limit. The contradiction is whether the 50% promotion ends after August 31 or continues to September 14.
The two official statements do not match
The Anthropic Help Center article, checked on August 31, 2026, is explicit in three places:
“We’ve extended this promotion. Increased weekly limits now run through August 31, 2026.”
Its FAQ says:
“After August 31, 2026, weekly usage limits in Claude Code return to their standard levels.”
Its terms add the time zone and exact cutoff:
“This offer is valid from May 13, 2026 through August 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT.”
The official @ClaudeDevs post, dated August 29, 2026, says something different:
“Starting September 14, we’re permanently raising standard weekly limits in Claude Code by 25% for Pro, Max, Team, and seat-based Enterprise plans. Until then, the current 50% increase will be in place.”
The account’s follow-up in the same thread says:
“Compared to today, this works out to a 17% reduction in weekly limits on Claude Code.”
Both pages were reachable when checked on August 31. The X statement is newer, but neither page says that it supersedes, corrects, or amends the other. This guide therefore does not declare either transition schedule final.
| Official source | Promotion cutoff it describes | New standard it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic Help Center | August 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT | Return to the prior standard after August 31 |
| @ClaudeDevs, August 29 | Current 50% increase remains until September 14 | Permanent 25% increase over the old standard starting September 14 |
These are separate claims. Combining them into “the promotion definitely ends tonight” or “the extension to September 14 is confirmed everywhere” would erase the unresolved conflict.
Two earlier Istar guides — the Claude Code and Copilot promotion deadline check and the Claude Pro limit decision guide — reflected the Help Center wording available when they were checked on August 28. Use this August 31 source-conflict update as the caveat to their return-to-standard statements until Anthropic reconciles the dates.
Why +25% and −17% describe the same step
Let the old standard weekly limit be 100 units. Anthropic has not published a universal unit count here; 100 is only an index for the calculation.
- Old standard: 100
- Current 50%-higher promotion: 150
- Announced permanent standard, 25% above the old standard: 125
Moving from 150 to 125 is a reduction of 25 ÷ 150 = 16.7%, which rounds to 17%. So “25% above the old standard” and “17% below today” are mathematically consistent.
The unresolved question is the date of the 150-to-125 transition. The Help Center describes a 150-to-100 transition after August 31; @ClaudeDevs describes 150 continuing until September 14, followed by 125.
What to do on August 31
1. Capture the meter before 11:59 PM PT
Run /usage in Claude Code and save the weekly view, the reset time, the plan name, and the time you checked it. The Help Center explicitly points users to /usage for their updated limits. A screenshot or text note gives you an account-level baseline without guessing at unpublished absolute allowances.
Do not burn usage merely because one document names a cutoff. Finish work that already has an August 31 deadline, but do not manufacture demand to “use up” a weekly allowance.
2. Separate today’s delivery risk from the subscription decision
If a client delivery depends on Claude Code tonight, prepare a fallback task route before 11:59 PM PT: a smaller context, a lower-priority queue, or another already-approved coding tool. This is operational insurance, not evidence that the Help Center schedule will win.
Do not upgrade from Pro to Max, add seats, or cancel a plan solely because of the two public statements. Neither source publishes your account’s absolute weekly allowance, and the conflict prevents a reliable capacity forecast for the period between August 31 and September 14.
3. Check after the documented cutoff
After August 31 at 11:59 PM PT, run /usage again under the same plan and account. Record whether the displayed weekly allowance or remaining percentage changed. Treat the live meter as evidence for your account, not as proof that every eligible plan received the same transition.
If the meter drops to the earlier standard, the Help Center schedule is showing up operationally for that account. If the 50% increase remains, the @ClaudeDevs schedule is showing up. If the interface does not expose enough information to tell, keep the status unresolved rather than inferring a result from one coding session.
4. Recheck on September 14
The @ClaudeDevs statement names September 14 as the date for a permanent standard-limit increase of 25% over the old standard. It does not give a time of day or time zone. Check the official pages and your account meter again on that date before treating the new baseline as available.
For a team, assign one person to record the pre-cutoff, post-cutoff, and September 14 views. A shared record prevents one user’s remaining percentage from becoming an unsupported organization-wide capacity promise.
Which plans are in scope
The Help Center says the promotion applies to Pro, Max, and Team plans, plus legacy seat-based Enterprise users. It excludes Free plans and consumption-based Enterprise seats. The @ClaudeDevs post names Pro, Max, Team, and seat-based Enterprise plans for the September 14 increase.
The wording is close, but this article does not broaden either source. A consumption-based Enterprise customer should not infer inclusion from the shorter X wording when the Help Center explicitly excludes consumption-based seats from the promotion. Check the plan type in the live account or with the organization’s Claude administrator.
The Help Center also says the promotion changes weekly Claude Code limits only. The five-hour usage limit is not affected, and other Claude products are outside this promotion. A stable five-hour meter does not resolve the weekly-limit conflict.
FAQ
Is the Claude Code 50% promotion ending on August 31?
The Help Center says it ends on August 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT and then returns to standard. @ClaudeDevs says the current 50% increase remains until September 14. As of the August 31 check, the two official sources had not been reconciled, so the end date should be treated as unresolved.
Does the 25% permanent increase start on August 31?
No official source cited here says that. @ClaudeDevs names September 14 for the permanent 25% increase over the old standard. The Help Center does not mention that new standard and instead says limits return to standard after August 31.
Is a 25% increase compatible with a 17% reduction?
Yes. A limit that rises from an old standard of 100 to 125 is 25% higher than the old standard. Compared with today’s promotional 150, the new 125 level is 16.7% lower, which rounds to 17%.
Sources
Checked August 31, 2026. Only first-party sources were used:
- Claude Code May–August 2026 weekly limits promotion | Anthropic Help Center — promotion amount, eligibility, August 31 at 11:59 PM PT cutoff, return-to-standard FAQ,
/usage, and the unchanged five-hour limit - ClaudeDevs (@ClaudeDevs) on X, August 29, 2026 — 50% continuity until September 14, permanent 25% increase over the old standard, and the follow-up’s 17% comparison with today’s promotional limit
Source ledger evidence rows · 2 filed claims · checked