⚡️ Anthropic and OpenAI subscriptions are more unprofitable than previously thought

Reddit r/ArtificialInteligence 06/11/26, 03:32 PM News

anthropic openai subscriptions api-pricing unprofitable ai-business cost-analysis

Summary

A new analysis by SemiAnalysis reveals that Anthropic and OpenAI subscriptions are far more unprofitable than previously estimated, with the real cost of using their AI models via API being orders of magnitude higher than subscription fees.

https://preview.redd.it/nyp7rp75ao6h1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=fd7ccf62b7d63b8d2ec50cd784a6a95939a4bc05 In January, researchers already calculated the real cost of Claude Code subscriptions when converted to API rates. Back then, a $200/month subscription would have cost \~$2,700 at API prices. SemiAnalysis repeated the experiment across all provider tiers using long coding tasks until the weekly limits were exhausted, and the current figures are noticeably higher. For Anthropic, the number has nearly tripled: claude-max-20x for $200/month is equivalent to $8,000/month via the API. OpenAI is even worse: chatgpt-pro-20x for the same $200 draws a whopping $14,000/month. SemiAnalysis believes that all new models and features will be held back exclusively for API users. And Fable (Mythos), as already known, will disappear from subscriptions starting June 22 and will only be available via extra usage.

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