Anthropic measures your usage based on token consumption

We are paying for a certain amount of token consumption

Why then, is this an outsized strain on your system Anthropic?

It's like buying gasoline from Shell, and then Shell's terms of services forcing you to use that gas in a Hummer that does 5 MPG, while everyone else wants to drive any other vehicle.

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7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

[deleted]

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SpicyLemonZest 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If you're on a subscription plan, you're paying for a certain amount of maximum token consumption. Mass market consumers generally prefer this model to one where they're billed for actual usage. But making it work requires statistical estimates of how much people will consume, which often requires excluding third party tools that circumvent those estimates.

To use your analogy, if Shell sold you a subscription to fill up your Hummer up to 30 times a month, they wouldn't let you use that subscription to fill gas cans with a GMC logo taped to the side. They couldn't, without overcharging the people who just want to average out their cost of driving.

	▲	fc417fc802 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I think that just as with ISPs people become irate when they feel there's been a bait-and-switch. Had they very loudly advertised the subscription as limited to their harness up front with a note about maximum token use people presumably wouldn't feel cheated. Whereas they seem to be pulling a "pray I don't alter it further" for the second time now. You don't get to sell a subscription described primarily as being for some quantity of X and then change the terms every time people find creative ways to use the stream of X they believe themselves to have purchased from you. People thought they were purchasing in bulk.

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bitpush 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I feel icky replying in favor of a for-profit entity, but here goes ..

> We are paying for a certain amount of token consumption

I dont think you are. The specific arrangement you have is you pay for a subscription to be used with Claude Code. It isnt access to tokens, so you can do whatever you please.

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An analogy would be a refillable cup for a soda at a restuarnt. They will allow you to refill how many ever times you want, but only using the store provided cup - and you cant bring your own 2L hydroflask or whatever. You're paying not just for the liquid, but for the entire setup.

	▲	stavros 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The analogy is bad. Anthropic does not let you "refill however many times you want", they have limits. That's what "limits" in your account is. It would be like the restaurant saying "you can buy the 2-liter soda pack" and then getting all uppity when you bring your own 2L hydroflask in.

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charcircuit 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

You are making the false assumption that all token consumption costs the same when it doesn't. Yes in the limit the price to serve the model and generate a response is O(tokens), but when tokens is smaller it can be cheaper to generate a new token than when tokens is bigger. If other harnesses prompt with more tokens than Claude Code it can be more expensive to serve.

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stavros 6 hours ago | parent [-]

They have limits. I don't care how expensive it is to serve, I'm paying them for a given amount of tokens (a limit which THEY SET) and they want to also dictate where I spend those tokens.

	▲	verdverm 6 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Those are subsidized tokens because you are also using their product. They have a per-token payment option where you can use any tool you like
	▲	charcircuit 6 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		>I'm paying them for a given amount of tokens The plans do not say how many tokens you get. People are paying for access. Higher plans get more usage. The marketing and support material of the plans only use the word "usage" and never "tokens."