source: techcrunch ai: anthropic starts localizing claude pricing for india, its biggest market after the us
level: business
anthropic has started showing localized pricing in indian rupees for some claude users on its website and mobile apps. india is claude's biggest market outside the us, accounting for 5.8% of global usage. however, the company has not yet enabled payments through the unified payments interface, india's popular instant payment system. users still need to pay by credit card or through apple and google app store billing. this contrasts with openai, which launched rupee pricing for chatgpt with upi support in august.
the new pricing lists claude pro at ₹2,000 per month when billed annually, compared to $17 in the us. claude max starts at ₹11,999 per month, versus $100 in the us, and team plans begin at ₹2,399 per seat per month, compared to $20 in the us. these prices include local taxes. mobile app prices differ slightly from website listings. the move addresses long-standing user requests for rupee subscriptions, as dollar pricing and currency conversion fees previously added friction.
anthropic has been expanding in india, opening a bengaluru office in february and appointing a former microsoft india managing director to lead its business. it has partnered with it services firms infosys and tata consultancy services for enterprise ai deployments. however, a recent temporary restriction on some models for non-us entities caused concern among indian developers. india's large developer base makes it a key market, but converting usage to paid subscriptions remains difficult due to price sensitivity.
why it matters: local pricing can increase ai tool adoption in price-sensitive markets, but missing upi support may limit uptake in india where that payment method dominates.
source: techcrunch ai: anthropic starts localizing claude pricing for india, its biggest market after the us