Is Claude Desktop Free? What the Free Plan Covers
October 8, 2026
Yes, Claude Desktop is free to download and use, but "free" only covers the Chat side of the app. You can install it on macOS, Windows or Linux (beta), sign in with a free Claude account, and chat, search the web, use connectors and desktop extensions, and keep up to five Projects. The Code tab (Claude Code) and Cowork need a paid plan, and computer use is limited to Pro and Max. The app itself never costs anything extra. What you can do in it depends entirely on your Claude plan.
The short version:
- Free plan: Chat in the desktop app, with the same features as Free on the web, plus desktop extensions.
- Pro and up: adds Claude Code (the Code tab), Cowork, Research, unlimited Projects and more usage.
- Max: the same features as Pro with much higher usage limits.
- API and Console: billed separately. A Claude subscription doesn't turn into API credit, and an API key won't sign you in to the desktop app.
Here's what each plan unlocks inside the app, how usage limits actually work, and which plan fits which kind of work.
What the free Claude desktop app includes
Anthropic's Install Claude Desktop help article puts it plainly: Claude Desktop is available on macOS, Windows and Linux (beta), and "what you can do depends on your plan." Its own availability table gives Chat to every plan from Free to Enterprise, and Claude Code and Cowork to paid plans only.
So the download is never the paywall. Sign in with a free account and you land in a working app.
On the Free plan, Anthropic's pricing page lists these features, and all of them work in the desktop app:
| Free plan feature | What it means on desktop |
|---|---|
| Chat on web, iOS, Android and Desktop | The same conversations, synced across all your devices |
| Web search | Claude can look things up during a chat |
| Create and edit files with code execution | Claude can run code to build spreadsheets, documents and charts |
| Artifacts | Interactive outputs shown next to the chat |
| Memory | Claude can carry context across conversations |
| Connectors | Link apps and tools you already use |
| Desktop extensions | Installable add-ons that connect Claude to apps and files on your computer |
| Skills | Reusable instructions Claude can load for specific tasks |
| Claude Design, Slides and Docs | Included on Free, though they draw from the same usage limits as everything else |
| Voice mode and incognito chats | Both included |
| Projects | Up to 5 |
Two limits stand out on the Free plan. Projects are capped at five, and the model list is Sonnet and Haiku only. Opus is listed for Pro and above.
Desktop extensions and MCP on the Free plan
Desktop extensions are the one feature that only makes sense in the app, and they're included on Free. Anthropic describes a desktop extension as "a local MCP server for Claude Desktop," packaged so you can install it with one click instead of editing config files. You browse them under Settings > Extensions, and the curated directory includes options like filesystem access.
That matters if you searched "is Claude Desktop free" because you want to try MCP. You don't need a paid plan for it. You need the desktop app and an extension.
What the Free plan doesn't include
The pricing page marks these as No for Free and Yes from Pro up:
- Claude Code
- Research
- Claude in Chrome and Claude for Microsoft 365
- Opus models
- Usage credits (paying to keep going after you hit a limit)
What needs a paid plan in Claude Desktop
The desktop app has three tabs, according to Anthropic's desktop quickstart: Chat for conversation, Cowork for autonomous background work, and Code for software development. Free gets the first. The other two are paid.
| Desktop feature | Free | Pro | Max | Team / Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat tab | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Code tab (Claude Code) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cowork | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Computer use (beta) | No | Yes | Yes | Not yet |
| Dispatch (limited beta) | No | Some existing users | Some existing users | No |
Claude Code and the Code tab
The quickstart says it directly: "Claude Code requires a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise subscription." If you click the Code tab on a free account, the app asks you to upgrade.
Once you're on a paid plan, the desktop app includes Claude Code itself. You don't need to install Node.js or the command-line tool to use the Code tab. If you're trying to decide whether that's worth paying for, we broke it down in Is Claude Code worth it?.
Cowork
Anthropic's Get started with Claude Cowork guide says Cowork "is available on paid plans (Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise)." Cowork is the agent that takes on longer, multi-step work, like reading a folder of files and producing a formatted report. It runs code in an isolated virtual machine on your computer and only reads and writes inside folders you connect.
This part of the app is changing right now. On September 16, 2026, Anthropic announced that Cowork and chat are merging into one Claude, so Cowork's abilities become available from any conversation. The rollout started with Pro and Max, and Anthropic says "Team and Free plans will follow soon." It hasn't said exactly what Free accounts will be able to do once it arrives, so don't count on Cowork-level tasks on a free account until it shows up in your app.
Computer use and Dispatch
Computer use lets Claude operate apps on your screen. Anthropic's computer use guide says it's in beta and "available for Pro and Max plans only," with Team and Enterprise not included yet. It runs through Claude Desktop on macOS and Windows, and the Linux beta doesn't support it.
Dispatch lets you message Claude from your phone and have it work on your desktop computer. According to Anthropic's Dispatch article, it's a limited beta for some Pro and Max plans, and "Dispatch isn't available to new users." If you don't already have it, upgrading won't get it for you.
How Claude usage limits work on desktop
Usage is where the free plan and paid plans differ most, and the desktop app doesn't change any of it.
Here's how Anthropic describes limits in the FAQ on its pricing page:
- Limits reset on a rolling five-hour session window. Paid plans add weekly limits on top.
- One shared pool. Your activity "across Claude on web, desktop, mobile, and Claude Code all draws from the same pool." Using the desktop app doesn't give you extra.
- No fixed message count. How far you get depends on conversation length, the model and the features you use.
- Relative sizes: Pro gives at least 5x more usage per session than Free. Max gives 5x or 20x more than Pro.
- When you hit a limit: wait for the reset, move to a higher plan, or, on paid plans only, turn on usage credits to keep going at standard API rates.
Anthropic's usage limit best practices article lists what eats into your allowance fastest: long messages, large file attachments, long conversations, tools like Research and web search, model choice, and multi-step tasks such as running code or creating files. Cowork's own guide adds that multi-step agent tasks use "more of your usage than a quick question."
In practice, a free account goes a long way for questions, drafts and summaries. It runs out quickly if you keep one long chat going with big PDFs attached. If you're weighing that trade-off, Is Claude Pro worth it? compares Free and Pro head to head.
Claude Code shares the same limits
Anthropic's Claude Code with Pro or Max article confirms that "all activity in both tools counts against the same usage limits." A heavy coding session in the Code tab leaves less for chat, and the reverse is true too.
Claude Desktop price vs. API and Console billing
There isn't a separate Claude Desktop price. You pay for a Claude plan, and the app comes with it. For current prices, check Anthropic's pricing page (linked in the first paragraph) rather than any number quoted elsewhere, since Anthropic says plans and prices can change at its discretion.
The thing that trips people up is the API. Anthropic's article on why the API is billed separately says "Claude paid plans and the Claude Console are separate products designed for different purposes." Here's how that plays out:
- A subscription doesn't give you API access on its own. Pro doesn't include API usage.
- Max and Team are the exception. They include monthly API credits for the Claude Platform. Free, Pro and Enterprise aren't eligible.
- An API key won't sign you in to the desktop app. Claude Desktop uses your Claude account. API keys are for the API, the SDKs and the Claude Code command line.
- A stray API key can redirect billing. If
ANTHROPIC_API_KEYis set on your machine, Claude Code uses it instead of your subscription, and you're charged at API rates.
If your budget is in Console credits rather than a subscription, the command-line Claude Code is the tool that uses them, not the desktop app.
Which Claude plan for which use
| What you want to do in Claude Desktop | Plan that covers it |
|---|---|
| Ask questions, draft and summarize in a desktop window | Free |
| Try MCP through desktop extensions and connectors | Free |
| Keep more than five Projects, or use Opus and Research | Pro |
| Use the Code tab to work on code in a local folder | Pro (Max if you code for hours every day) |
| Hand off longer file-based tasks to Cowork | Pro or Max |
| Let Claude operate apps on your screen (computer use) | Pro or Max |
| Shared billing, SSO and admin controls for a company | Team or Enterprise |
| Build your own app on Claude models | API via Console, billed separately |
A sensible path for most people is to install the app, use it on Free for a week, and only upgrade once you hit a specific wall: the five-Project cap, the usage limit, or the Code and Cowork tabs. If the desktop app isn't the right fit, Claude Desktop alternatives covers other options. For a tour of what each tab does once you're in, see our Claude Desktop guide.
The setup step a plan doesn't solve
A paid plan gives you the Code and Cowork tabs. It doesn't give you a working setup. Many people upgrade because they saw someone's Claude Code workflow on X or YouTube, then spend an afternoon trying to reproduce it.
If that's your bottleneck, Taku mirrors a working AI app or workflow into a desktop workspace where you can run it, edit it and save it as your own, without rebuilding someone else's environment first. Taku is in Beta, and the Mac app is available now.
FAQ
Is Claude Desktop free?
Yes. The app is free to download on macOS, Windows and Linux (beta), and a free Claude account can use the Chat tab. Claude Code, Cowork and computer use need a paid plan.
Is Claude Code free in the desktop app?
No. Anthropic's docs say Claude Code requires a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise subscription. On a free account, clicking the Code tab asks you to upgrade.
Does the desktop app cost more than the web app?
No. It's the same account and the same plan. Anthropic's pricing page lists "Chat on web, iOS, Android and Desktop" as one feature, and usage across web, desktop, mobile and Claude Code comes from one shared pool.
What does the Claude Desktop free plan include?
Chat, web search, memory, file creation with code execution, Artifacts, connectors, desktop extensions, skills, Claude Design, Slides and Docs, voice mode, incognito chats, up to five Projects, and the Sonnet and Haiku models.
Can I use MCP servers on the free plan?
Yes, through desktop extensions, which Anthropic describes as local MCP servers for Claude Desktop. Desktop extensions and connectors are both listed for the Free plan.
Can I use my API key with Claude Desktop?
No. Claude Desktop signs in with a Claude account. API usage is billed separately through the Claude Console. Max and Team plans include monthly API credits, while Free and Pro don't.
Does Claude Desktop work on Linux?
Yes, in beta, on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later and Debian 12 or later, on x64 or arm64. Computer use and dictation aren't available on Linux yet.
Is Cowork free?
Not today. Cowork is available on paid plans. Anthropic is merging Cowork into chat, starting with Pro and Max, and says Free plans will follow, but it hasn't said which Cowork features Free accounts will get.