Claude Code for free: what really costs nothing and how to skip the subscription
Claude Code is free only to install: the program itself costs nothing, but you pay for the model, either with a Claude Pro subscription at $20 a month or per token through the API. The free Claude.ai plan does not include Claude Code (code.claude.com, claude.com/pricing, 01.11.2026). With RuAPI you need no subscription: new accounts usually get $0.05 right away to run Claude Code on claude-haiku-5-5, deepseek-flash or gpt-6-luna, and after that you pay only for tokens, from 5 USDT, with no VPN and no foreign card.
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://www.ruapi.ai
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=sk-...
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-sonnet-5-5
# cheaper: export ANTHROPIC_MODEL=deepseek-flash
claudeThe example uses claude-sonnet-5-5, which unlocks after your first top-up. On the trial balance, change the model to claude-haiku-5-5 and add ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL, ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL and ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL with the same value, otherwise Claude Code background requests to other models are rejected.
Why there is no free Claude Code, and how to pay less
Only the program is free.
Claude Code installs for free, via npm or the Anthropic installer. But according to Anthropic documentation it needs a Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, Enterprise or Console (API billing) account, and the free Claude.ai plan does not include Claude Code access (code.claude.com/docs/en/setup, 01.11.2026). Through RuAPI you need no Anthropic account, just a RuAPI key, and new accounts usually get a $0.05 trial right away.
The official route is closed from Russia.
In the Claude Code system requirements Anthropic lists being in a supported country, and Russia is not on that list (code.claude.com/docs/en/setup, anthropic.com/supported-countries, 01.11.2026). The subscription is paid by card, and Russian bank cards do not work abroad. RuAPI is reachable from Russia without a VPN, and you top up in USDT, so no foreign card is needed.
A subscription is $20 every month, even if you worked two days.
Claude Pro costs $20 a month ($17 billed annually), Max is $100 a month and Ultra $200 a month (claude.com/pricing, 01.11.2026). RuAPI has no monthly fee: you top up from 5 USDT and pay only for the tokens of the days the agent actually worked. Routine work can go to claude-haiku-5-5 or deepseek-flash, which cost many times less than Claude Sonnet.
How to try Claude Code without paying: 3 steps
The trial balance works in Claude Code with claude-haiku-5-5, deepseek-flash or gpt-6-luna; the larger Claude models unlock after your first top-up.
Sign up: the $0.05 trial usually arrives right away
Sign up at www.ruapi.ai with email, Google or Yandex, no phone number needed. The trial balance works with claude-haiku-5-5, deepseek-flash and gpt-6-luna, and all three work in Claude Code.
Create a key for Claude Code
Console → API Keys → Create API key. On the same page, the “Connect Claude Code, Cline & more” button gives you ready-made settings with your key. Set a spending limit on the key so the agent never spends more than you decided.
Put the trial model in all four fields
- Install Claude Code: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code (needs Node.js 22 or newer) or the official Anthropic installer.
- In the "env" block of ~/.claude/settings.json set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = https://www.ruapi.ai (no /v1) and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN = your key, and put claude-haiku-5-5 in ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL, ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL and ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL, and in the top-level "model" field of the file. You can also put deepseek-flash in all four fields — guide: docs.ruapi.ai/en/integrations/claude-code-deepseek.
- After topping up, switch the model to claude-sonnet-5-5 or claude-opus-5-5; the key and the address stay the same.
Full setup and troubleshooting: docs.ruapi.ai/en/integrations/claude-code, Claude Code on DeepSeek: docs.ruapi.ai/en/integrations/claude-code-deepseek
What Claude Code costs through RuAPI: an estimate
A small task (estimate)
20 steps, ~50,000-token context
claude-haiku-5-5 ≈ $0.03
deepseek-flash ≈ $0.05
claude-sonnet-5-5 ≈ $0.56
5 USDT covers roughly
~9 tasks on claude-sonnet-5-5
~95 tasks on deepseek-flash
~145 tasks on claude-haiku-5-5
For comparison: a subscription
Claude Pro: $20 a month
Claude Max: $100 a month
RuAPI: no monthly fee
Model prices for Claude Code
Models that run Claude Code according to our guides, in US dollars per 1M tokens, from the pricing page. No subscription: only the tokens you use are deducted from your balance.
| model | input $/M | output $/M |
|---|---|---|
| claude-haiku-5-5 | $0.12 cache read $0.0120 >100K: $0.60 | $0.60 >100K: $3.00 |
| deepseek-flash | $0.17 cache read $0.0120 | $1.44 |
| deepseek-v4-pro | $1.58 cache read $0.0600 | $4.75 |
| claude-sonnet-5-5 | $2.40 cache read $0.12 | $12.00 |
| claude-opus-5-5 | $4.80 cache read $0.24 | $24.00 |
Columns: input is new input tokens, cache read is the context Claude Code re-sends at every step, output is the model response including its reasoning. The estimates above are our own calculation, not a guarantee: 20 steps, on average 50,000 context tokens per step (47,500 from cache, 2,500 new — Claude writes them to the cache), 1,000 output tokens per step, plus an initial cache write of 20,000 tokens; a Claude cache write costs 1.25× the input price, and above 100,000 context tokens claude-haiku-5-5 costs 5× more. The real amount depends on your project; exact charges are in Console → Usage Logs.
The grey “>100K” line is the vendor’s rate for long prompts: if a prompt goes over the threshold, the whole request is billed at that rate.
Claude Code through RuAPI vs. an Anthropic subscription
| Claude Code + RuAPI | Anthropic subscription | |
|---|---|---|
| The program itself | Free | Free |
| Free start | Usually $0.05 for claude-haiku-5-5, deepseek-flash and gpt-6-luna | The free Claude.ai plan does not include Claude Code |
| Recurring fee | None: tokens only, top-ups from 5 USDT | Pro $20 a month ($17 billed annually), Max $100 and Ultra $200 a month |
| Access from Russia | No VPN needed | Russia is not on the supported countries list |
| Payment | USDT or USDC; foreign-issued cards | By card; Russian bank cards do not work abroad |
| Models | Claude, plus DeepSeek, GPT, Gemini, Kimi, GLM, Qwen, MiniMax and Grok | Claude only |
Anthropic information is from code.claude.com/docs/en/setup, claude.com/pricing and anthropic.com/supported-countries, checked 01.11.2026.