As of November 9, 2026, some eligible Claude accounts can manually reset a subscription usage limit if an offer appears in Settings. The offer restores either the five-hour session limit or the weekly limit. It does not reset an Anthropic API rate limit.
Reset a Claude subscription limit
- Open Claude on the web or in Claude Desktop.
- Go to Settings → Usage and find the Resets section.
- Select Reset for free, then confirm. The offer identifies which limit it will restore.
Resets are offered occasionally to eligible accounts, so the option may not appear for everyone. The control isn’t available in Claude Mobile or Claude Code in a terminal or IDE; after you redeem it, the restored usage is shared across your Claude account.
If no reset offer appears, check Settings → Usage for your next reset time and wait for that limit. Weekly limits reset at the usual day and time assigned to your account; they don’t shift just because you begin using Claude on a different day.
Usage credits are different from a free reset. Eligible Pro, Max, and Ultra subscribers can enable usage credits to continue using Claude at pay-as-you-go rates after reaching included limits. This adds usage; it does not reset the included allowance.
Identify which limit you hit
- Claude subscription limit: Check Settings → Usage for your usage and next reset time. Subscription usage is shared across Claude surfaces on the account.
- Anthropic API error (HTTP 429): This is separate from a Claude subscription limit. Anthropic says a 429 can indicate an API rate limit, a monthly usage-tier spend cap, or a Claude Code workspace spend limit. Don’t assume every 429 will clear by waiting.
If production API traffic gets a 429
- Inspect the response. Read the error details and any
retry-afterheader. Anthropic says a rate-limit response identifies the exceeded limit; whenretry-afteris present, wait the specified number of seconds before retrying. Don’t retry early. - Check your organization’s limits in the Claude Console. The Rate limits page shows the organization’s tier and current limits. A missing
retry-afterheader alone is not enough to identify the cause; compare the response details with the applicable organization or workspace spend limit. - Recover based on the cause. For a rate limit, respect the response’s retry timing and smooth request bursts. If you reach the monthly tier spend cap, API usage pauses until 00:00 UTC on the first day of the next month, unless Anthropic raises the limit sooner. Anthropic says you can request a higher limit from the Console’s Rate limits page. For a Claude Code workspace spend limit, check that workspace’s configured limit and contact the organization administrator about changing it; don’t treat it as a timed rate-limit retry.
Bottom line: Use Settings → Usage → Reset for free only when Claude offers a subscription reset. For API traffic, inspect the response and Console limits, then follow the recovery path for the specific rate or spend limit.
Sources
What is a limit reset? | Claude Help Center
How do usage and length limits work? | Claude Help Center
Manage usage credits for paid Claude plans | Claude Help Center