Claude Opus 5 starts appearing on free accounts, but only for three messages
Sonnet 5 arrived on June 30 and was available to everyone using Claude, including those on the Free plan. A few weeks later, Anthropic launched the higher-tier Opus 5 on July 24, but limited its availability to paid Claude plans and the API. Nearly two months later, that is beginning to change, as Opus 5 has started appearing for users on their free accounts.
The change first caught our attention when a friend noticed Opus 5 on their free account. It appeared in the model selector with a “3 free” label, along with a banner offering three messages without an upgrade. Looking into it further, we found a Reddit post where some people have also received the same offer on their Claude account with free tier.
The available message count drops after every prompt sent to Opus 5. After two prompts, the interface displays “1 free Opus 5 message left.” Once the final message is used, Opus 5 can no longer be accessed from that free account, and it does not return after Claude’s usual five-hour usage limit resets.
Anthropic has not announced the offer or explained how free accounts are being chosen. There is no visible way to enrol, and most users still see an upgrade option beside Opus 5. It is also unclear whether the three messages are a one-time trial or could return later. For now, this appears to be a limited test rather than Opus 5 becoming part of the regular Free plan.
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