Anthropic has confirmed that Fable, its most powerful Claude model, will not be removed from all subscription plans, but access now depends on which tier you pay for.
Under the new policy, which took effect July 20, Claude Max ($100-$200 per month, approximately £80-£160) and Claude Team Premium ($100 per seat) subscribers retain full Fable access, up to 50% of their weekly usage limits. Claude Pro ($20/month) and Claude Team Standard ($20/seat) users, however, no longer have Fable included. Access requires purchasing usage credits at about the same rate as paying per token via the Anthropic API.
Anthropic is issuing a one-time $100 credit to affected Pro and Team Standard subscribers as compensation for the change.
The policy shift follows a turbulent few weeks for Fable. The model was briefly unavailable in early July after a U.S. government export control order, then returned after the Trump administration lifted restrictions. Anthropic had repeatedly extended the deadline for a decision on Fable’s availability, and at one point promised to eventually return the model to all Claude plans.
The outcome positions Fable closer to a premium-tier product than a standard offering. By contrast, OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol remains included in ChatGPT Plus at $20/month, though Free and Go users cannot access it. Google’s Gemini 3.1 Pro is still available to all users, though it was released in February and is showing its age.
The move signals a broader industry trend: the most capable AI models are increasingly becoming exclusive to higher-priced subscription tiers, with flat-rate budget plans losing access to cutting-edge capabilities.