The numbers are striking: an analysis of billions of anonymized credit card transactions shows Claude is gaining paid subscribers at record speed. TechCrunch reported the findings based on data from consumer transaction analysis company Indagari.
The hard numbers
Anthropic confirmed to TechCrunch that Claude paid subscriptions have more than doubled this year. The majority of new subscribers are choosing the $20/month Pro tier — not the pricier Max or Team options.
What stands out: between January and February, both new subscribers and returning users hit record levels. And data through early March shows the trend continuing.
What’s driving the growth
Three things are working together here.
First, the Super Bowl ads. Anthropic’s spots mocking OpenAI’s decision to show ads in ChatGPT were both funny and effective — they pushed Claude into the top 10 of the App Store charts.
Second, the Pentagon dispute. Anthropic’s firm stance against lethal autonomous operations and mass surveillance earned the company a wave of positive attention. The louder the conflict got, the more the user numbers climbed.
Third, the products themselves. Claude Code and Cowork, both available since January, have driven subscriptions up. And Computer Use, which launched just this week, is triggering another growth wave.
Putting it in perspective
For all the excitement: Claude is still well behind ChatGPT in terms of paying users. OpenAI continues to gain new subscribers at a rapid pace and remains the largest consumer AI platform by far.
But the trend is clear: Claude is building momentum. And it’s not through marketing gimmicks — it’s through a combination of principled positioning and genuinely good products. That’s what makes this race interesting.
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