Anthropic has begun localizing Claude pricing in India, its largest market outside the US, as global AI companies increasingly tailor their offerings to win users in the world’s most populous nation.

Local pricing has started appearing for some Indian users on Claude’s website and mobile apps. However, Anthropic is yet to enable payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the instant payments network widely used in India. Users must still pay by card or through Apple and Google’s app store billing systems. This is unlike OpenAI, which implemented Indian rupee pricing for ChatGPT in August with UPI support.

Claude users in India have long sought rupee-denominated subscriptions, and dollar pricing and currency conversion add friction to accessing the service. The move is particularly significant as India accounts for 5.8% of Claude’s global usage, making it the service’s second-largest market after the US, according to Anthropic.

On Claude’s India website, Anthropic lists Claude Pro at ₹2,000 (around $21) per month when billed annually, compared to $17 per month in the US. Claude Max starts at ₹11,999 (around $125) per month in India, versus $100 in the US, while Team plans start at ₹2,399 (around of $25) per seat per month, compared to $20 in the U.S. India prices include local taxes. Additionally, prices for Claude’s mobile apps vary slightly from those listed on their website.

The Indian rupee price comes amid Anthropic’s increasing focus on India. The Claude maker opened an office in Bengaluru in February, after announcing the move in October, and in January appointed former Microsoft India CEO Irina Ghose to head its business in the country. Anthropic has also partnered with Indian IT services giants Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services in recent months as it looks to scale enterprise AI deployments.

That expansion faced a setback in June when Anthropic abruptly suspended access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for non-US entities, prompting some Indian developers and startup founders to consider alternatives to US AI models. The restriction on Fable 5 has since been lifted, although access to Mythos 5 remains limited.

India has become an increasingly important market for AI companies, driven by its large base of developers and tech workers. However, converting widespread usage into paid subscriptions remains a challenge in a price-sensitive market.

Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment on the release of pricing in Indian rupees.