Is this the real Claude API?

Yes. Your requests are processed by the same Claude models (Opus 4.7, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5) with the same context windows and capabilities. The only difference is the price.

How do I switch from the official API?

Just change the base URL and API key — it's a one-line change in your code. Works with Claude Code too; full setup steps are in our docs.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept cryptocurrency — USDT (TRC20/ERC20), BTC, ETH, and 100+ other coins via Oxapay. Credits never expire.

Are there rate limits?

There are no fixed per-account caps. Throughput depends on system load, upstream provider availability, and the model in use — newer models often have tighter caps than older ones.

Do you store my prompts or data?

No. We don't log, store, or train on your API requests. Zero data retention policy on request content.

24/7 support via email at support@claudeapi.cheap. Pro users get priority response.

Country guides · Updated 2026-05-19

Claude API by Country

The official Anthropic API charges in USD, billed through Stripe, with a US-centric payment rail. For developers in India, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Pakistan, or the Philippines, that means a 25-50% premium baked in before the first API call — local VAT/GST/IVA, 2-3% forex, and refused local wallet payments.

Each guide below quantifies the real local cost vs the $19 Pro plan (lifetime, paid once in USDT), and walks through the country-specific crypto top-up path. Same Claude Opus 4.7 / Sonnet 4.6 / Haiku 4.5 models, same Anthropic SDK, same proxy URL — only the payment friction is removed.

Pick your country

India

INR · 18% GST

Pay in USDT, BTC, or ETH. No 18% GST. No 2-3% forex. No card declined after 3DS authentication.

Nigeria

NGN · 7.5% VAT

Pay in USDT or BTC. No 7.5% VAT. No naira card decline at checkout. No CBN dollar-allocation games.

Brazil

BRL · 9% IOF + ISS

Pay in USDT or BTC. No IOF/ISS pile-up. No Pix-to-USD detour. No Elo card refused at checkout.

Vietnam

VND · 10% VAT

Pay in USDT or BTC. No 10% VAT. No 2-4% forex. No MoMo/ZaloPay refused on US SaaS checkout.

Indonesia

IDR · 11% PPN

Pay in USDT or BTC. No 11% PPN. No 3-5% forex. No GoPay/OVO refused at US SaaS checkout.

Pakistan

PKR · 18% Sales tax

Pay in USDT or BTC. No 18% sales tax. No EasyPaisa/JazzCash refused at US SaaS checkout. No SBP forex-allocation games.

Philippines

PHP · 12% VAT

Pay in USDT or BTC. No 12% VAT. No 2-4% forex. No GCash/Maya refused at US SaaS checkout.

Why a separate guide per country?

Local tax math is different everywhere

India adds 18% GST on USD digital services. Brazil adds 17-25% ICMS depending on state plus ~10% IOF on the forex leg. Indonesia adds 11% PPN. Pakistan adds 13-17% sales tax + 5-10% FED on the forex. The headline $20 Anthropic Pro charge is never $20 in your local statement — and the percentage varies enough that a single "non-US" page would oversimplify.

Refused payment methods are country-specific

Indian UPI, RuPay debit, Paytm, and PhonePe wallets all silently fail on Stripe-backed US billing. Brazilian PIX isn't accepted. Indonesian GoPay and OVO aren't accepted. Vietnamese MoMo and ZaloPay aren't accepted. Each guide names the specific local methods that get refused and the practical crypto path that works instead.

Local exchanges and on-ramps differ

WazirX (India), Mercado Bitcoin (Brazil), Indodax (Indonesia), Binance P2P (Nigeria, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines) — each guide names the local crypto on-ramp that converts your local currency into USDT with the lowest spread, and the network (TRC-20 vs BSC) that minimizes withdrawal fees for that region.

Common questions

My country isn't listed — can I still use ClaudeAPI.cheap?

Yes. The service works from anywhere with internet access. The per-country guides exist for the regions where the payment-rail friction is most severe — they're explainers, not gatekeepers. If you can buy USDT (any network) and have an Anthropic-compatible SDK, you're a one-env-var migration away.

Does my country's government regulate crypto top-ups for SaaS?

Each country guide names the current regulatory posture — taxable asset (US, India), commercial property (Brazil), no specific framework (most). Always check with a local advisor for your situation. We are not lawyers; the country guides are developer-facing primers, not tax advice.

Why is the Pro plan $19 lifetime, not $19/month?

One-time activation removes the recurring forex friction. For developers in countries where every USD charge attracts 25-50% premium, the lifetime model pays back inside the first month for any non-trivial workload. Below ~$80/month of API equivalent, the free Basic plan already saves 50%.

Does this work for Claude Code, Cursor, Aider, OpenClaw?

Yes — point them at the ClaudeAPI.cheap proxy URL the same way you'd point at Anthropic direct. Per-tool setup at /tools. Country guides assume you already have a tool picked.

Read first

Pillar guide

Claude API Pricing Guide 2026 →

Every model rate, every plan, every legitimate way to cut a Claude bill 70-80%.

Pillar guide

6 levers to cut Claude API costs →

Model selection, prompt caching, context discipline, retry guards, proxy migration, subscription arbitrage.

Skip the local tax. Skip the forex. Keep your Claude.

Free Basic plan (50% off, no card). Pro at $19 lifetime (80% off, one-time crypto). Drop-in env var for the Anthropic SDK. 60-second rollback.

Get a free API key