Claude vs Claude Code: what each one is for, and which to open

What is the difference between Claude and Claude Code?

They are two products from Anthropic that run on the same family of models and sit under one subscription. The names cause the confusion. “Claude” is the assistant most people mean: you open it on the web, in a desktop app or on your phone, and you talk to it. “Claude Code” is a coding tool. You point it at a folder of code, give it a task, and it does the work in that folder.

Sources: the Claude pricing page, the Claude Code overview and Anthropic’s Claude Code product page.

What is the Claude app good at?

Anthropic’s pricing page lists what the Claude app includes: chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, creating files and running code, memory across conversations, connections to your apps and tools, Artifacts, Projects, and Claude Design, Slides and Docs. Paid plans add research, Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365 integrations, and the ability to hand off and schedule tasks.

Anthropic’s product pages also say Claude Cowork is now part of Claude. When a task involves your files, Claude brings in Cowork’s abilities automatically: it works in folders and tools you choose, shows each step, and can keep going after you close the laptop. The Cowork page says it works with a paid plan and is rolling out on web and mobile.

• Thinking and drafting: outlines, emails, product requirement documents, user-interview questions, naming ideas.
• Research and analysis: reading a long document, comparing options, summarizing a spreadsheet.
• Documents and decks: creating files, slides and docs without writing any code.
• Small throwaway tools: Artifacts let it build a small interactive page in the conversation, which is enough for a calculator or a prototype of one screen.
• Questions about code: pasting a function and asking what it does or why it fails, with you copying the answer back by hand.

What the app does not do on its own is maintain a software project in a folder on your computer. It works with what you give it: pasted text, uploaded files and connected apps. Code it writes in a chat reaches your project only when you copy it there.

What is Claude Code good at?

Anthropic’s documentation describes Claude Code as an assistant that understands your entire codebase and can work across multiple files and tools. You describe what you want in plain language. It plans the approach, writes the code across files and verifies that it works. For a bug, you paste an error or describe the symptom, and it traces the cause and implements a fix.

• Edits your real project: it changes the files on your machine, and you review the diff.
• Runs commands: tests, linters, build scripts, whatever you permit.
• Works with git: it stages changes, writes commit messages, creates branches and opens pull requests.
• Remembers your project: a CLAUDE.md file in the project root is read at the start of every session, and Claude Code also builds its own memory as it works.
• Connects to tools through MCP: for example design docs in Google Drive or tickets in Jira.
• Runs in automation: in CI with GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD, or from Slack when you mention @Claude with a bug report.

Claude Code’s docs say each surface connects to the same engine, so a CLAUDE.md file and your settings carry from the terminal to VS Code, JetBrains, the desktop app and the web. Install steps for each are in the Claude Code overview; the guide to installing Claude Code covers it step by step.

Do Claude and Claude Code share a subscription and usage?

Yes. Anthropic’s help center says Pro, Max and Ultra give you Claude on web, desktop and mobile and Claude Code in the terminal with one subscription. You log in to Claude Code with the same account. The limits are shared too: all activity in both tools counts against the same five-hour and weekly limits, so a long Claude Code session leaves less for chat that day.

Two traps to know. First, if the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable is set on your machine, Claude Code uses that key instead of your subscription and you are charged API rates. Anthropic’s guide to using Claude Code with a paid plan explains how to switch back with /login. Second, the monthly API credits that come with Max and Ultra cannot be spent in Claude Code or the Claude apps. They are for building on the Claude Platform. The Claude Pro vs Max comparison explains the tiers.

Which should you open for a given task?

A rule of thumb: if the result is a message, document or plan, use Claude. If the result is a change to files that must run, use Claude Code.

How do you go from an idea in Claude to a build in Claude Code?

A good habit is to do the thinking in the app and the building in Claude Code. Use Claude to turn a loose idea into a short specification, then paste that specification into an empty project in Claude Code. If you do not have an idea yet, the ideas on the board each come with a generated build prompt you can copy straight into Claude Code. You can also post an idea you will not build yourself.

I have a specification for a small app, pasted below. Before writing any code:

1. Read the spec and list any ambiguity or missing decisions as questions. Do not guess.
2. Propose the smallest first version that does one job end to end, and list what you will leave out.
3. Propose a file structure and the commands to run and test it.
4. Wait for my approval.

After I approve: create a CLAUDE.md with the run and test commands and the decisions we made, then build the first version, run the tests, and summarize every file you created.

SPEC:
<paste the specification from your Claude chat here>

For more on what to put in the specification, read the guide to writing an app build prompt. For the full workflow, see how to build an app with Claude Code.

Where does the Claude API fit in?

The API is a third route, aimed at developers who build products on Claude. It is billed per token through the Anthropic Console, separate from the consumer plans. Anthropic’s Pro plan help page states that the plan does not include API usage through the Console. If you are only chatting or using Claude Code on a plan, you do not need an API account.