# Setting Up Claude for Your Team A plain-language guide to giving a group of people - a research lab, a department, a class, a team, or a small company - access to Claude. *Prices and programs change often. Confirm the details with Anthropic before you commit.* You can hand this whole file to Claude (upload it, paste it in, or just give Claude the web address of this page) and ask it to walk you through the steps, one question at a time. --- ## The short version 1. **Check whether someone already gives you Claude for free.** Many universities and companies have an agreement with Anthropic (the company that makes Claude). Ask your IT department. If you are at a university, ask whether your school takes part in **Claude for Education**, which gives students, faculty, and staff full access at no personal cost. If you already have this, you are done - and it is free. 2. **If no one provides it**, the simplest paid option for a group is the **Claude Team plan**. You sign up yourself, choose how many people need access, and pay with a team or department card or account. It covers 5 to 150 people. 3. **Only if you plan to build software that uses Claude automatically** do you need the **API** (explained below). Most groups never need this. If you do, ask Anthropic about free credits for research. There is **no student or academic "discount code"** for an individual subscription. The real savings come from an institutional program like Claude for Education, not a coupon. --- ## A few terms, in plain language - **Claude** - the AI assistant, made by a company called Anthropic. - **Subscription** - a monthly plan for *people* to use Claude directly (Pro for one person, Team for a group). - **Seat** - one person's access under a plan. A six-person lab needs six seats. - **The API** - a way for *software* to use Claude automatically, with no person typing. You only need this if someone is building a program with Claude inside it. (More on this below.) - **Claude Code** - Anthropic's tool for writing software with Claude's help. Despite the name, using it is just a normal part of a subscription. It does *not* require the API. --- ## The plans, compared | Plan | Who it is for | Rough cost | Right for a group? | |---|---|---|---| | **Free** | Anyone, for trying it out | Free | Fine for a quick look, too limited for real work | | **Pro** | One person | about \$20 per month | Great for an individual, but one person only | | **Team** | A group of 5 to 150 people | about \$20-25 per person per month | **Usually the best choice** if no one provides Claude for you | | **Enterprise** | Large organizations (20+ people) | Custom pricing | More than a single lab or department needs | | **Claude for Education** | An entire university | Free to the people using it | **The best option if your school takes part** | ### What the Team plan gives you - Works for **5 to 150 people** (minimum 5). - Costs about **\$20-25 per person per month** for a standard seat (the lower figure if you pay for a full year up front). A few "premium" seats (about \$100-125 per person per month) exist for people who use Claude very heavily, and you can mix the two. - **One bill** for the whole group, and a simple screen where you add or remove people as they come and go. - **Spending limits** you can set per person - handy for students or short-term assistants. - **Shared spaces** (Anthropic calls them Projects) where the group can keep shared instructions, documents, and context. - **Sign in with your existing work or school login**, if your organization sets that up. - Your group's conversations are **not used to train Claude** by default - important for unpublished or confidential work. ### What Claude for Education gives you - A **whole-university** plan covering students, faculty, and staff. - Full access at **no cost to the individual**, plus a **study mode** that guides students toward answers instead of just handing them over (helpful for teaching). - It is normally arranged by a **department head, dean, or IT director**, not one person - but individual instructor licenses are sometimes available, so it is worth asking even if your school has no deal yet. - Pricing is not public; you arrange it directly with Anthropic's education team. --- ## Do you need the "API"? (Probably not) This is the part that trips people up, so here it is plainly. The question is not whether code is involved - it is **who is using Claude**. - If a **person** is using Claude - typing in the app, or using Claude Code to write software - that is a **subscription**. Nothing more needed. - The **API** is only for when **your own software uses Claude on its own**, with no person involved in each step. For example: a program that automatically reads 10,000 survey answers and sorts each one, or a website you build with Claude answering questions inside it. **Quick test:** Is a *person* using Claude, even to write code? That is a subscription. Is a *program* using Claude by itself, automatically? That is the API. Most labs, classes, and teams only ever need a subscription. If you do end up needing the API for research software, ask Anthropic about **free research credits** before paying. --- ## What to actually do 1. **Ask your IT department** (or university IT) whether you already have access to Claude, or whether your organization has an agreement with Anthropic you can join. This is the most valuable step - it may cost nothing. 2. **If you are at a university, email Anthropic's education team** and ask about access for your group. Say who will use it (for example: interns, undergraduates, and graduate students). 3. **If neither gives you a free path**, sign up for a **Claude Team plan**: - Count the people who need access (at least 5). - Start everyone on a standard seat; you can upgrade heavy users later. - Pay yearly if your group is stable - it is cheaper per person. - Pay with a team, grant, or department account, and set per-person spending limits. 4. **Only if you are building software that uses Claude automatically**, ask Anthropic about API or research credits before paying out of pocket. 5. **Set simple ground rules** for students and assistants, and confirm the plan's privacy terms meet your university's or organization's policy (especially for unpublished or sensitive data). --- ## Questions to settle before you pay - How many people need access now, and how often do they change? (This decides how many seats, and whether an institutional plan makes more sense.) - What will pay for it - a grant, department funds, a company card - and are there any purchasing rules to follow? - Is any of your data sensitive, confidential, or unpublished? If so, check the plan's privacy and data-retention terms first. - Does anyone actually need the API (software using Claude automatically), or do people just need to use Claude themselves? (Using Claude Code to write software counts as "themselves," not the API.) --- ## Let Claude set it up with you Paste the text below into Claude (in the app or on the website) and let it guide you step by step: > I want to give a group of people access to Claude (for example: a research lab, a department, or a class). Please act as my guide and ask me one question at a time. First, help me write a short email to my IT department asking whether we already have Claude access or an agreement with Anthropic I can join - and, if I am at a university, whether we take part in Claude for Education. If we have no institutional option, walk me through setting up a Claude Team plan: how many seats I need (at least 5), the difference between standard and premium seats, how to set per-person spending limits, how to add and remove people, and how to set up shared spaces for the group. Finally, explain whether I need the API at all, and if so how to ask for research credits.