To use Claude, create a free account at claude.ai or in the Claude app for iOS, Android, Mac or Windows, type a request in plain language and keep refining the answer with follow-up messages. The free plan includes web search, file uploads, memory, Artifacts and connections to apps such as Google Drive. The $20 Pro plan adds more usage, more models, Projects and Claude Code.
This guide walks through the setup, the features worth learning first and the prompting habits that make the biggest difference. Plan and feature details were checked on claude.com/pricing on 21 October 2026.
Step 1: Create an account and choose a plan
Go to claude.ai and sign up with an email address or a Google account. You can also install the desktop app for macOS or Windows, or the mobile app, and sign in with the same account. Chats sync across all of them.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation and code execution, memory, app connections, Artifacts |
| Pro | $20/month, or $17/month billed yearly | More usage, Projects, more models, Claude Code, Claude in Chrome, Microsoft 365 integration, task scheduling |
| Max | From $100/month | 5x or 20x Pro usage, priority access at busy times |
Start on Free. Upgrade if you hit the usage limit regularly or need Projects. Usage on paid plans resets in five-hour sessions plus a weekly limit, so heavy days can run out even on Pro.
Step 2: Pick the right model
Claude is a family of models, not one. In October 2026 the current models are:
- Haiku 5.5: the fastest and cheapest. Good for quick questions and short rewrites.
- Sonnet 5.5: a balance of speed and quality for most everyday work.
- Opus 5.5: Anthropic’s recommended model for most work, stronger on complex writing, analysis and code.
- Fable 5.1: the most capable model, for the hardest reasoning and long multi-step tasks, available on paid plans.
Source: Claude models overview. All four read text and images and have a context window of 1 million tokens.
Pick the model from the menu under the message box. A simple rule: use the default for most chats, switch up when an answer is shallow, and switch down when you want speed. Bigger models use up your plan’s limit faster.
Step 3: Write your first good prompt
Claude does best with context. Compare:
- Weak: “Write an email about the meeting.”
- Better: “Write a short email to my team of five engineers. The Thursday planning meeting moves to Friday at 10:00. Tone: friendly, no apology needed. Under 80 words.”
The second prompt says who the reader is, what happened, the tone and the length. Four habits cover most of what prompting guides teach:
- Say who it is for and why. Audience changes vocabulary and depth.
- Paste the material. Claude works from what you give it; don’t make it guess.
- Give an example of the output you want if you have one.
- Ask for one thing at a time in long tasks, and build up in follow-ups.
You can reply “shorter”, “more formal”, “turn this into a table” or “what are you unsure about?” at any point. Follow-ups are the fastest way to a good result.
Step 4: Upload files and images
Click the paperclip or drag a file into the chat. Claude reads PDFs, Word files, spreadsheets, text, HTML, EPUB and images. Limits from Anthropic’s help center:
- Up to 20 files per chat, 500 MB each.
- PDFs of up to 100 pages are read in full, including charts and images.
- PDFs of 101 to 1,000 pages are read as text only.
Useful first requests: “Summarize this in five bullet points for someone who hasn’t read it”, “List every date and deadline in this contract”, “What does this chart show, and is anything odd about it?” We cover document work in more detail in chat with PDF.
Step 5: Use Artifacts for things you want to keep
When you ask for a document, a piece of code, a diagram or a small web app, Claude often puts it in an Artifact: a separate panel next to the chat. You can edit it by asking for changes, copy it, download it or share a link. Try “Make a one-page packing checklist for a three-day hiking trip as an Artifact” to see how it works.
Step 6: Organize work with Projects
Projects (on paid plans) keep related chats together with shared files and instructions. Put your style guide, product notes or course readings in a Project once, and every new chat inside it starts with that knowledge. Project files can be up to 30 MB each.
Good uses: a Project per client, per course, or per long writing piece. Add custom instructions such as “Write in British English, avoid jargon, keep answers under 300 words unless I ask.”
Step 7: Connect your apps and search the web
Claude can search the web for current information and cite its sources. Turn search on from the tools menu if it isn’t on by default. With connectors you can let Claude read your Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar and other apps, so you can ask “What did the client say about the deadline in last week’s emails?” Only connect accounts you are comfortable sharing with an AI assistant, and check what each connector can access.
Step 8: Talk to Claude by voice
The Claude mobile and desktop apps have a voice mode. Tap the voice icon and speak; Claude answers out loud, and you can switch between voice and text in the same chat. Since July 2026 voice mode supports Opus and Sonnet as well as Haiku, and it can check connected apps such as your calendar (MacRumors). We compare voice modes across chatbots in AI voice chat.
What Claude is good and less good at
Claude is a strong choice for writing and editing, summarizing long documents, analysis, and coding. Long context is a particular strength: you can paste a book chapter or a long contract and ask detailed questions.
Claude does not generate images. Use ChatGPT, Gemini or a dedicated image tool for that; see best AI image generators. And like every chatbot, it can state wrong facts confidently, so check names, numbers and quotes before you rely on them.
For how Claude compares with ChatGPT in daily work, read Claude vs ChatGPT.
Practical takeaways
- Start on the free plan and the default model; upgrade only when you hit limits.
- Give context: audience, purpose, material, length.
- Use follow-ups instead of rewriting your prompt from scratch.
- Use Projects for any work you return to more than twice.
- Verify facts and figures before using them.
FAQ
Is Claude free to use?
Yes. The free plan includes chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file uploads, memory and Artifacts, with a usage limit. Pro costs $20 a month and adds more usage, models and Projects.
How is Claude different from ChatGPT?
Both are general assistants at the same $20 price. Claude is often preferred for long documents, writing and code; ChatGPT has more built-in tools such as image generation. Our Claude vs ChatGPT comparison covers the details.
Can Claude browse the internet?
Yes. Claude has web search on all plans and cites the pages it used. Claude in Chrome, on paid plans, can also act inside your browser.
What happens when I reach the usage limit?
Claude tells you when your limit resets. Limits run in five-hour sessions plus a weekly cap, and larger models use the limit faster. Switching to a smaller model or starting a new chat for a new topic helps it last longer.
Is my data used to train Claude?
You control this in your privacy settings. Check Settings, Privacy in the app for the current options, and avoid uploading confidential material to any consumer AI account if your employer doesn’t allow it.
Conclusion
Using Claude well comes down to choosing the right model, giving it real context and using follow-ups. Learn files and Artifacts first, then Projects once you have recurring work. If you want ready-made prompts to start with, our ChatGPT prompts collection works in Claude too.