How to use Claude Code without a subscription, with an API key

Claude Code doesn't have to come with a monthly plan. It can also run on an API key, where you pay for the tokens you use. On Zelyx, a key with a $100 API balance for 30 days is 2.11 USDT, and token packs start at 0.99 USDT for a day. Here's how it works and how to set it up.

Developers · 15 November 2026 · 3 min read · Prices checked 15 November 2026

Subscription or API key?

If you code in bursts, or want Claude in Cursor or VS Code as well as in Claude Code, a key is often the simpler choice. You buy credit when you need it and stop when you're done.

Which Claude API plan fits?

• Steady use over a month: the $100 balance for 30 days, 2.11 USDT.
• Heavy daily use: the $500 balance for 30 days, 7.13 USDT.
• A day of work, or a test: 10M tokens for 1 day, 0.99 USDT.
• A few busy days: 50M tokens for 2 days or 100M tokens for 3 days. On token packs, the days start when you activate the code, not when you buy it.

Set it up in Claude Code

Your order page has the key and a setup document; for the balance plans, the document includes a short video. The steps look like this:

1. Buy the plan. The details appear on your order page right after payment.
2. If you bought a token pack, activate the code when you're ready to work, because the days start then.
3. Give Claude Code the values from the document. Claude Code reads a custom server address from ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and a key from ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY. You can set them in your terminal, or in the env section of Claude Code's settings file in your user folder.
4. Start Claude Code in your project and send a short test prompt to check that it answers.

Use exactly the names and values your document gives. If anything here differs from it, the document is right.

The same key in other tools

The product pages also list VS Code, Cursor, Codex and 9router. In those tools, open the model or API settings, choose the provider your document names, and paste the key and, if there is one, the address. One key can serve several tools, but every request spends from the same balance.

Keep your key safe

• Put the key in your user settings or your terminal profile, not in a project file you commit to a repository.
• Don't paste it into chats, issues or screenshots. Anyone who has it can spend your balance.
• If you think a key has leaked, or it stops working, open a dispute from your order page or message @Zelyx224 on Telegram.

To understand tokens and make a balance last, read Claude and Codex API credits explained. Ready to start? Get the $100 Claude API balance, or compare every plan in the Claude API guide.

Questions

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