“Your credit balance is too low to access the Anthropic API”
Quick answer: This means your Anthropic API account has run out of prepaid credits. Anthropic's help centre says that once credits run out, you can't call the API or use the playground until you add more. Buying credits fixes it straight away.
The message you're seeing
Your credit balance is too low to access the Anthropic API. Please go to Plans & Billing to upgrade or purchase credits.Credit balance too low · Add funds
Is it down right now?
- Anthropic API · checked No problems
Live status, updated every minute. If it says “No problems”, the cause is most likely on your side: follow the steps below.
How to fix it
- Open Billing in the Claude ConsoleGo to platform.claude.com/settings/billing.
- Buy creditsClick “Buy credits”. Anthropic says purchased credits are available immediately.
- Turn on auto-reloadAuto-reload buys more credits automatically when your balance drops below a level you choose, so this doesn't happen mid-job.
Claude subscription credits
Some Claude subscriptions come with monthly API credits. Anthropic's docs say those credits can't be used in Claude Code or the Claude apps, so Claude Code can still show “Credit balance too low” if it's set up to use an API key.
Avoid running out mid-job
Long batch jobs and agents can use credits quickly. Check your balance before starting a big run, set an auto-reload level that covers a typical day's use, and keep an eye on usage in the Claude Console. If credits are fine and requests fail with 429, see our guide to Anthropic API error 429.
Questions
Am I charged for requests that failed?
No. Anthropic's help centre says failed requests aren't charged.
How long until new credits work?
Anthropic says purchased credits are available immediately.
Is this an Anthropic outage?
No, it's about your account balance. If you have credits and still get errors, check the live status above.
Want to know when Anthropic API has a real outage? Follow our free outage alerts. We only post real outages, and again when they're fixed.
Related error guides
- Claude 529 “Overloaded” error
- Anthropic API 429 rate_limit_error
- Anthropic API 401 authentication_error
- Anthropic API 500 and 504 errors
Based on official documentation, checked 3 November 2026: Claude Help Center: How do I pay for my Claude API usage? · Anthropic: API credits for subscribers. Error messages and limits change over time, so the provider's own docs are the final word.