Free Claude Pro for a year? What those videos really set up

A wave of videos this week promises free Claude Pro for a year, with "200 million tokens a month" and "$0 setup". What they actually set up is not Claude Pro and not from Anthropic. They sign you up for another company's plan and plug its key into Claude Desktop, and from then on every chat goes through that company's server. We checked the steps against Anthropic's own documentation and pricing page.

What the videos show

The steps are always similar. You sign up on a third-party site that resells AI access, which asks for your name, email, phone number and a password. You apply a 100% coupon to the site's yearly plan. In the video we checked, the screen even said the coupon was "fully redeemed" before the plan showed as active anyway. Then you create a key on that site and paste it into Claude Desktop under Help, Troubleshooting, Enable Developer Mode, then Developer, Configure Third-Party Inference.

What that setting is for

The setting is real. Anthropic's docs say it "routes all model inference through a provider you configure". It was built for companies, "organizations whose security, regulatory, or contractual requirements prevent them from sending data through Anthropic's first-party products". In other words, a business points Claude Desktop at its own servers.

Anthropic also says plainly that it "doesn't endorse, maintain, or audit third-party gateway products". Nobody at Anthropic checks the site in those videos.

The catch: it can log every request

One reason companies run a gateway, according to Anthropic's docs, is audit logging, to "log every model request". That is useful when the company owns the server. When a stranger owns it, the same thing means your prompts, the files you attach and every reply pass through a server you know nothing about.

Viewers in the comments also report that accounts open and then requests start failing. We did not test this ourselves.

If you used the same password on that site as anywhere else, change it where you reused it.

The real price of Claude Pro

Claude Pro costs $20 a month in the US, or $200 a year paid up front. Anthropic's Help Center says it doesn't offer standard discounted pricing for individual plans. It occasionally runs limited-time promotions, and those are announced through its official channels.

There is a free option that really is free: Claude's own free plan, on Claude's website and app.

If you already did it

On Claude Desktop's sign-in screen, choose the Anthropic sign-in option. That takes you back to Anthropic's own service. To clear the setting completely, Anthropic's docs say to delete the configLibrary folder. Then delete the key you created on the other site, and change any password you reused.

The free route

If you want Claude for free, use the free plan in Claude's own app or on its website. Sign up with an email. If you want Pro, upgrade only inside the Claude app or on Claude's own site. Any real promotion will be announced on Claude's official channels.

Before you paste any key into an app, ask who runs the server on the other end. Every chat will go to them.

FAQ

Is there a free Claude Pro trial?

Anthropic says it has no standard discounted pricing for individual plans. It runs limited-time promotions now and then, announced on its official channels. Claude's free plan is free.

Is it safe to use a third-party key in Claude Desktop?

The setting is meant for companies with their own servers. Anthropic doesn't audit third-party gateways, and a gateway can log every request, including your prompts and files.

How do I switch Claude Desktop back to normal?

Choose the Anthropic sign-in option on the sign-in screen. To remove the setting fully, delete the configLibrary folder, as Anthropic's docs describe.

Sources

• Claude pricing
• Claude Code docs: LLM gateways
• Claude Help Center: What is the Pro plan?