Claude API in India, paid in rupees with UPI

Why paying for the Claude API from India is awkward

Anthropic’s API console sells prepaid credit in US dollars, paid by card; UPI is not offered. Anthropic’s rupee prices cover the Claude Pro and Max chat subscriptions, not the API. That means an international card, a US-dollar charge and whatever foreign-currency fee your bank adds.

Checked on October 14, 2026 against Anthropic pricing. Billing options change — check the vendor’s page if you prefer to buy direct. See the full comparison for when going direct is the better choice.

How ScaleMax works

• Buy a prepaid key at checkout in rupees: UPI, PayU or Cashfree (UPI, cards, net banking), Cryptomus (crypto) or PayPal. No payment fee on any method, no subscription.
• The key works with the Claude models it includes over the native Anthropic Messages API and the OpenAI-compatible API.
• Each completed request is deducted from your balance at the published model rate. Usage is visible per request in the dashboard.

Set up in three steps

1. Buy a key on the pricing page and pay in rupees with UPI, a card or net banking. Your key is delivered once the payment is confirmed.
2. Point your tool or SDK at https://api.scalemax.pro and use the key.
3. Send a short test request, then start real work.

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.scalemax.pro
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=YOUR_SCALEMAX_KEY
claude

import os, anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic(
    base_url="https://api.scalemax.pro",
    api_key=os.environ["SCALEMAX_API_KEY"],
)
msg = client.messages.create(
    model="claude-sonnet-5-5",
    max_tokens=300,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Namaste! Reply in one line."}],
)
print(msg.content[0].text)

Full Claude Code instructions are on the Claude Code page; Cursor, Cline, Roo Code and other tools are on the integrations page.