Key findings
- Anthropic operates the Claude API, Claude Platform on AWS, Microsoft Foundry, and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed), launched October 22, 2026. Amazon Bedrock and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Google managed), called Google Cloud below, run Claude on their own infrastructure.
- Claude Platform on AWS and Microsoft Foundry bill through the cloud marketplace in Claude Consumption Units at US$0.01 each. Google Cloud (Anthropic managed) bills the same units through Google Cloud Marketplace.
- The Message Batches API runs on every Anthropic-operated platform except Microsoft Foundry. Bedrock and Google Cloud do not offer the Files API, code execution, or the MCP connector.
- On Bedrock and Google Cloud the provider is the data processor and sets quotas, regions, and retirement dates.
- Of the 87 public accounts GILD had read by October 26, 2026, 12 describe buying Claude through a cloud provider and 7 describe calling Anthropic's API directly.
Pick the platform for Claude by who processes your data and which features and quotas come with it. Price separates the six platforms least, because Claude Platform on AWS and Microsoft Foundry charge Claude API rates.
Anthropic-operated or cloud-operated
Anthropic runs Claude Platform on AWS and Microsoft Foundry and sells them through the cloud marketplace. Anthropic rates usage at standard Claude API prices and converts it to Claude Consumption Units, and AWS or Azure invoices it. Claude Platform on AWS follows Anthropic's first-party data retention policy, with zero data retention on request. Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed) is the Claude API run by Anthropic and reached through a Google Cloud project. Anthropic is the data processor. The Claude API's retention policy applies.
Amazon Bedrock and Google Cloud run Claude on their own infrastructure and set their own prices. Bedrock serves the Messages API on AWS-managed infrastructure with no Anthropic operator access, and AWS is the data processor.
Feature coverage by platform
Checked against Anthropic's features overview on October 12, 2026, and its release notes and fast mode page on October 25, 2026.
- Message Batches API: every Anthropic-operated platform except Microsoft Foundry.
- Files API, code execution, and the MCP connector (beta): Claude API, Claude Platform on AWS, Microsoft Foundry, and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed).
- Citations, PDF support, and tool search: Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, Microsoft Foundry, Claude Platform on AWS, and the Claude API.
- Fast mode (Opus 5.5, US$8 input and US$40 output per million tokens): Claude API, Microsoft Foundry deployments hosted on Azure, and Google Cloud (Anthropic managed). Opus 5 and Opus 4.8 fast mode: Claude API only, in pre-release.
- US-only inference at 1.1x: Claude Platform on AWS, the Claude API, and the US Data Zone deployment type on Microsoft Foundry.
What the cloud provider controls
Regional and multi-region endpoints on Bedrock and Google Cloud cost 10% more than global endpoints for Claude 4.5 and later models. Anthropic's retirement dates cover its own platforms; Bedrock and Google Cloud publish their own.
Teams run into these controls. A team on Google Cloud found its Opus quota defaulted to zero, and its increase requests were auto-rejected. Another team reported in July 2026 that Opus 5 on Bedrock required opting in to provider data sharing. AWS now lists that mode as legacy and requires AWS review inside AWS for Claude Fable 5 and 5.1. One builder runs Claude through Vertex AI on per-token pricing for Google Cloud's reliability.
Why teams buy through the cloud anyway
Procurement and data boundaries drive the choice more than price. One consultant reports that virtually all of their clients use Bedrock or Azure with zero data retention and would not contract with a model provider directly. Another team has run structured outputs on Claude through Bedrock in production for a year.
Methodology
GILD read Anthropic's platform, pricing, and data retention documentation, checked October 12, 2026. It also read its release notes, fast mode page, and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed) page, checked October 25, 2026. Practitioner counts come from the 87 public accounts GILD collected for Claude API, published between March 16, 2025 and October 19, 2026; 19 of them say how the writer buys Claude.
Products in this piece
Sources
- Official documentation
- 13
- Public source
- 5
- Claude API docs: Features overview
- Claude API docs: Pricing
- Claude API docs: Claude Platform on AWS
- Claude API docs: Claude in Microsoft Foundry
- Claude API docs: Claude in Amazon Bedrock
- Claude API docs: Claude on Google Cloud
- Claude API docs: Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed)
- Claude API docs: Fast mode
- Claude API docs: Claude Platform release notes
- Claude API docs: API and data retention
- Claude API docs: Model deprecations
- Claude API docs: Data residency
- Hacker News comment on default Opus quotas on Google Cloud (Mar 27, 2026)
- Hacker News comment on Opus 5 requiring provider data sharing on Bedrock (Jul 24, 2026)
- Amazon Bedrock User Guide: Data retention
- Hacker News comment on running Claude through Vertex AI (Mar 27, 2026)
- Hacker News comment on clients buying through Bedrock or Azure (Oct 9, 2026)
- Hacker News comment on a year of structured outputs on Bedrock (Nov 14, 2025)