Can You Share ChatGPT or Claude Accounts? Compliant Options
Sharing ChatGPT or Claude accounts breaks OpenAI and Anthropic terms. Bans get no refund. Teams use an organization API: one key per person, with spend caps.
Date checked: 2026-09-08 (Taipei time). Terms change over time. Each clause quoted in this article is marked with its effective date. Before you order, check the current version of the official terms.
People who search for "ChatGPT shared account," "Gemini shared account" or "Claude shared account" usually have the same question: the monthly fee is a few hundred NT dollars, so can a few people split it? The first page of results is indeed full of sellers offering "shared accounts for under $10 a month."
This article does not sell shared accounts. It answers three questions: Is sharing an account actually against the rules, and what happens if you do? If all you want is for several people to use AI and pay together, what is the compliant way? And how do you expense that setup in Taiwan?
Is sharing an account against the rules? What the terms say
Claude (Anthropic Consumer Terms of Service, effective 2025-10-08), original text:
"You may not share your Account login information, Anthropic API key, or Account credentials with anyone else. You also may not make your Account available to anyone else."
The stated consequence, original text:
"We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services (including any Subscriptions) at any time without notice to you if we believe that you have breached these Terms."
And when access is terminated, there is no refund: "you will not be entitled to any refund." (If you bought the subscription yourself and want to cancel or get your money back, see How to request a refund for ChatGPT or Claude.)
ChatGPT (OpenAI Terms of Use), original text:
"You may not share your account credentials or make your account available to anyone else and are responsible for all activities that occur under your account."
The OpenAI Help Center also has a separate article called "Account Sharing Policy," which likewise states that accounts are personal and may not be shared.
So the answer is direct: sharing an account violates the terms. It is not a gray area. As for "will I get caught," you are buying someone else's account. When it is banned, the account itself is what gets banned. The money you paid is gone, and the chat history goes with it. Shared-account sellers do not take responsibility for this.
Why people still share: subscriptions are designed as "one person, one seat"
ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Gemini's personal subscriptions are all tied to one person's account and include one usage allowance. When three people want to split it, they have to log in with the same credentials. That is the root of the problem. It is not that people like breaking the rules.
If what you really need is for several people (family, classmates, a small team) to use AI, with everyone paying in and paying only for what they use, subscriptions were never designed for that. The API is.
The compliant approach: one key per person, billed per person
The API charges for what you use, with no "one seat per person" limit. Using a Taiwan AI API platform (for example BazaarLink), the setup works like this:
- Open an organization and add your family members, classmates or colleagues as members
- Each person gets their own key (or one key per project). All keys bill against the same organization account
- Set a spending cap on each key, so one person who overspends does not affect anyone else
- Usage reports are split by member and by key. At the end of the month you can see who used what, with CSV and PDF export
- The same key can call GPT, Claude, Gemini and DeepSeek. You do not need to buy a separate subscription from each of the three providers
What about the interface? The API is not only for people who write code. You can connect it to chat front ends such as Tavern or RisuAI, as well as Cursor, Claude Code and Codex. Compared with the subscription experience, the difference is switching to a different interface, not being unable to use it.
The cost difference: subscription vs. shared API
| Shared subscription account | Organization API | |
|---|---|---|
| Terms | Violates them. May be banned at any time with no refund | Compliant |
| Billing | Fixed monthly fee, paid even if unused | Pay for what you use. No usage, no charge |
| Multiple people | One shared password | Separate key and cap for each person |
| Who used what | Not visible | Reports split by person |
| Switching models | One subscription per provider | Same key, just change the model name |
| Taiwan expensing | English receipts, most companies will not accept them | Uniform invoice, company tax ID accepted, monthly billing negotiable for businesses |
A caveat on the other side: API usage has a hard edge. Unlike a subscription, there is no soft limit where you hit the cap and wait for it to reset. Heavy users may spend more on the API than on a subscription (see the explanation in Claude Code fees). So the organization API fits best for "several people, moderate usage per person, and split billing." It is not ideal for "one person using it all day."
Taiwan-specific: expensing and invoices
A shared account's receipt carries someone else's name, so a company cannot expense it at all. The organization API route is different: a Taiwan company can issue a uniform invoice with a company tax ID, and businesses can negotiate monthly billing. School clubs, research labs and studios that need to claim expenses can only do it this way (how to expense AI API costs). For whether the providers themselves can issue invoices with a company tax ID, see How to fill in a company tax ID for Claude and How to fill in a company tax ID for OpenAI.
Try it for free first: free models
If you have not decided whether to go this route, you can start by creating an organization, creating a key, and setting the model to auto:free. Free models do not deduct any credit. You can test the shared-use workflow before topping up.
Sources and check log
- Anthropic Consumer Terms of Service (effective 2025-10-08; "may not share your Account login information… may not make your Account available to anyone else," "suspend or terminate… without notice," "not be entitled to any refund"; date checked 2026-09-08)
- OpenAI Terms of Use ("may not share your account credentials or make your account available to anyone else"; date checked 2026-09-08)
- OpenAI Help Center: OpenAI Account Sharing Policy (date checked 2026-09-08)
- BazaarLink developer docs: organization management, spend caps, usage reports (date checked 2026-09-08)
- Further reading: How to expense AI API costs at a Taiwan company, Claude Code fees, AI for beginners with Tavern
FAQ
Can a ChatGPT subscription be shared?
No. The OpenAI Terms of Use state that you may not share your account credentials or make your account available to anyone else. A violation can lead to suspension or termination. Anthropic's Claude consumer terms likewise prohibit sharing login information and API keys, and no refund is given on termination.
Will I get caught for buying a shared account?
The account that gets banned is the one you are using. Once it is banned, the money you paid cannot be recovered and the chat history is lost. The seller will not take responsibility for this. It is a violation of the terms, not a gray area.
What is the compliant way for several people to use AI and pay together?
Use the API instead of a subscription. Open an organization on a Taiwan AI API platform, give each person their own key, and set a spending cap for each key. Usage reports are split by person. One key can call GPT, Claude and Gemini. You pay for what you use, and there is no one-seat-per-person limit.
The API has no ChatGPT-style interface. How do ordinary people use it?
Connect it to a chat front end: role-play front ends such as Tavern or RisuAI, as well as Cursor, Claude Code and Codex, all accept your own key. The difference is switching to a different interface, not being unable to use it.
Can multi-person API usage be expensed?
Yes. A Taiwan company purchase can issue a uniform invoice with a company tax ID, and enterprises can negotiate monthly billing. This works for school clubs and research labs that need to claim expenses. A shared account's receipt carries someone else's name, so it cannot be expensed.
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