Replit Makes OpenAI the Default While Keeping Anthropic’s Claude
Replit makes OpenAI the default for Replit Agent, citing cost and performance, while Claude remains available amid conflicting accounts about the partnership.
Summary
Replit CEO and cofounder Amjad Masad said Thursday that the browser based development platform was no longer working with Anthropic, citing cost, partnership quality and performance, then clarified that customers can still select Anthropic’s Claude. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is now the default and OpenAI the preferred partner for Replit Agent following an August partnership. Replit’s internal and public benchmarks consistently put Sol and Astra ahead at building vibe coded applications from scratch. Because most customers retain the default, the change could significantly reduce Replit’s Anthropic spending. Claude previously powered the platform, helped drive substantial revenue growth and made Replit a top five Anthropic customer until recently.
The relationship’s status remains disputed. An insider said the partnership continues, while Replit promoted Claude Fable 5 and Claude Fable 5.1 in Replit Agent’s production environment in late September, when an employee also highlighted Opus 5.5 on X. Replit remains model agnostic and has not disclosed ARR. Enterprise contracts grew from 2% of revenue last year to about 15% this year, while B2B now contributes more than 50%. Masad expects enterprise and government customers to provide over half of revenue in 2027. He said safe AI deployment requires orchestration, error recovery, security, sandboxing, networking, identity and authorization.
Positives
- OpenAI became Replit Agent’s preferred partner after benchmarks, economics and partnership quality favored ChatGPT.
- Claude remains available, preserving customer choice and Replit’s model agnostic positioning.
- Enterprise contracts increased from 2% of revenue last year to about 15% this year.
- More than 50% of Replit’s revenue now comes from B2B customers.
- Enterprise and government customers are expected to generate over half of revenue in 2027.
Risks & concerns
- Masad’s claim that Replit stopped working with Anthropic conflicts with an insider’s assertion that the partnership remains active.
- Most customers retain default settings, so choosing ChatGPT could significantly reduce Replit’s spending with Anthropic.
- Late September promotion of Claude Fable 5, Claude Fable 5.1 and Opus 5.5 leaves the transition’s timing unclear.
- Replit has not disclosed ARR despite reporting rapid growth in enterprise and B2B revenue.
- Safe agent deployment still requires robust orchestration, recovery, security, sandboxing, networking, identity and authorization.