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API Transaction Limits

Understand SmartSuite subscription plan API transaction limits

Peter Novosel avatar
Written by Peter Novosel
Updated over a week ago

Plan Availability

All plan types with varying limitations

Permissions

Administrators – Monitor usage and manage add-ons via Workspace Administration

Related Reading

To ensure a fast, secure, and reliable experience for everyone, SmartSuite sets limits on API usage. These limits are based on how many API requests your workspace can make each month, and how quickly users can make them per second.


📊 API Usage Limits by Plan

SmartSuite plans come with monthly API request limits. If you exceed them, your access is throttled—and eventually paused—unless you add more capacity through the API Calls Add-On.

Monthly Request Limits

Plan

Included Requests

Maximum (with Throttling)

Free

100

N/A

Team

5,000

6,250

Professional

50,000

62,500

Enterprise

250,000

312,500

⚠️ SmartSuite allows API usage up to 125% of your plan’s monthly limit. Beyond that, API access is blocked until the next billing cycle begins.


🚦 Request Rate Limits

Usage Level

Request Rate

Under plan limit

5 requests/second per user

Over plan limit (to 125%)

2 requests/second per user

Beyond 125% of plan limit

API access blocked

  • Limits are enforced per user, but all usage counts against the workspace-wide quota.

  • Exceeding the rate cap results in a 429 Too Many Requests error with a 30-second retry delay.


🆕 API Calls Add-On

SmartSuite offers flexible ways to extend API usage through the API Calls Add-On.

Add-On Overview

  • Cost: $15 per additional 1,000 API calls

  • Control & Monitoring: Workspace Administration → Usage tab

  • API Usage Tracking: Includes calls made by integration tools like Zapier, Make, Ply, Softr, and others


Auto-Billing Behavior

  • When ON:

    • Once you reach 100% of your API limit, SmartSuite automatically adds 1,000 more calls and restores full-speed access (5/sec per user).

    • Each new block is added immediately when the limit is hit.

  • If toggled ON after passing 100%:

    • A new 1,000-call block is added to your current total, returning your workspace to full-speed usage.

  • When OFF:

    • Usage continues at the 2/sec rate until 125% of the plan limit is reached.

    • After 125%, API access is disabled unless you manually purchase more calls.


Manual Purchase Behavior

  • You can manually purchase additional API calls in blocks of 1,000.

  • Doing so resets access to full speed just like automatic billing.

  • However, if your usage again reaches 125% of your updated total, API access will pause until:

    • The next billing cycle, or

    • You purchase more blocks.


⚠️ What Happens When You Hit Your Limit

If you hit your limit and do not have auto-billing for overages enabled, the system will take the following actions:

For Paid Plans

% of Limit Used

Effect

100%

Throttling to 2/sec per user starts

125%

API access disabled

For Free Plan

% of Limit Used

Effect

100%

API access disabled

  • Rate-limited users will also receive a 429 error if they exceed the per-second cap.

  • Admins will see usage warnings in the Workspace Administration panel.

  • Note that auto-purchasing for overages is not available on the Free plan.


✅ API Control Summary

Condition

Rate Limit

Outcome

Within limit

5/sec per user

Normal usage

Exceeded plan (≤125%)

2/sec per user

Throttled access

Exceeded 125% of quota

0/sec

API blocked until reset or add-on

Auto-billing ON (100% hit)

Adds 1,000 calls

Restores full-speed access

Manual purchase at 100%+

Adds 1,000 calls

Restores access until 125% of new cap


🔄 Why API Limits Matter

These limits are in place to:

  • Maintain SmartSuite’s performance for all users

  • Prevent platform abuse and ensure fairness

  • Protect against security risks like denial-of-service (DoS) attacks

  • Provide affordable scaling options through metered add-ons

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