Rate Limiting

Rate limits

Rate limits restrict how many requests you can make per minute to prevent abuse and ensure fair usage.

Plan	Requests per minute
Free	5
Starter	20
Plus	60
Pro	120
Ultra	300
Agency	300

Monthly quotas

Monthly quotas cap the total number of API requests per calendar month.

Plan	API access	Requests per month
Free	Yes (static QR codes only)	50
Starter	Yes	500
Plus	Yes	3,000
Pro	Yes	10,000
Ultra	Yes	50,000
Agency	Yes	50,000

The Free plan is an evaluation tier: 50 requests per month, static QR codes only, and at most 1 active API key. Analytics and webhooks (analytics:read, webhooks:read, webhooks:write) require a paid plan. Free-tier requests are also subject to per-IP ceilings of 10 requests per minute and 200 per month, shared across all workspaces behind the same address.

Both the per-minute limit and the monthly quota apply to your whole workspace — creating extra keys does not increase either. A workspace can hold at most 10 active API keys (1 on the Free plan). If you need higher limits, contact us about a custom plan.

Response headers

Every API response includes rate limit headers:

Header	Description
`X-RateLimit-Limit`	Maximum requests allowed per window
`X-RateLimit-Remaining`	Requests remaining in current window
`X-RateLimit-Reset`	Unix timestamp when the window resets
`Retry-After`	Seconds to wait before retrying (only on `429` responses)

Example headers:

X-RateLimit-Limit: 60
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 45
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1705312800

Handling 429 errors

When you exceed the rate limit, the API returns a 429 status with a Retry-After header:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "rate_limit_exceeded",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded. Retry after 30 seconds.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.useqrkit.com/errors#rate_limit_exceeded",
    "request_id": "req_abc123"
  }
}

Retry with backoff

import time
import requests

def make_request(url, headers, json=None):
    for attempt in range(5):
        response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=json)

        if response.status_code != 429:
            return response

        retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 2 ** attempt))
        print(f"Rate limited. Retrying in {retry_after}s...")
        time.sleep(retry_after)

    return response

async function makeRequest(url, options) {
  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < 5; attempt++) {
    const response = await fetch(url, options);

    if (response.status !== 429) {
      return response;
    }

    const retryAfter = parseInt(response.headers.get("Retry-After") || 2 ** attempt);
    console.log(`Rate limited. Retrying in ${retryAfter}s...`);
    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, retryAfter * 1000));
  }
}

Best practices

Check remaining quota

Monitor X-RateLimit-Remaining to avoid hitting the limit.

Use exponential backoff

When retrying after a 429, use the Retry-After header value or exponential backoff.

Use batch creation

Use the Batches API to create up to 1,000 QR codes in a single request instead of making individual calls.

Cache responses

Cache GET responses to reduce unnecessary API calls.

Getting Started

Guides

Rate limits

Monthly quotas

Response headers

Handling 429 errors

Retry with backoff

Best practices

​Rate limits

​Monthly quotas

​Response headers

​Handling 429 errors

​Retry with backoff

​Best practices

Rate limits

Monthly quotas

Response headers

Handling 429 errors

Retry with backoff

Best practices