Every request is rate-limited to keep the API fast and fair. Limits are applied per API key when you send one, otherwise per IP address. Adding a key raises every limit below.
Budgets
There are two windows — a per-minute burst limit and a per-day quota. Search and raw-source endpoints have their own (lower) per-minute limits because they’re heavier.
| Anonymous | Free key | Partner |
|---|
| Requests / minute | 120 | 600 | 3,000 |
| Requests / day | 10,000 | 200,000 | 5,000,000 |
| Search / minute | 30 | 120 | 600 |
| Raw source / minute | 30 | 120 | 600 |
Max max (page size) | 20 | 100 | 100 |
The cheapest way to raise your effective throughput isn’t a bigger key — it’s caching. Responses are served from the edge and carry ETags, so well-behaved clients rarely touch the rate limiter at all. X-RateLimit-Limit: 120
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 117
X-RateLimit-Reset: 60
X-RateLimit-Tier: anon
| Header | Meaning |
|---|
X-RateLimit-Limit | Requests allowed in the current minute window |
X-RateLimit-Remaining | Requests left in this window |
X-RateLimit-Reset | Seconds until the window resets |
X-RateLimit-Tier | anon, free, or partner |
Requests served from the edge cache don’t count against your budget — only requests that reach the origin do. A cache HIT (see the X-Cache header) is effectively free.
Handling 429
When you exceed a limit you get a 429 with a Retry-After header (in seconds) and the standard error envelope:
{
"error": {
"code": "rate_limited",
"message": "Rate limit exceeded. Slow down or use an API key for higher limits."
}
}
async function call(url, opts) {
for (let attempt = 0; attempt < 5; attempt++) {
const res = await fetch(url, opts);
if (res.status !== 429) return res;
const wait = Number(res.headers.get("retry-after") ?? 2) * 1000;
await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, wait));
}
throw new Error("rate limited after retries");
}
Don’t hammer through a 429 in a tight loop — repeated violations can get an IP temporarily blocked at the edge. Respect Retry-After.
