---
title: "Limits"
subtitle: "Cap requests, tokens, and spend per plan, API key, and customer."
---

Limits are checked before any provider is called. A request over a limit is refused at once, so no provider, retry, or fallback runs and nothing is charged.

| Limit | Scope | Set it in | Over it |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Plan rate limit](#plan-rate-limits) | Organization | Your plan | `429` |
| [Key rate limits](#api-key-limits) | API key | **API keys** | `429` |
| [Key spend and usage limits](#api-key-limits) | API key | **API keys** | `429` |
| [Customer budget](#customer-limits) | One customer | **Limits** tab, or the customer | `402` |
| [Customer rate limit](#customer-limits) | One customer | **Limits** tab | `429` |

## Plan rate limits

The **Limits** tab of the [Gateway page](https://platform.respan.ai/platform/gateway/traffic?tab=limits) shows your plan's limits, and the customer limits below.

<img src={"/docs/images/gateway/limits-light.png"} className="block dark:hidden" alt="The Limits tab: API rate limits for the Free, Team and Enterprise plans, and customer limits with a monthly budget of 25 and a rate limit of 60" />
<img src={"/docs/images/gateway/limits-dark.png"} className="hidden dark:block" alt="The Limits tab: API rate limits for the Free, Team and Enterprise plans, and customer limits with a monthly budget of 25 and a rate limit of 60" />

| Plan | Limit |
|---|---|
| Free | 412 requests per minute, 100k per day |
| Team | 4.2k requests per minute, 1M per day |
| Enterprise | Custom |

{/* REVIEW: the platform shows these values; respan-backend plan_level_constants.py enforces 4200 RPM on respan_pro and 8400 on respan_team. Confirm which is right. */}

## API key limits

Open **API keys** and click the key. Each limit shows its usage, what's left, and when it resets.

| Limit | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rate limits | Requests per minute and tokens per minute for this key. |
| Lifetime limit | A cost cap that never resets, counted from what the key has already spent. |
| Recurring limits | Cost, requests, or tokens per minute, hour, day, week, or month. Stack rows for a daily and a monthly cap. |
| Alert at | A warning threshold below **Block at**. The request goes through, and Respan sends an email or Slack alert. |

Cost and tokens are counted when a call ends, so the call that crosses a cap completes and the ones after it are refused.

## Customer limits

Customer limits apply to requests tagged with a customer (see [Users & identifiers](/docs/ai-gateway/customers/respan-params#customer)). Set the defaults for every customer on the **Limits** tab:

| Setting | Detail |
|---|---|
| Customer monthly budget | Spend per customer per month, in USD. Over it, the customer's requests are refused until the next period. |
| Customer rate limit (requests/min) | Chat requests per minute per customer. |

To give one customer a different budget, open them under **Observability** › **Users & identifiers** and edit **Period budget**.

## Over a limit

| Event | What happens |
|---|---|
| **Alert at** reached | The request goes through. Respan sends an alert and a `limit_policy_soft_triggered` [webhook](/docs/documentation/admin/webhooks), once per threshold per period. |
| **Block at** reached | `429` until the window resets, and a `limit_policy_hard_triggered` webhook. |
| Customer budget reached | `402` until the next period, and a `customer_budget_limit_reached` webhook. |

The **Rate limited** chart on the Gateway page's **Overview** counts every `429`, from your limits or a provider's.