An API rate limit is a restriction on the number of requests that can be made to an individual API within a set period of time; for example, 100 requests per second. Rate limits apply per API and help maintain consistent performance for all customers.
Each API has its own rate limit, which could vary depending on your subscription tier.
API rate limit vs. API Daily Rate Allowance
An API rate limit is not the same as your API Daily Rate Allowance. The rate limit controls how many requests you can make to an API within a short interval (for example, per second or per hour), regardless of your total daily usage. Your API Daily Rate Allowance is a separate measure of your total permitted usage across a day. You can stay within your Daily Rate Allowance and still receive a 429 response if you exceed the rate limit for an individual API within a given interval, and vice versa.
The API Daily Rate Allowance only applies to subscriptions with Location Intelligence.
For general standards on how Nearmap APIs are structured and called, see the Nearmap API Standard.
Rate limits by API
The table below lists the standard rate limits for each API. To request a change to these limits, contact your Nearmap Customer Success Manager (CSM).
API | Standard rate limit | Measured per |
|---|
Tile API | 100,000 req/h (≈28 req/s) | User |
DSM/True Ortho API | 2,400 req/h (≈0.7 req/s) | User |
WMS API | No limit | Not applicable |
Coverage API | No limit | Not applicable |
AI Feature API | 20 req/s per subscription | Subscription |
Transactional Content API | 2,400 req/h | User |
Roof Age API | 20 req/sec | Subscription (US properties only) |
API rate limits apply to both Classic and Current subscription models. For more information about these models, click here.
What happens if you exceed a rate limit
If you exceed the rate limit for an API, your request receives an HTTP 429 response.
If you have not exceeded the rate limit, you should not receive a 429 response for that API, unless you have separately exceeded your API Daily Rate Allowance.
Every API response includes headers that let you track your rate limit status in real time:
X-Ratelimit-Limit – the total number of requests allowed in the current intervalX-Ratelimit-Remaining – the number of requests remaining before the reset timeX-Ratelimit-Reset – the Unix timestamp when the rate limit counter resets
Where a rate limit is shown per second in addition to per hour, this reflects an approximate even distribution of the hourly limit; check the X-Ratelimit response headers for your exact, real-time status.
If you attempt to retrieve a large number of properties or tiles in bulk and the request volume is too high to complete the operation, you may instead receive an HTTP 502 Bad Gateway error.