Rate Limiting and Quotas
Understand Smart Money API rate limits, daily quotas for each subscription tier, and optimization strategies to maximize your API usage.
Overview
Smart Money API implements daily request quotas to ensure service quality and fairness across all users. Each subscription tier includes a different daily limit. When you exceed your daily quota, you receive a 429 Too Many Requests error until your quota resets at midnight UTC.
Rate limits are applied per API key. Each key has its own independent quota. You can generate multiple keys for different applications and monitor usage for each separately.
Quotas by Subscription Tier
| Tier | Daily Requests | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 200 requests/day | $0 | BTC, ETH, SOL, funding rates, liquidations |
| Trader | 3,000 requests/day | $29/month | All symbols, whale positions, OI data |
| Pro | 15,000 requests/day | $79/month | Confirmation scores, on-chain data, webhooks |
| Enterprise | 250,000 requests/day | $299/month | Every endpoint, node intelligence, email support (no uptime SLA) |
Rate Limit Response Headers
Every API response includes headers indicating your current quota status:
| Header | Description |
|---|---|
X-Requests-Limit |
Total requests allowed per day (e.g., 200 for Trader) |
X-Requests-Remaining |
Requests remaining in current day |
X-Requests-Reset |
Unix timestamp when quota resets |
X-Requests-Reset-ISO |
ISO 8601 timestamp for quota reset |
Checking Quota Before Making Requests
Daily Rate Window
Rate limits operate on a 24-hour rolling window. Your quota resets daily at midnight UTC (00:00 UTC). The exact reset time is provided in the X-Requests-Reset-ISO header.
Example: Free Tier (200 requests/day)
- Day 1 (Mar 21): 200 requests available at 00:00 UTC
- 10:30 UTC: Made 75 requests, 125 remaining
- 15:45 UTC: Made 100 more requests, 25 remaining
- 23:59 UTC: Still 25 requests remaining (can't carry over)
- Day 2 (Mar 22, 00:00 UTC): Quota resets to 200
Optimization Strategies
1. Cache API Responses
Whale positions don't change every second. Cache results for 30-60 seconds and serve cached data instead of making new API calls.
2. Use WebSocket for Real-Time Data
WebSocket connections deliver updates instantly without counting against your rate limit. Subscribe to streams and receive updates as they happen, reducing the number of REST API calls needed.
3. Batch Requests Strategically
Make one request with multiple symbols when possible instead of separate requests for each symbol. This reduces API calls by up to 10x.
4. Use Filtering at Request Time
Apply filters (symbol, exchange, min_position_size) in query parameters to get exactly the data you need, avoiding the need for post-processing.
Handling Rate Limit Errors
Retry with Exponential Backoff
Ready to Upgrade?
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Implement caching, use WebSocket for real-time data, and handle rate limits gracefully.
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