specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: 0x
providerId: 0x
created: '2026-05-28'
modified: '2026-05-28'
tags:
  - Cryptocurrency
  - DeFi
  - DEX Aggregator
  - Rate Limiting
  - Quotas
  - Throttling
description: >-
  Rate limit envelope for the 0x API surface. Rates are scoped per API key
  (issued via dashboard.0x.org) and shared across all product surfaces
  (Swap, Gasless, Cross-Chain, Trade Analytics, Sources). Values reflect
  the public commercial pricing tiers documented at https://0x.org/pricing.
headers:
  limit: X-RateLimit-Limit
  remaining: X-RateLimit-Remaining
  reset: X-RateLimit-Reset
  retryAfter: Retry-After
  policy: RateLimit-Policy
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  quotaExceeded: 429
  serviceUnavailable: 503
limits:
  - tier: free
    name: Free / Developer Tier
    scope: api-key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 1
    burst: 2
    timeFrame: second
    applies:
      - https://api.0x.org
    description: >-
      Conservative envelope for evaluation accounts. Sustained traffic at
      this rate is fine; bursts above the burst ceiling will be throttled
      with 429 Too Many Requests.

  - tier: standard
    name: Standard Tier
    scope: api-key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 5
    burst: 10
    timeFrame: second
    applies:
      - https://api.0x.org
    description: >-
      Per dashboard.0x.org and the public Standard plan: 5 requests per
      second sustained, with brief bursts tolerated.

  - tier: custom
    name: Custom / Enterprise Tier
    scope: api-key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 100
    burst: 200
    timeFrame: second
    applies:
      - https://api.0x.org
    description: >-
      Custom-plan accounts get 100+ RPS by default with higher ceilings
      negotiated against committed volume.

  - tier: any
    name: Per-Trade Quote Freshness Window
    scope: per-quote
    metric: seconds
    limit: 60
    timeFrame: per_quote
    applies:
      - https://api.0x.org/swap/allowance-holder/quote
      - https://api.0x.org/swap/permit2/quote
      - https://api.0x.org/gasless/quote
    description: >-
      Firm quotes have a finite expiration window (reflected in the
      `expiration` field). Quotes that are not submitted before expiry must
      be regenerated.

  - tier: any
    name: Cross-Chain Streaming Quotes
    scope: connection
    metric: stream_duration_seconds
    limit: 300
    timeFrame: per_stream
    applies:
      - https://api.0x.org/cross-chain/quotes/stream
    description: >-
      Streaming quote sessions are time-limited; reconnect periodically and
      respect server-sent close events.

recoveryStrategies:
  - name: Honour Retry-After
    description: When you receive HTTP 429, wait the number of seconds in the Retry-After response header before retrying.
  - name: Exponential Backoff
    description: If Retry-After is absent, back off exponentially starting at 1s up to a 30s ceiling.
  - name: Coalesce Pricing Requests
    description: For UI use cases, debounce /price calls to no more than one per typing pause and cache responses for 5-15 seconds.
  - name: Use /price Before /quote
    description: Only call /quote once the user is ready to submit; /quote is the more expensive call and triggers RFQ market makers.

notes:
  - Rate limits are enforced per API key, not per IP. Multiple servers using the same key share the envelope.
  - For higher rate limits, contact sales via the 0x dashboard to upgrade to the Custom plan.
  - The free tier value is a conservative scaffold value; reconcile against the dashboard's published key limits at issue time.