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: CoinMarketCap
providerId: coinmarketcap
created: '2026-05-08'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-08, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-08'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Crypto
  - Market Data
  - Rate Limiting
description: >-
  CoinMarketCap enforces both per-minute rate limits and monthly credit allowances. Free Basic
  plan starts at ~30 requests/minute and 15,000 credits/month; paid tiers progress through 60,
  120, 300, 600, and 1,600+ requests per minute. A 429 response is returned when the per-minute
  cap is exceeded; a 1015 status when the monthly credit allowance is exhausted.
sources:
  - https://coinmarketcap.com/api/documentation/v1/
  - https://coinmarketcap.com/api/pricing/
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  exhausted: 1015
limits:
  - name: Basic (Free)
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: 30
  - name: Hobbyist
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: 60
  - name: Startup
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: 120
  - name: Standard
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: 300
  - name: Professional
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: 600
  - name: Enterprise
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: 1600
    notes: 1,600+ rpm; custom limits available.
  - name: Monthly credits (Basic)
    scope: account
    metric: credits_per_month
    limit: 15000
  - name: Monthly credits (Professional)
    scope: account
    metric: credits_per_month
    limit: 5000000
policies:
  - name: Credit-based metering
    description: >-
      Each endpoint consumes a documented number of credits per call (often based on parameters
      such as number of symbols requested). Track the X-CMC_PRO_API_KEY header on outbound calls
      and the credit-count headers on inbound responses.
  - name: Backoff Strategy
    description: On 429 honor Retry-After; on 1015 stop until next billing cycle or upgrade.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com