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: Datalastic
providerId: datalastic
created: '2026-07-11'
modified: '2026-07-11'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Vessel Tracking
- Maritime
- AIS
- Rate Limiting
- Quotas
description: >-
  Datalastic enforces two layers of limits. First, a hard request-rate cap of
  600 API calls per minute applies uniformly across all subscription plans -
  exceeding it returns a Too Many Requests error. Second, a monthly
  database-credit quota meters how much data is returned - Starter includes
  20,000 credits, Experimenter 80,000, and Developer Pro+ is unlimited.
  Credits are deducted per result, not per request - 1 per vessel or port
  returned, 1 per vessel per day of history, with /vessel_inradius capped at
  500 vessels per call. Failed requests do not deduct credits, unused credits
  reset monthly, and the /stat endpoint reports current consumption for free.
notes: >-
  The 600 calls/minute cap is documented as identical on every plan. Some
  large report datasets have fixed credit prices - a full vessel list costs
  5,000 credits and a port list 500 credits. Overuse protection can stop
  consumption when the monthly quota is reached.
sources:
- https://datalastic.com/api-reference/
- https://datalastic.com/pricing/
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
limits:
- name: API Calls Per Minute
  scope: api-key
  metric: requests
  limit: 600 per minute
  notes: Applies to all plans; exceeding it returns a Too Many Requests error.
- name: Starter Monthly Credits
  scope: account
  metric: credits
  limit: 20000 per month
  notes: One credit per vessel/port result or vessel-day of history returned.
- name: Experimenter Monthly Credits
  scope: account
  metric: credits
  limit: 80000 per month
  notes: One credit per vessel/port result or vessel-day of history returned.
- name: Developer Pro+ Monthly Credits
  scope: account
  metric: credits
  limit: unlimited
  notes: No monthly credit cap; bounded in practice by the 600 calls/minute limit.
- name: Vessels Per Radius Query
  scope: request
  metric: results
  limit: 500 per call
  notes: /vessel_inradius returns and charges at most 500 vessels; /inradius_history caps at 500 vessels per day.
- name: Vessels Per Bulk Call
  scope: request
  metric: vessels
  limit: 100 per call
  notes: /vessel_bulk tracks up to 100 vessels per request, charging 1 credit per successfully returned vessel.
- name: History Window
  scope: request
  metric: days
  limit: 31 days from the from date
  notes: /vessel_history accepts days or from/to (YYYY-MM-DD) with a 31-day maximum range.
policies:
- name: Per-Result Metering
  description: Credits are consumed by results returned, not by requests made; failed requests are not charged and usage checks via /stat are free.
- name: Overuse Protection
  description: Plans include overuse protection and credit tracking so consumption stops rather than silently overrunning the monthly quota.
- name: Monthly Reset
  description: Unused database credits reset at the end of each monthly billing cycle and do not roll over.
- name: Backoff Strategy
  description: Clients should implement exponential backoff with jitter and honor Too Many Requests responses when approaching the 600 calls/minute cap.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com