Credit limits vs. rate limits: Credit limits track how many records you can consume based on your plan (a billing concept). Rate limits restrict how quickly you can make requests to protect system stability (a technical concept). This page covers credit limits. See API Rate Limits for rate limiting details.
Free Plan
The Free plan provides 500 credits per month with no time limit or credit card required. Credits are counted the same way on every plan: each record returned counts as one credit, so a search returning 100 permits uses 100 credits. If you need a larger allowance, see shovels.ai/pricing.Paid Plan Credit Limits
Paid plans include progressively larger monthly credit allowances. See shovels.ai/pricing for current allowances, or contact sales@shovels.ai for Enterprise volumes.For details on plan limits and pricing, see shovels.ai/pricing or contact sales@shovels.ai.
If You Hit Your Credit Limit
When you exceed your credit limit, the API returns a 402 Payment Required response. Contact sales@shovels.ai to increase your credit allocation. For full details on API usage policies, see the API Introduction.Understanding Your Credits
Records Per Call
Search endpoints return up to 100 records per page (default: 10) by setting thesize parameter. Detail endpoints accept up to 50 IDs per call. Each record returned counts against your credits—so a call returning 100 permits uses 100 credits.
Efficient Querying
- Use search endpoints to get multiple records at once
- Search responses include full detail payloads—no separate detail call needed
- Use filters to get exactly the data you need
Tracking Your Usage
Monitor your API usage on the Manage subscription tab of your account or via theGET /v2/usage endpoint. Credits reset monthly on your subscription or upgrade date.
Need Higher Credit Limits?
Contact our team to discuss higher-tier plans:- Email: sales@shovels.ai
- Phone: 1-800-511-7457