Rate Limiting
FairScale implements rate limiting to ensure fair usage and system stability.
Important: Rate limits are applied per API key. Exceeding your rate limit will result in a
429 Too Many Requestsresponse.
How Rate Limiting Works
FairScale uses a sliding window rate limiting algorithm. Your API key has a specific number of requests allowed per time window. When you exceed this limit, subsequent requests will be rejected until the window resets.
Rate Limit Tiers
| Plan | Requests/month | Requests/minute |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 1,000 | 10 |
| Builder | 20,000 | 100 |
| Scale | 50,000 | 300 |
| Pro | 100,000 | 600 |
Free Tier
- 1,000 requests/month · 10 requests/minute
- Perfect for testing and proof-of-concept integrations
Builder Tier
- 20,000 requests/month · 100 requests/minute
- For developers building their first integrations
Scale Tier
- 50,000 requests/month · 300 requests/minute
- For growing projects that need more capacity
Pro Tier
- 100,000 requests/month · 600 requests/minute
- For production protocols with high-volume needs
x402 Pay-Per-Request
If you use x402 instead of a fairkey, there are no rate-limiting tiers - you pay $0.005 USDC per request. See Authentication for details.
HTTP Status Codes
200 OK
Request succeeded and you're within your rate limit.
429 Too Many Requests
You've exceeded your rate limit. Wait for the window to reset before making more requests.
{
"message": "Rate limit exceeded"
}
Response Caching
Responses are cached in-memory to reduce latency and upstream load. Cache hits are indicated by "from_cache": true in the response meta object.
| Endpoint | Cache TTL |
|---|---|
/v1/score | 15 minutes |
/v1/score/ai | 15 minutes |
/v1/agent | 15 minutes |
/v1/trust-gate | 5 minutes |
/v1/score-history | 10 minutes |
/v1/leaderboard | 5 minutes |
/v1/directory | 2 minutes |
Best Practices
1. Implement Retry Logic
When you receive a 429 response, implement exponential backoff and retry the request after a delay.
2. Cache Responses
Cache API responses locally to reduce the number of requests. Wallet scores don't change frequently, so caching is effective.
3. Monitor Your Usage
Keep track of your API usage to avoid hitting rate limits unexpectedly. Consider implementing request queuing for high-traffic scenarios.
Need Higher Limits?
Contact the FairScale team at sales.fairscale.xyz to discuss custom enterprise plans tailored to your needs.