Rate Limits

Rate Limits

TCG API uses daily request quotas based on your subscription tier.

Limits by Tier

Tier	Daily Limit	Price
Free	100 requests	$0
Pro	10,000 requests	$9.99/mo
Business	100,000 requests	$99/mo

Rate Limit Headers

Every authenticated response includes rate limit headers:

X-RateLimit-Limit: 100
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 95
X-RateLimit-Reset: 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z

The same info is also in the response body:

{
  "data": { ... },
  "rate_limit": {
    "daily_limit": 100,
    "daily_remaining": 95,
    "daily_reset": "2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z"
  }
}

When You Hit the Limit

If you exceed your daily quota, you’ll receive a 429 Too Many Requests response:

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Daily rate limit exceeded. Resets at midnight UTC.",
    "code": "RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED"
  }
}

Reset Schedule

Daily counters reset at midnight UTC (7 PM EST / 4 PM PST).

Best Practices

1. Check daily_remaining in responses to proactively slow down before hitting limits
2. Use bulk endpoints (Pro+) to fetch multiple items per request
3. Cache responses — card metadata doesn’t change often, prices update daily
4. Use the game filter on search to reduce result sets
5. Paginate efficiently — request only the pages you need

Upgrading

If you consistently hit your rate limit, consider upgrading:

• Pro ($9.99/mo): 100x the free tier, plus price history and bulk endpoints
• Business ($99/mo): 1000x the free tier, plus exports and commercial use license

View pricing →