Limits and concurrency

Creatomate's infrastructure automatically scales based on demand. For low to moderate API usage, you won't need any special consideration regarding throughput. However, if you anticipate high usage spikes, there are two important constraints to keep in mind; the API rate limit and render concurrency.

API rate limit

To protect our services from abuse and maintain fast response times for all customers, the API has a rate limit of 30 requests per 10-second window. Every API request from your account counts toward this limit. When exceeded, the API returns a 429 Too Many Requests response.

For most basic automation scenarios, the API rate limit is more than sufficient and requires no special attention. However, for applications expecting usage spikes, we recommend implementing a queue mechanism to distribute API requests over time.

Concurrency

Render concurrency refers to the number of videos or images processed simultaneously. While you can enqueue 30 videos every 10 seconds (within the API rate limit), this doesn't guarantee immediate processing. If many requests are already in progress, some videos may be queued. This queue has no limit, so as long as you adhere to the API rate limit, all renders will eventually complete.

The subscription plan determines your account's concurrency level, with higher plans receiving priority in the render queue. Generally, each customer can use about 20% of their monthly quota within 24 hours. For example, with 200,000 credits, the render concurrency allows for 40,000 credits per day. This flexibility helps accommodate usage spikes, enabling you to use your entire 30-day allowance in about 5 days if needed.