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Rate Limits

BillerAPI enforces rate limits to ensure fair usage and platform stability. All limits apply per client, per environment.

Default Limits

Endpoint TypeLimitWindow
Most endpoints (POST, PUT, DELETE)100 requestsPer minute
Read-only endpoints (GET)1,000 requestsPer minute

These limits are the same in sandbox and production. If you need higher limits, contact us at support@billerapi.com.

Rate Limit Headers

When you exceed a rate limit, the API returns a 429 Too Many Requests response with a Retry-After header indicating how many seconds to wait before retrying.

HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Retry-After: 30
Content-Type: application/json
{
"status_code": 429,
"error": "rate_limit_exceeded",
"message": "Rate limit exceeded. Retry after 30 seconds.",
"documentation_url": "https://docs.billerapi.com/concepts/rate-limits"
}

Backoff Strategy

Use exponential backoff with jitter when retrying rate-limited requests. Always respect the Retry-After header when present.

Exponential backoff with Retry-After
async function fetchWithRetry(url, options, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++) {
    const response = await fetch(url, options);

    if (response.status !== 429) {
      return response;
    }

    if (attempt === maxRetries) {
      throw new Error('Max retries exceeded');
    }

    // Respect Retry-After header, or use exponential backoff
    const retryAfter = response.headers.get('Retry-After');
    const delay = retryAfter
      ? parseInt(retryAfter, 10) * 1000
      : Math.min(1000 * Math.pow(2, attempt), 30000);

    // Add jitter to prevent thundering herd
    const jitter = Math.random() * 1000;
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, delay + jitter));
  }
}

Best Practices

  • 1.Cache responses — biller metadata and account details change infrequently. Cache GET responses to reduce request volume.
  • 2.Use webhooks instead of polling — subscribe to events like bill.created instead of polling for new bills.
  • 3.Batch where possible — fetch multiple bills in a single paginated request instead of one-by-one.
  • 4.Implement backoff — never retry immediately after a 429. Always wait at least the Retry-After duration.

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