Rate Limits

Rate limits are applied per API key, per rolling window. The limits depend on your subscription plan.

Limits by plan

Plan	Lookups / month	Lookups / min	Reporting	Blocklists
Free	1,000	10	50 / month	Daily refresh
Pro	50,000	60	Unlimited	Hourly refresh
Business	500,000	300	Unlimited	Real-time
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Unlimited	Real-time + SLA

Response headers

Every response includes rate-limit metadata so you can track consumption:

Header	Description
X-RateLimit-Limit	Max requests in the current window
X-RateLimit-Remaining	Requests left in the current window
X-RateLimit-Reset	Unix timestamp when the window resets
Retry-After	Seconds to wait (only present on 429 responses)

Handling 429 Too Many Requests

When you exceed the per-minute limit the API returns HTTP 429. Use the Retry-After header to wait the correct amount of time:

TypeScript

async function lookupWithRetry(ip: string, retries = 3): Promise<Response> {
  const res = await fetch(`https://api.ipabuse.org/v1/ip/${ip}/reputation`, {
    headers: { "X-API-Key": process.env.IPABUSE_API_KEY! },
  });
  if (res.status === 429 && retries > 0) {
    const retryAfter = Number(res.headers.get("Retry-After") ?? 1);
    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, retryAfter * 1000));
    return lookupWithRetry(ip, retries - 1);
  }
  return res;
}

Burst allowance

All plans include a short burst allowance of up to 2× the per-minute limit for up to 5 seconds. Sustained traffic above your plan limit will be throttled.

Need more?

Upgrade your plan at ipabuse.org/billing or contact us for a custom Enterprise quote.

Next steps

Error Reference — all error codes explained.
Webhooks — get notified instead of polling.