Rate Limits
Request rate limits and compute units per plan.
Plans
Monthly quotas are measured in Compute Units (CU), not raw requests. Simple calls like eth_blockNumber cost 1 CU; heavier calls like eth_getLogs cost more.
| Plan | CU/month | Rate limit |
|---|---|---|
| Public (no key) | — | 2 req/sec · 500 req/day · basic methods only |
| Free | 2,000,000 | 10 req/sec |
| Hacker | 15,000,000 | 50 req/sec |
| Starter | 60,000,000 | 150 req/sec |
| Pro | 300,000,000 | 500 req/sec |
| Enterprise | Unlimited | Custom |
Compute Units
Each JSON-RPC method has a CU weight. One standard call = 1–2 CU; heavy data queries cost more. Heavy methods (eth_getLogs, trace_*, debug_*) require an API key — they're available on every plan including Free, and are simply weighted higher so the monthly quota throttles heavy usage.
| Method | CU |
|---|---|
eth_blockNumber, eth_chainId, net_version | 1 |
eth_gasPrice, eth_maxPriorityFeePerGas, eth_feeHistory | 1 |
eth_getBalance, eth_getTransactionCount, eth_getCode | 2 |
eth_getBlockByNumber, eth_getBlockByHash | 2 |
eth_getTransactionByHash, eth_getTransactionReceipt | 2 |
eth_call, eth_estimateGas, eth_createAccessList | 5 |
eth_newBlockFilter | 10 |
eth_newFilter, eth_getFilterChanges, eth_getProof | 20 |
eth_getLogs, eth_getFilterLogs | 75 |
trace_*, debug_* | 100 |
txpool_* | 10 |
| Any other method | 2 |
Batch requests (JSON array) sum the CU of each call in the batch. A single request may contain up to 100 calls and a body of 256 KB.
Error responses
When you exceed the per-second rate limit:
{ "error": "rate_limit_exceeded", "message": "Rate limit of 10 req/s exceeded" }When you exhaust your monthly CU quota:
{ "error": "monthly_limit_reached", "message": "Monthly quota exhausted. Resets ... or purchase extra CU at nodeflare.app/app/billing." }Both return HTTP 429. Retry after 1 second for rate limit errors.
Extra CU top-up
If you hit your monthly quota before the reset date, you can purchase a one-time top-up of 1,000,000 extra CU for $6 from your billing page. Extra CU:
- Stack on top of your plan's monthly quota
- Are consumed at the same CU rate as your plan (an
eth_getLogscall costs 75 extra CU, not 1) - Never expire — unused extra CU carry over month to month
- Can be purchased multiple times
Upgrade your plan or buy extra CU from your billing page.
Pay-per-request (x402)
Don't want an account at all? Every chain is also available over x402: pay per request in USDC on Base, no account or API key required — designed for AI agents and automated clients. Prices follow the compute-unit weights above at 1 CU = $0.00001 with a $0.001 minimum per request, and heavy methods are included. See the x402 docs.