> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.carto.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/settings/quotas-and-rate-limits/rate-limits.md).

# Rate limits

Rate limits are **technical ceilings that protect the CARTO Platform and third-party services** from abusive or accidental usage patterns (for example, a runaway script hitting an API thousands of times per second).

Unlike [quotas](/carto-user-manual/settings/quotas-and-rate-limits/understanding-your-organization-quotas.md), which define how much of CARTO your license includes and can be adjusted commercially, rate limits:

* Are the **same for every organization** and are not part of your commercial plan or negotiation.
* Are **enforced automatically** and are always technically hard.
* **Do not reduce how much you can use CARTO.** They only prevent usage patterns that could affect platform stability or performance. Following standard integration best practices, you should never hit them in normal usage.

If a legitimate use case requires a higher limit, contact <support@carto.com>.

## API rate limits

CARTO Cloud is protected by a web application firewall (WAF) that automatically and temporarily blocks any IP address that exceeds the per-minute request limit for an API. Requests over the limit receive a `429` HTTP response, and requests answered by the CDN cache do not count towards the limit.

For the full list of per-API limits, see the [CARTO API rate limits reference](/carto-for-developers/reference/carto-api.md#rate-limits).

{% hint style="info" %}
Rate limits protect the API infrastructure and are unrelated to your [Usage quota](/carto-user-manual/settings/quotas-and-rate-limits/understanding-your-organization-quotas.md#usage-quota). A request can count towards your Usage quota (based on its API weight) and, if you send too many too quickly, also be rate-limited.
{% endhint %}

## M2M OAuth token minting

Each [Machine-to-Machine (M2M) OAuth Client](/carto-user-manual/developers/managing-credentials/m2m-oauth-clients.md) can mint a limited number of OAuth access tokens per month (in the range of **35–300 tokens/month**, depending on your plan).

Each M2M access token is **valid for 24 hours** and is designed to be reused. To stay well within this limit, your backend should **request an access token once and reuse it** until it expires, rather than requesting a new one for each API call. A correctly implemented integration will never approach this limit — reaching it is almost always a sign that tokens are being minted on every request instead of being cached and reused.

## Google basemaps in public maps

On CARTO Cloud, the built-in [Google Maps basemaps](/carto-user-manual/maps/basemaps.md#google-maps-basemaps) can be used in your maps without providing your own Google Maps API key. This convenience is intended for regular product use, so their use in **public maps** is subject to an acceptable-use limit: they are meant for **low-traffic public maps**.

As a rule of thumb, a public map stays within acceptable use if it receives up to:

| Google basemap type              | Approximate guideline                                                           |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **2D basemaps**                  | **\~500 views/day** (\~15,000/month)                                            |
| **3D (Photorealistic 3D Tiles)** | **\~100 views/day** (\~3,000/month) — 3D scenes stream many more tiles per view |

These are approximate guidelines, not hard technical limits. If a public map consistently exceeds them, it's no longer low-traffic and should use one of the alternatives below.

{% hint style="info" %}
This applies specifically to the **Google** basemaps that CARTO provides inside the platform. It is unrelated to [CARTO Basemaps](/carto-user-manual/maps/basemaps.md), which is a separate offering.
{% endhint %}

If you expect a public map to receive high traffic (for example, one embedded on a high-visibility website), use one of the following instead:

* [CARTO Basemaps](/carto-user-manual/maps/basemaps.md)
* Your own Google Maps API key
* Your own [custom basemap](/carto-user-manual/maps/basemaps.md#custom-basemaps)


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/settings/quotas-and-rate-limits/rate-limits.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.