> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.pipellm.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Rate Limits

> Understanding account tier rate limits and balance protection

## Rate Limiting

Your API rate limit is based on your account tier. Your balance is checked separately before each request; it does not dynamically increase or decrease your RPM.

### Account Tiers

Accounts are automatically assigned to a tier based on eligible successful payments.

| Tier     | Eligibility                                                                                    | RPM |
| -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --- |
| `tier_0` | No eligible payment                                                                            | 6   |
| `tier_1` | Eligible payments totaling at least \$5                                                        | 30  |
| `tier_2` | Eligible payments totaling at least \$50, with first eligible payment more than 7 days ago     | 120 |
| `tier_3` | Eligible payments totaling at least \$250, with first eligible payment more than 7 days ago    | 300 |
| `tier_4` | Eligible payments totaling at least \$1,000, with first eligible payment more than 14 days ago | 600 |

Eligible payments are successful customer payments. Promotional credits, corrections, complimentary credits, and manual adjustments may not count toward automatic tier upgrades unless marked as eligible by PipeLLM.

### Enterprise and Custom Limits

Enterprise customers can receive a custom RPM override. A custom override takes precedence over the automatic tier limit.

Need higher limits? Contact us at [hi-coding@pipellm.ai](mailto:hi-coding@pipellm.ai).

## Balance Protection

To prevent unexpected overuse, the platform performs a **real-time balance check** before processing each request. If your balance is insufficient, the request will be rejected with a `402` status code.

### Insufficient Balance Response (402)

```json theme={null}
{
  "error": {
    "type": "insufficient_balance",
    "code": "balance_exceeded",
    "message": "Insufficient balance. Please recharge to continue."
  }
}
```

## Rate Limit Response (429)

```json theme={null}
{
  "error": {
    "type": "rate_limit_error",
    "code": "rate_limit_exceeded",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded. Your current limit is 120 requests per minute (approximately 2.00 requests per second). Please visit https://console.pipellm.com/billing to upgrade your plan for higher limits."
  }
}
```

## Rate Limit Headers

Every API response includes rate limit information:

| Header                           | Description                       |
| -------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| `x-ratelimit-limit-requests`     | Your current RPM limit            |
| `x-ratelimit-remaining-requests` | Remaining requests in this window |
| `x-ratelimit-reset-requests`     | Time until the window resets      |