# Credits & Limits

How credits are charged and what the rate limits are.

## Limits

| Limit | Value | Counted per | Applies to |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Requests per minute (default bucket) | **30** | API key | Most endpoints |
| Requests per minute (channel-info bucket) | **100** | API key | `/api/channels/:id/about`, `/videos`, `/shorts` — their own bucket so a folder dashboard can scan many channels in parallel |
| Requests per minute (status bucket) | **60** | API key | `/api/job-status/:job_id`, `/api/youtube-scraper/:job_id` — higher cap for poll loops |
| Requests per 24h (Starter) | **1,000** | Account | Search, channel-data, viral, workspace and other non-credit endpoints. Generation endpoints that spend credits don't count. |
| Requests per 24h (Professional) | **2,000** | Account | Same endpoints as above |
| Requests per 24h (Ultimate) | **4,000** | Account | Same endpoints as above |
| Max page number | **20** | — | Search endpoints |
| Max results per page | **50** | — | Search endpoints |
| Max results per query | **1,000** | — | Search endpoints (20 pages × 50 results) |
| Max concurrent jobs (Starter) | **8** | Account | TTS, scraper, video, other media jobs |
| Max concurrent jobs (Professional) | **20** | Account | TTS, scraper, video, other media jobs |
| Max concurrent jobs (Ultimate) | **40** | Account | TTS, scraper, video, other media jobs |
| Max concurrent image jobs (Starter) | **10** | Account | Image generation — separate bucket, doesn't count against the cap above |
| Max concurrent image jobs (Professional) | **25** | Account | Image generation — separate bucket, doesn't count against the cap above |
| Max concurrent image jobs (Ultimate) | **50** | Account | Image generation — separate bucket, doesn't count against the cap above |
| Video downloads per hour (Starter) | **5** | Account | `/api/download-video` — only successful downloads count; cached repeats count, failures don't |
| Video downloads per hour (Professional) | **100** | Account | Same as above |
| Video downloads per hour (Ultimate) | **Unlimited** | Account | Same as above |
| Max download quality (all plans) | **1080p** | Account | `/api/download-video` |
| Concurrent downloads (Starter) | **1** | Account | `/api/download-video` — a request past the cap returns 429 immediately; nothing queues |
| Concurrent downloads (Professional) | **3** | Account | Same as above |
| Concurrent downloads (Ultimate) | **6** | Account | Same as above |
| Max videos per scrape | **100** | — | `/api/youtube-scraper` |
| Max script length | **45K–200K chars** | — | `/api/generate-simple` (varies by plan & provider) |

**Per key or per account?** The per-minute buckets are counted per API key, so a second key gives you a second burst allowance. The 24h request cap and the concurrent-job caps are counted per account and are shared by every key you own — minting more keys does not raise them.

**Hitting 429?** The `error` message tells you which limit you hit. Rate-limit 429s read `"Rate limit exceeded (30 requests/min). Try again in Xs."` — back off for the suggested seconds. Daily-cap 429s read `"Daily API request limit reached (1,000 requests / 24h ...). Resets in Xs."` — the window is a rolling 24h that starts on your first request, so wait for the reset or move up a tier. Concurrent-job 429s read `"Concurrent job limit reached"` — wait for an existing job to finish before submitting another.

**Search query required on channel endpoints:** Channel search endpoints (`/api/channels/search`, `/api/longform-channels/search`, `/api/terminated-channels/search`) require a `q` parameter. `/api/viral-videos/search` is the exception — `q` / `video_id` / `video_url` are all optional; omit them to browse by filters alone.

## Credits & Billing

Algrow uses two credit systems: **TTS credits** (character-based) for voice generation, and **studio credits** for media generation and video processing. Credits are checked before each job and only deducted after successful completion — you are never charged for failed jobs.

### TTS Credits

| Package | Characters | Price | Per 1K chars |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | 1,000,000 | $7.20 | $0.0072 |
| Creator | 5,000,000 | $30.00 | $0.006 |
| Studio | 10,000,000 | $54.00 | $0.0054 |

### Studio Credits

**Studio credits are separate from TTS credits.** They are deducted upfront and automatically refunded if a job fails.

| Feature | Credits | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Image Generation | 0.35–2 | Varies by model; fast mode costs 3x the base, never less than 3 (see [available models](/docs/api/media-generation#generate-image)) |
| Video Generation | 3–520 | Varies by model, resolution, duration, and sound (see [available models](/docs/api/media-generation#generate-video)) |
| Caption Removal | 12 per minute | 0.2 per second, rounded up |

**Insufficient credits?** The API returns `402 Payment Required` with the exact number of credits available and needed. Purchase more credits from your Algrow dashboard.