AI Agent Rate Limit & Quota Planner
Estimate required RPM and TPM for an AI agent workload, compare provider rate limits and burst headroom, and spot quota walls before launch.
Scenario presets
Workload & limits
Estimates are directional. Provider limits change; verify with your actual account and contract. Last updated: 2026-07-10. See notes.
Required peak RPM
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Required peak TPM
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Limit RPM (with headroom)
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Limit TPM (with headroom)
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Verdict
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Avg requests / minute (24/7)
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RPM utilization after headroom
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TPM utilization after headroom
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Estimated monthly API cost
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Peak-to-average ratio
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Projected period cost
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Provider limit comparison
| Provider | Tier | RPM limit | TPM limit | RPM headroom | TPM headroom | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run a calculation to compare providers. | ||||||
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Why do rate limits matter for AI agents?
Most LLM APIs throttle by requests-per-minute (RPM) and tokens-per-minute (TPM). If your agent's peak traffic exceeds those limits, calls queue up, time out, or fail. Planning limits up front prevents launch-day incidents.
How are peak RPM and TPM estimated?
The calculator spreads monthly requests across effective peak minutes (hours per day × peak-percentage of traffic). TPM multiplies RPM by average tokens per request, including output and uncached input.
What is burst headroom?
Real traffic is spiky. Burst headroom is the percentage of provider RPM/TPM you deliberately keep free so short spikes don't trip throttles. 20-30% is a common starting point.
What does 'quota wall' mean?
A quota wall is any dimension where required throughput exceeds the provider limit after headroom: RPM, TPM, or daily cap. The planner flags the first wall you would hit.
Can batch requests help?
Yes. A percentage of traffic sent through batch/offline APIs (which tolerate slower turnaround and often cost less) lowers real-time RPM/TPM needs. The calculator subtracts batch share from peak real-time load.
Should I pick tier 2 limits from day one?
Only if you can qualify and commit. Tier 1 limits are the defaults many developers start with; tier 2 requires higher spend, verified use case, or enterprise agreement depending on the provider.
Methodology notes
- Peak RPM = monthly_requests × (1 - batch_pct) × peak_hours_pct / (30 days × peak_hours_per_day × 60 min). Assumes 8-hour peak window and 30-day month.
- Peak TPM = peak RPM × (output_tokens + cached_input_pct × cached_input_rate_tokens + (1 - cached_input_pct) × input_tokens). Cached tokens are counted at the cached rate.
- Headroom = provider limit × (1 - burst_headroom_pct). Required throughput must stay below that value.
- Daily caps are shown in the provider table but not included in the main verdict unless you exceed them. Check your actual account for project- or key-level limits.
- Costs use list prices; enterprise or prepaid discounts are not modeled.