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

# Rate Limits

> Understanding API rate limits and quotas

Sunbird AI enforces rate limits to ensure fair usage and system stability. Limits are applied per account based on the type of plan you are on.

## Account Tiers

Rate limits are determined by the `account_type` in your authentication token:

<CardGroup cols={1}>
  <Card title="Free Tier" icon="leaf">
    Designed for testing and development. Usage is limited to prevent abuse.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Professional" icon="briefcase">
    Higher rate limits suitable for production applications.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Enterprise" icon="building">
    Custom rate limits tailored to high-volume needs. Contact sales for details.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Handling Rate Limits

When you exceed your rate limit, the API will return a `429 Too Many Requests` status code.

### Best Practices

<Steps>
  <Step title="Check Headers">
    Inspect the `Retry-After` header in the 429 response to know how long to wait.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Exponential Backoff">
    Implement an exponential backoff strategy. If a request fails, wait for a short period (e.g., 1s), then retry. If it fails again, double the wait time (2s, 4s, etc.).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add Jitter">
    Add random "jitter" to your wait times to prevent all your clients from retrying at the exact same millisecond.
  </Step>
</Steps>