Rate limits
How PricklyMails enforces a per-API-key rate limit by plan, the headers it returns, and how to back off correctly after a 429.
The verify endpoints are throttled per API key, at your plan's rate_limit_per_minute.
Because the limit is keyed by the key itself (not by IP), traffic from a shared NAT egress is not penalized, and a high-tier key can exceed the shared IP floor.
Handling a 429
When you exceed the limit the API returns 429 Too Many Requests with a Retry-After header in seconds.
Wait that long, then retry, ideally with exponential backoff on repeated 429s.
Volume vs rate
The per-minute rate limit smooths bursts.
Your monthly volume is bounded by your token wallet, not by a daily cap: each verification draws from the wallet, and a call against an empty wallet returns 402, not 429.
Top up or upgrade to raise the ceiling.