Rate Limiting

Restricting how many requests a user or system can make to an API in a given time window. Prevents abuse, excessive cost, and protects servers from being overwhelmed.

If you're using a paid API (OpenAI, Stripe, Twilio), rate limits protect your costs. If you're building an API, rate limiting protects your infrastructure and prevents a single user from degrading service for others.

A founder's AI chat feature limits each user to 20 requests per minute. This prevents abuse, keeps OpenAI API costs predictable, and ensures fair usage across all members.