To ensure fair usage and protect service stability, the Weather API enforces rate limits based on your subscription plan. Every request counts toward your quota.
Rate Limits by Plan
| Plan |
Calls per minute |
Monthly Price |
Notes |
| Free |
60 |
Free |
For exploration and low‑traffic apps. |
| Startup |
600 |
$40/month |
Suitable for small apps. |
| Developer |
3,000 |
$180/month |
For growing apps and moderate traffic. |
| Professional |
30,000 |
$470/month |
For production workloads. |
| Enterprise |
200,000 |
$2,000/month |
For large‑scale or mission‑critical apps. |
Note: Each API call (for example, fetching current weather) counts toward your quota.
What Happens If You Exceed the Limit?
- You'll receive an HTTP 429 Too Many Requests error.
- Additional requests may be throttled (slowed down) or rejected until your quota resets.
- The response may include headers showing your current usage and reset time.
Example headers:
X-RateLimit-Limit: 60
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 0
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1692652800
Example: Checking Rate Limit Status
curl -i "https://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=London,UK&appid=$API_KEY&units=metric"
Response headers
HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Content-Type: application/json
X-RateLimit-Limit: 60
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 0
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1692652800
Best Practices for Handling Rate Limits
- Cache responses to avoid unnecessary repeated calls.
- Batch requests where possible instead of calling per user action.
- Check response headers for remaining quota before making large bursts.
- Back off and retry after the reset window if you receive a 429 error.
- Upgrade your plan if your app consistently needs more capacity.
Next Steps