Convert Daily API Limits to Monthly Totals
Convert daily API rate limits to monthly request totals. Understand how daily caps translate to monthly usage budgets for capacity planning.
Detailed Explanation
Daily to Monthly Rate Limit Conversion
Many APIs and SaaS platforms define quotas as a daily limit rather than a per-second or per-minute rate. Converting daily limits to monthly totals helps with capacity planning and cost estimation.
Conversion Formula
Monthly requests = Daily limit x 30
Yearly requests = Daily limit x 365
Example: 10,000 Requests/Day
| Period | Requests |
|---|---|
| Per day | 10,000 |
| Per week | 70,000 |
| Per month (30d) | 300,000 |
| Per year | 3,650,000 |
| Per hour (avg) | ~417 |
| Per minute (avg) | ~6.9 |
| Per second (avg) | ~0.12 |
Important Distinctions
There is a critical difference between a rate limit and a quota:
- Rate limit: Restricts the number of requests within a short window (e.g., 100/second). Resets automatically after the window passes.
- Quota: Restricts the total number of requests over a longer period (e.g., 10,000/day). Usually resets at midnight UTC or at a specific time.
Some APIs enforce both simultaneously. Google Maps API, for example, has both a per-minute rate limit and a daily quota. You must respect whichever constraint is tighter at any given moment.
Use Case
Your free-tier API plan allows 10,000 requests per day. You need to calculate whether this is enough for your application that serves approximately 250,000 page views per month, where each page view triggers 1-2 API calls.