API Rate Limits & Security

Rate Limits

To ensure fair usage and maintain API performance, we implement rate limits on all API endpoints.

Scale Plan Users

3,000

requests per month for Production API keys

300

requests per month for Test API keys

Rate limits are applied per user account, not per individual API key. All API keys belonging to the same user share the same monthly limit based on the key type being used.

Rate Limit Headers

Every API response includes headers that help you track your rate limit usage:

Response Headers

X-RateLimit-Limit Your monthly request limit (3,000 for Production, 300 for Test)

X-RateLimit-Remaining Number of requests remaining this month

X-RateLimit-Reset Unix timestamp when the limit resets (first day of next month)

Rate Limit Exceeded

When you exceed your rate limit, the API returns a 429 status code with details about your usage:

429 Response Example

Response

{
  "error": "Rate limit exceeded. Limit: 3000 requests/month, Used: 3000",
  "rate_limit": {
    "limit": 3000,
    "used": 3000,
    "remaining": 0,
    "reset": 1640995200
  }
}

Filter Values and Data Formats

Understanding the correct format for filter values helps avoid errors and improves API efficiency:

Countries

Use 2-letter ISO country codes:

US - United States
GB - United Kingdom
DE - Germany
FR - France
CA - Canada

Get the full list via /api/v1/filters

Funding Amounts

Flexible format with suffixes:

1M = $1,000,000
500K = $500,000
2.5B = $2,500,000,000
1000000 = $1,000,000

Suffixes: K (thousands), M (millions), B (billions)

Industries & Stages

Use exact values from the filters endpoint:

Industries: "AI", "Fintech", "Healthcare", "SaaS"
Stages: "Seed", "Series A", "Series B", "Series C+", "Debt", "undisclosed"

Case-sensitive, use /api/v1/filters for current values

Getting Filter Values

Always fetch current filter values:

curl -X GET "https://fundup.ai/api/v1/filters" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"

This ensures you're using valid, up-to-date values

Best Practices

Caching

Cache responses when possible
Use ETags for conditional requests
Implement local caching for frequently accessed data
Set appropriate cache headers in your application

Request Optimization

Use pagination to limit response size
Request only the data you need
Combine multiple filters in single requests
Use the search endpoint for complex queries

Error Handling

Always check response status codes
Implement exponential backoff for 429 errors
Monitor rate limit headers
Handle network errors gracefully

Monitoring

Track your API usage regularly
Monitor rate limit headers
Set up alerts for high usage
Use the /stats endpoint to check usage

Security

API Key Security

Keep your API keys secure and never expose them in client-side code or public repositories.

Security Guidelines

• Never commit API keys to version control - Use environment variables or secure configuration management
• Use HTTPS only - All API requests must use HTTPS encryption
• Rotate keys regularly - Delete old keys and create new ones periodically
• Monitor usage - Regularly check your API usage for unusual activity
• Use different keys for different environments - Separate production and development keys

HTTPS Requirement

All API requests must be made over HTTPS. HTTP requests will be rejected for security reasons.

Base URL

https://fundup.ai/api/v1

Always use HTTPS when making API requests to ensure your data is encrypted in transit.

Fundup AI API

Rate Limits & Security