Credits, Rate Limits & Errors
Transparent credit costs per endpoint, rate limit tiers, and standard API error responses.
The platform meters credits per successful billed response. Failed calls are free. Credits never expire. Most endpoints cost 1 credit; video mode=full costs 2. See Pricing for packs.
Rate limits
| Account | Rate limit |
|---|---|
| Free | 30 RPM (0.5 req/s) |
| Paid (any credit pack) | 300 RPM (5 req/s) |
| Reserved | Contact us |
Customer Cache-Control: no-cache is ignored. Cache policy is server-side.
Credit Schedule
| API Feature | Endpoint | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Transcript | POST /v1/transcripts | 1 Credit |
| AI-Native Markdown | POST /v1/transcripts | 1 Credit |
Video metadata (mode=fast) | GET /v1/videos/{id} | 1 Credit |
Video metadata (mode=full) | GET /v1/videos/{id}?mode=full | 2 Credits |
| Playlist Details | GET /v1/playlists/{id} | 1 Credit |
| Playlist Videos | GET /v1/playlists/{id}/videos | 1 Credit |
| Channel Profile | GET /v1/channels/{id} | 1 Credit |
| Channel Streams | GET /v1/channels/{id}/streams | 1 Credit |
| Channel Playlists | GET /v1/channels/{id}/playlists | 1 Credit |
| Search | GET /v1/search | 1 Credit |
| Search Autocomplete | GET /v1/search/suggestions | Free |
| Batch Processing | POST /v1/batch | 1 Credit per task |
Error Response Format
All errors return a standard JSON envelope:
{
"error": "Transcripts are disabled or unavailable for this video",
"status": 404
}HTTP Status Codes
400 — Bad Request
Missing required parameters (e.g. invalid video ID or empty search query). Check your request payload.
401 — Unauthorized
Missing or invalid API key in Authorization: Bearer <key>. Verify your key in the Dashboard.
402 — Payment Required
Credit balance depleted. Buy a pack in the billing dashboard. Failed requests are still free.
404 — Not Found
Video does not exist, is private, or captions are unavailable for the requested language.
429 — Too Many Requests
Rate limit exceeded. Check the Retry-After header for seconds until reset. See Authentication for tier limits.
500 — Internal Error
Upstream extraction error. Credits are automatically refunded for failed requests.