Usage Limits
Last updated: October
Creator Lookup offers API and MCP access so you can use the platform from your own software and AI agents. To keep the service fast and reliable for everyone, all usage is subject to the limits below. These are the "Usage Limits" referenced in Section 4.6.2 of our Terms of Service.
Who can use the API and MCP
API and MCP access requires an active paid plan (including AppSumo Tier 2 and above) or a positive credit balance. Accounts without either can keep using the Creator Lookup web app, but can't make API or MCP requests. AppSumo Tier 1 includes the web app only; upgrade your AppSumo license to unlock MCP.
How limits apply
- Per account. Limits are tracked per account, not per key. Every API key, MCP connection, AI chat session, and browser session on your account draws from the same allowance.
- Across every channel. Per-minute and per-hour limits count the same whether a request comes from the web app, the API, an MCP client, or Creator Lookup AI chat. The daily search limit is the exception: it applies to API and MCP requests only. Searching in the web app and its AI chat has no daily limit, and those searches don't use up the API and MCP allowance.
- Separate from credits. Rate limits control how fast you can make requests. Credits cover what certain actions cost. A request must be within your limits and, where applicable, covered by your credits.
- Reset times. Per minute and per hour limits use rolling windows. Daily limits reset at 00:00 UTC.
Current limits
| Action | Free | Paid & AppSumo |
|---|---|---|
| Creator searches, per minute | 20 | 20 |
| Creator searches, per day (API and MCP only; no daily limit in the web app) | 75 | 75 |
| Live profile refreshes, per hour | 10 | 60 |
| Live profile refreshes, per day | 20 | 300 |
| Enrichment previews, per day | 50 | 50 |
Creator searches include quick search and full profile search. The daily search limit counts API and MCP requests only: in the Creator Lookup web app and its AI chat you can search as often as you like, within the per-minute limit. Live profile refreshes are requests that pull fresh data directly from a social platform instead of our database.
With usage-based pricing on, API and MCP creator searches and enrichment previews have no hourly or daily limit: you can make as many as your credit balance covers. The per-minute limits still apply.
Credit costs
Every account gets 75 creators a day for free through the API and MCP. A creator is one result returned by a search, an extra page of results, or an enrichment preview; searches that find nothing cost nothing. Searching in the Creator Lookup web app and AI chat doesn't count toward this.
To get more than 75 creators a day through the API or MCP, turn on usage-based pricing in Settings → MCP & API. Further creators then cost 1 credit per 4 creators, paid from your credit balance, and API and MCP searches and previews are no longer capped per day: your credits are the limit. Leftover creators carry over, so 2 creators now and 2 later make 1 credit.
| Action | Free tier (per day) | Cost beyond free tier |
|---|---|---|
| API and MCP creators (searches, extra pages, previews) | First 75 creators/day | 1 credit per 4 creators, with usage-based pricing on |
| API full profile search (contact details included) | None | 1 credit per creator, like an export, with usage-based pricing on |
| Contact unlocks | Included in plan allowance | Per plan or add-on |
| Exports | Included in plan allowance | Per plan or add-on |
The free tier resets daily at 00:00 UTC. A request that asks for more creators than you have left returns only the ones left. Once none are left, API and MCP searches return 402 usage_pricing_required until you turn on usage-based pricing or the day resets. With usage-based pricing on, a request returns the creators your balance covers; with nothing left, it returns 402 insufficient_credits until you top up. Creators are paid for when the request starts and anything not returned is given back, so a search that finds nothing costs nothing. One request returns at most 100 creators.
Rate limit headers
Responses from limited endpoints include:
| Header | Meaning |
|---|---|
X-RateLimit-Limit | Requests allowed in the current window |
X-RateLimit-Remaining | Requests left in the current window |
X-RateLimit-Reset | Unix timestamp when the current window resets |
Retry-After | Seconds to wait before retrying (on 429 responses) |
X-Free-Creators-Remaining | API and MCP creators you have left for free today (searches, pages, previews) |
X-Credits-Charged | Credits this request charged for creators past the free ones |
When you hit a limit
The API returns 429 Too Many Requests with a JSON body:
{
"error": "rate_limited",
"limit": "searches_per_minute",
"message": "Search limit reached (20 per minute). Retry in 42 seconds.",
"retry_after": 42
}MCP tools return the same information as a readable tool error, so your agent can see the limit and wait before trying again.
Access errors
| Status | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 403 | api_access_requires_plan | Your account needs an active plan or credits to use the API or MCP |
| 403 | account_suspended | API and MCP access on this account has been disabled. Contact support. |
| 403 | mcp_requires_appsumo_tier | MCP is included in AppSumo Tier 2 and above. Upgrade your AppSumo license to unlock it. |
| 402 | usage_pricing_required | Today's free API and MCP creators are used up. Turn on usage-based pricing in Settings → MCP & API, or wait for 00:00 UTC. |
| 402 | insufficient_credits | Usage-based pricing is on but your credit balance is empty. Top up, or wait for 00:00 UTC. |
| 429 | usage_capacity_exhausted | Usage-based search capacity is briefly used up. Retry after the seconds in Retry-After. |
| 503 | metering_unavailable | API and MCP search is briefly unavailable. Retry in a minute. |
Best practices for agents and integrations
- Honor
Retry-After. Back off when you receive a 429 instead of retrying immediately. - Avoid large parallel fan-outs. Run requests sequentially or with modest concurrency.
- Reuse results. Save creators to lists and use your search history instead of rerunning identical searches.
- Cap your loops. Set a maximum number of calls per task so a misbehaving agent can't burn through your daily allowance.
Not allowed
- Creating or using multiple accounts to get around limits
- Sharing API keys or credentials outside your organization
- Calling internal or undocumented endpoints
- Automating the web app (headless browsers, scripted sessions) instead of using the API or MCP
Enforcement
We monitor usage across all channels. If an account exceeds or tries to circumvent these limits, or its usage puts the service at risk, we may throttle requests, disable API and MCP access, or suspend the account. Where practical we'll reach out first, but we may act immediately when usage is abusive.
Need higher limits?
If your use case needs more, email support@creatorlookup.com with what you're building and your expected volume.
Changes
We may adjust these limits as the platform evolves. Changes are posted on this page and reflected in the "Last updated" date.