How to use the API Rate Limit Planner for Automated Posting
- Tick your networks. Choose every network you publish to through an API. Each one shows its documented limits with a link to the page that states them.
- Enter accounts and posts per day. Set how many accounts you run on that network and how many posts each one publishes per day. For Telegram enter chats, for Discord enter channels.
- Set calls per post. A few limits count requests, not posts. If one post takes several calls, for example picture uploads on Mastodon, raise this number.
- Read headroom and spacing. Each limit shows planned against allowed volume. The spacing line gives the smallest gap that stays under every limit at any moment, with a 20 percent margin added.
How the rate limit planner calculates headroom
What it checks
For each limit it works out how many calls your plan makes per day on the right scope (one account, or all accounts for an app-wide limit), how many the limit allows per day when posts are spread evenly, and the difference. Below 70 percent of the allowance is marked within the limit, 70 to 100 percent is close, and over 100 percent is over.
The minimum gap is the window length divided by the limit, for example 15 minutes over 100 posts is 9 seconds. A margin of 20 percent is added to get the suggested spacing. The margin is our own rule of thumb, not a documented figure.
Limits used and where they come from
X: 100 posts per 15 minutes per user and 10,000 per 24 hours per app for POST /2/tweets (X API rate limits page). Instagram: 100 API-published posts per moving 24 hours (Instagram content publishing page). Threads: 250 published posts per 24 hours (Threads posts page). Facebook Reels: 30 API-published Reels per moving 24 hours (Reels Publishing API page).
TikTok: 6 requests per minute per access token on post initialisation (Content Posting API direct post reference), plus an unpublished daily cap. Mastodon: 300 requests per 5 minutes (Mastodon rate limits page). Telegram: one message per second per chat and 20 per minute in a group (Telegram Bots FAQ). Discord: 50 requests per second per bot (Discord rate limits page). Bluesky: 35,000 points per day with 3 points per new post, about 11,666 posts a day (Bluesky rate limits page).
Limitations
This is a planning aid, not a guarantee. It does not model per-endpoint rules, media upload limits, review quotas, burst rules a network applies without documenting them, or limits a scheduling service sets for itself. Read-side calls such as status checks are not counted. Real traffic is rarely perfectly even, so leave room.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an app limit and an account limit?
An account limit counts what one user or access token does. An app limit counts everything sent through one developer app, across all the accounts connected to it. X is the clearest case: 100 posts per 15 minutes is per user, while 10,000 posts per 24 hours is per app. Ten accounts on one app share that daily figure.
How is the Bluesky limit worked out?
Bluesky counts points, not posts. Its rate limits page gives 35,000 points per day for writes and 3 points for creating a record such as a post, so about 11,666 posts a day. Spread posts out and read the page for the current figures, because networks change them.
TikTok shows only a per-minute limit. Is there a daily cap?
Yes, TikTok enforces a daily cap on posts made through its API, but the number is not published. Its creator info endpoint returns the error spam_risk_too_many_posts when the cap is reached. The planner can only check the documented six requests per minute, so keep your daily volume modest and watch for that error.
What does a moving 24 hour window mean?
Instagram, Threads and Facebook Reels count your posts over the last 24 hours at any moment, not since midnight. Ninety posts in one hour this afternoon leave only ten available until those posts age out tomorrow afternoon. That is why spacing matters even when the daily total looks safe.
Do these numbers apply to the scheduler I use?
They apply to whoever calls the network's API. A scheduler that posts for you uses its own developer app, so app-level limits can be shared with its other users, and the scheduler may add its own limits on top. If you publish through your own app, the numbers on this page are the ones that bind you.
Are these limits guaranteed to stay the same?
No. Each figure comes from the network's documentation as read in October 2026, and networks change limits and add per-endpoint rules. Always read the linked page before you depend on a number, and expect an error response, not a silent drop, when you go over.