Understand HubSpot's API rate limit tiers and how Cotonity automatically manages throttling to keep your workflows running reliably.
HubSpot's rate limit structure
HubSpot enforces rate limits at multiple levels: a per-second burst limit (currently 100 requests per 10 seconds for most API endpoints), a daily limit that varies by HubSpot subscription tier, and endpoint-specific limits for high-volume APIs such as the Contacts import and Marketing Email send endpoints. HubSpot returns a 429 Too Many Requests response when a limit is hit, along with a Retry-After header indicating when the next request can be sent. Understanding which limits apply to your usage pattern is essential for designing reliable high-volume automations.
How Cotonity handles rate limits automatically
Cotonity includes a rate limit management layer that intercepts all HubSpot API calls from your workflows. It tracks request counts in real time, pre-emptively slows dispatch when approaching the per-second limit, and queues requests that would exceed the limit. When a 429 is returned, Cotonity parses the Retry-After header and retries the request at the appropriate time without failing the workflow. This transparent throttling means most workflows run without any rate limit errors even at high volumes, as long as the daily limit is not exceeded.
Monitoring your API usage
The API Usage Dashboard in Settings → HubSpot → API Usage shows your current daily request count, the remaining daily budget, and a chart of hourly usage over the past 7 days. You can also see a breakdown by workflow to identify which automations are the most API-intensive. If you are approaching your daily limit, Cotonity sends a warning notification at 80% and 95% usage. At 100% usage, Cotonity queues non-urgent requests for the next day and surfaces a banner in the dashboard.
Optimizing workflows to reduce API calls
The most effective way to reduce API consumption is to avoid redundant fetches. Cotonity caches contact and deal records fetched during a workflow run and reuses the cached values for subsequent actions within the same run, rather than re-fetching. For scheduled sync workflows, use incremental sync (fetching only records modified since the last run) instead of full sync. For bulk update workflows, prefer HubSpot's Batch Update endpoints — Cotonity uses these automatically when updating more than 10 records in a loop, reducing call count by up to 90%.