Usage limits

The Gmail API is subject to usage limits which restrict the rate at which methods of the API can be called. Limits are defined in terms of quota units, an abstract unit of measurement representing Gmail resource usage. There are two usage limits which are applied simultaneously: a per project usage limit and a per user usage limit. The following table details these usage limits:

Usage limit type Limit Exceeded reason
Per project rate limit 1,200,000 quota units per minute rateLimitExceeded
Per user rate limit 15,000 quota units per user per minute userRateLimitExceeded

Per-method quota usage

The number of quota units consumed by a request varies depending on the method called. The following table outlines the per-method quota unit usage:

Method Quota Units
drafts.create 10
drafts.delete 10
drafts.get 5
drafts.list 5
drafts.send 100
drafts.update 15
getProfile 1
history.list 2
labels.create 5
labels.delete 5
labels.get 1
labels.list 1
labels.update 5
messages.attachments.get 5
messages.batchDelete 50
messages.batchModify 50
messages.delete 10
messages.get 5
messages.import 25
messages.insert 25
messages.list 5
messages.modify 5
messages.send 100
messages.trash 5
messages.untrash 5
settings.delegates.create 100
settings.delegates.delete 5
settings.delegates.get 1
settings.delegates.list 1
settings.filters.create 5
settings.filters.delete 5
settings.filters.get 1
settings.filters.list 1
settings.forwardingAddresses.create 100
settings.forwardingAddresses.delete 5
settings.forwardingAddresses.get 1
settings.forwardingAddresses.list 1
settings.getAutoForwarding 1
settings.getImap 1
settings.getPop 1
settings.getVacation 1
settings.sendAs.create 100
settings.sendAs.delete 5
settings.sendAs.get 1
settings.sendAs.list 1
settings.sendAs.update 100
settings.sendAs.verify 100
settings.updateAutoForwarding 5
settings.updateImap 5
settings.updatePop 100
settings.updateVacation 5
stop 50
threads.delete 20
threads.get 10
threads.list 10
threads.modify 10
threads.trash 10
threads.untrash 10
watch 100