As the Google Drive API is a shared service, we apply quotas and limitations to make sure it's used fairly by all users and to protect the overall performance of the Google Workspace system.
Notifications delivered to the address specified when
opening a notification channel don't count against your quota limits. However,
calls to the changes.watch,
channels.stop, and
files.watch methods do count against
your quota.
If you exceed a quota, you'll receive a 403: User rate limit
exceeded
HTTP status code response. Additional rate limit checks on the
Drive backend might also generate a 429: Too many
requests
response. If this happens, you should use an exponential backoff
algorithm and try again later. Provided you stay within the
per-minute quotas below, there's no limit to the number of requests you can make
per day.
The following table details the query limits:
| Quotas | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queries |
|
||||
Resolve time-based quota errors
For all time-based errors (maximum of N requests per X minutes), we recommend your code catches the exception and, using an exponential backoff algorithm, implement a small delay before trying again. If requests are still unsuccessful, it's important the delays between requests increase over time until the request is successful. Generally, you should use a truncated exponential backoff. To learn how to use exponential backoff, go to Retry strategy.
Pricing
All use of the Google Drive API is available at no additional cost. Exceeding the quota request limits doesn't incur extra charges and your account is not billed.
Request a quota increase
Depending on your project's resource usage, you might want to request a quota increase. API calls by a service account are considered to be using a single account, so you might need a higher per-user, per-project quota in that scenario. Applying for an increased quota doesn't guarantee approval. Large quota increases can take longer to be approved.
Not all projects have the same quotas. As you increasingly use Google Cloud over time, your quotas might need to increase. If you expect a notable upcoming increase in usage, you can proactively request quota adjustments from the Quotas page in the Google Cloud console.
To learn more, see the following resources: