Usage limits

The Gmail API is subject to a daily usage limit, that applies to all requests made from your application, and per-user rate limits. Each limit is identified in terms of quota units, or an abstract unit of measurement representing Gmail resource usage. The following table details the main request limits:

API limit type Limit
Per user rate limit 250 quota units per user per second, moving average (allows short bursts).

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.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