Social Media API Rate Limits & Capabilities
Posting limits, publish / read / reply support and approval difficulty for every major social media API — in one searchable table, each row linked to the official docs.
Last updated June 2026 — always verify against official docs| Platform | Publishing rate limit | Publish | Read | Reply | Approval / setup | Docs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Instagram Graph API · Content Publishing |
100 posts / 24hRolling window per account; a carousel counts as 1 post. | Yes | Yes | Yes | HighApp Review + business/creator account linked to a Facebook Page. |
Official docs ↗ |
WhatsApp Cloud API (Business Platform) |
~80 msg / secDefault throughput (scales to 1,000/sec). Tiers cap unique customers/24h: 250 → 1K → 10K → 100K → unlimited. | N/A | Yes | Yes | MediumBusiness verification + template approval. No public feed. |
Official docs ↗ |
X (Twitter) X API v2 |
100 / 15 min (user)POST /2/tweets; ~10,000/24h per app. Monthly write caps vary by tier (Free ≈ 500/mo) — verify. | Yes | Yes | Yes | MediumInstant signup; paid tiers required for meaningful volume. |
Official docs ↗ |
TikTok Content Posting + Display API |
600 req / minDisplay API per endpoint. Content Posting daily cap not published — audit required, verify. | Yes | Yes | Partial | HighApp audit required to post publicly; unaudited posts are private only. |
Official docs ↗ |
Facebook Pages · Graph API |
4,800 × engaged users / 24hDynamic Page-level limit; no fixed posts-per-day cap. | Yes | Yes | Yes | MediumApp Review for pages_manage_posts and related scopes. |
Official docs ↗ |
LinkedIn Posts API · Community Mgmt |
App + member throttlesPer-app and per-member daily quotas — varies, check docs. | Yes | Yes | Yes | HighCommunity Management / partner approval; r_member_social is restricted. |
Official docs ↗ |
YouTube Data API v3 |
10,000 units / dayDefault quota. Upload (videos.insert) = 1,600 units ≈ 6 videos/day. Higher quota on request. | Yes | Yes | Yes | MediumAudit needed to lift upload limits; unverified apps upload as private. |
Official docs ↗ |
Threads Threads API (Meta) |
250 posts / 24hRolling window, plus 1,000 replies / 24h per profile. | Yes | Yes | Yes | LowSelf-serve for your own profile; lighter setup than Instagram. |
Official docs ↗ |
Reddit Reddit Data API |
100 QPM / OAuth clientFree tier; ~10 QPM unauthenticated. Commercial/high-volume needs a paid agreement. | Yes | Yes | Yes | MediumFree within limits; posting also bound by subreddit rules + account karma/age. |
Official docs ↗ |
Pinterest Pinterest API v5 |
Per-endpointLimits set per endpoint and differ for trial vs standard access — varies, check docs. | Yes | Yes | No | MediumTrial access is immediate; standard access requires app review. |
Official docs ↗ |
Telegram Bot API |
~30 msg / secGlobal per bot; ~1 msg/sec per chat and ~20 msgs/min to the same group. | Yes | Yes | Yes | LowCreate a bot token via BotFather — no review process. |
Official docs ↗ |
Discord Bot / REST API |
50 requests / secGlobal per bot; per-route limits returned in response headers. | Yes | Yes | Yes | LowBot token in seconds; verification required past 100 servers. |
Official docs ↗ |
Rate limits, access tiers and approval rules change often — these figures reflect each platform's official documentation as of June 2026. Items marked verify are not published as a single clear number (they depend on access tier, audit status or per-endpoint rules), so confirm them in the linked docs before you build. This reference is provided as-is, with no affiliation to the platforms listed.
Why this is hard (and how PlugKit helps)
Every row in that table is a separate SDK, OAuth flow, rate-limit budget and app-review queue. Wiring up even a handful of platforms means months of plumbing before a single automated post goes out — and the limits keep moving under you.
One request shape
Publish, read and reply across every connected platform with the same call — instead of learning a dozen different APIs.
Limits handled for you
PlugKit manages auth, formatting, retries and each platform's rate limits behind the scenes, so you don't babysit quotas.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the Instagram API rate limit for publishing?
The Instagram Content Publishing API limits each account to 100 API-published posts within a rolling 24-hour period. A carousel counts as a single post toward that limit.
Does the TikTok Content Posting API require approval to post publicly?
Yes. Content posted by unaudited TikTok API clients is restricted to private (SELF_ONLY) viewing. To publish public posts, your app must pass TikTok's Content Posting API audit. The Display API allows up to 600 requests per minute per endpoint.
How many videos can I upload per day with the YouTube Data API?
The YouTube Data API v3 gives each project a default quota of 10,000 units per day. A video upload (videos.insert) costs 1,600 units, so the default quota allows roughly 6 uploads per day. You can request a higher quota through Google.
What is the WhatsApp Cloud API messaging limit?
The WhatsApp Cloud API uses messaging tiers that cap how many unique customers a business can message in a rolling 24-hour window: 250, then 1K, 10K, 100K and finally unlimited, with automatic upgrades based on quality and volume. Default throughput is around 80 messages per second and can scale up to 1,000 per second.
Can an AI agent reply to DMs and comments through these APIs?
Most major platforms expose reply capabilities: Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Reddit, Telegram and Discord all let you reply to messages or comments via their APIs. Pinterest does not offer commenting or DMs through its API, and TikTok only offers limited comment management.
How often do social media API rate limits change?
Frequently. Platforms revise rate limits, access tiers and approval requirements several times a year (X and Reddit changed pricing and limits significantly in recent years). Always confirm the current numbers against each platform's official documentation before building.
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