Short answer
Rate limits cap how many actions an account or app can take in a period, such as reading, posting, following and messaging; X uses them against spam and scraping, and its API applies separate limits per endpoint.
Key takeaways
- Daily posting is capped around 2,400 posts including replies; follows and DMs have caps too.
- In July 2023 X briefly capped how many posts accounts could read per day.
- API limits depend on your plan; X moved to pay-per-use pricing in 2026.
Every large platform limits how fast accounts can act. X's limits became famous in July 2023, when ordinary users suddenly couldn't read their timelines. Here's how the limits work.
Why does X limit actions?
To slow spam, stop scraping and keep the servers stable.
Without limits, one bot could post thousands of times an hour or download the whole site. Limits make abuse expensive and keep normal use smooth.
What are the account limits?
Posts, follows, messages and some reading actions each have caps.
| Action | Documented limit |
|---|---|
| Posts (incl. replies, reposts) | 2,400 per day, split into semi-hourly limits |
| Follows | 400 per day; ratio limits after 5,000 follows |
| Direct messages | Daily cap (historically 500 per day) |
| Account email changes | A few per hour |
X adjusts these without much notice, so treat the numbers as guides. Accounts that look automated can be limited sooner.
What happened in July 2023?
X briefly capped how many posts people could read per day, citing scraping.
Verified accounts could read 6,000 posts a day, unverified 600 and new accounts 300; within a day the caps rose to 10,000, 1,000 and 500. The visible error, "Rate limit exceeded", became a meme. The caps were relaxed in the following weeks, but the login wall stayed. If you're seeing the error now, follow our fix guide.
How do API limits work?
Each API endpoint has its own request limit per time window, and in 2026 X moved most developers to pay-per-use pricing.
The free API tier was effectively ended in February 2026 except for public-utility apps; Basic and Pro plans remained with a pay-per-use option. Details in the X API explained.
Questions people ask
How many posts can I make per day on X?
X has long documented a limit of 2,400 posts per day, broken into smaller semi-hourly limits. Replies and reposts count.
How many accounts can I follow?
X documents a daily follow limit of 400 and a ratio rule after 5,000 follows: beyond that, how many more you can follow depends on your number of followers.
What were the 2023 reading limits?
In July 2023 X capped daily post views at first 6,000 for verified, 600 for unverified and 300 for new accounts, then raised them to 10,000, 1,000 and 500. The caps were later relaxed.