Working with API Credits

What are API Credits?

API credits in Zoho Desk work like a usage meter, tracking how many API calls you make and ensuring the system stays fast and reliable for everyone.

Every time you perform an API call, it consumes credits. The number of credits used depends on the complexity of the action; simple requests use fewer credits, while heavier operations consume more. This system helps balance performance, prevent overuse, and maintain smooth operations across all accounts.

In Zoho Desk, API credits are consumed whenever your account interacts with the system via the API, whether directly or through integrations. For example, syncing ticket details with Zoho CRM, fetching shipment updates through a Marketplace extension, and displaying real-time dashboards all use credits. In other words, any API-driven action, manual or automated, draws from your daily credit limit.

API credits apply only to external API calls made through integrations, extensions, custom apps, SDKs, and backend services. API actions performed through the Zoho Desk web UI, the Zoho Desk mobile app, or Radar’s web UI do not consume API credits, and agent or customer activity within these interfaces will not count toward daily usage.

Where can I view credit consumption?

Go to the Setup page.
Under Developer Space, click APIs. The API Details page will open.

Throughout this page, you can find the following:

Daily API credit usage, including base credits, variable credits, and additional credits.
The percentage of credits used on that particular day
API plan details according to the Zoho Desk edition used by your organization.

The org ID, credits allotted for the day, and the concurrency limit will be displayed.

Types of API Credits and their limits

You can easily track your credit usage in this section. It provides a detailed breakdown showing how many credits have already been consumed and how many are still available for use.

Base credits

The number of base credits allocated to each organization depends on the edition they have purchased. These base credits may vary from one edition to another.

Variable credits

Variable credits depend on the number of agents in your organization and the plan you are using. These are added on top of your base credits to ensure your API capacity scales with your team size and usage needs.

Additional credits

The credits you’ve purchased in addition to your base and variable allocation, specifically to meet your business’s growing API usage needs. These extra credits give you the flexibility to handle higher workloads without hitting your daily limits.

If you need additional credits, you can reach out to our support team for assistance.

Concurrency and limits

In addition to API credits, Zoho Desk enforces a concurrency limit to ensure fair usage and maintain consistent service availability across all organizations.

What is the concurrency limit

The concurrency limit in Zoho Desk refers to the maximum number of API requests that can be active (running) at the same time from a portal. This means if you have too many simultaneous requests, new ones will be rejected until some of the active ones are completed.

You can find the concurrency credits on the API details page.

The concurrency limit applies only to OAuth-based API calls, such as those made through external integrations, SDKs, custom apps, extensions, or backend services. It does not apply to API actions triggered through the Zoho Desk web UI, meaning agent or customer activity within the Desk interface will not count toward concurrency usage.

Concurrency limits based on Zoho Desk edition

Edition	Concurrency Limits
Free/Trial period	5
Express	10
Standard	10
Professional	15
Enterprise/Zoho One/ CRM Plus	25

This limit is tied to the Org ID, and not to individual OAuth clients, users, or access tokens.

How the concurrency limit applies

Organization-wide limit
The concurrency cap depends on the Zoho Desk edition being used. All OAuth-authenticated API requests from any client or integration count toward this limit.
Not applied per OAuth client or per access token
If you use multiple OAuth clients or generate multiple tokens, they all draw from the same concurrency pool.
Applies to all API calls authenticated via OAuth
Whether you call APIs using SDKs, custom apps, extensions, backend servers, or third-party integrations, every OAuth-authenticated request contributes to the limit.
Not applicable to the Zoho Desk UI
Actions performed by agents or customers directly in the Desk web interface do not count toward concurrency usage. Even in large setups with hundreds of agents, UI activity will not affect your integration’s concurrency capacity.
Not API-specific
The limit applies collectively across all Desk APIs. For example, simultaneous calls across Tickets, Contacts, Search, or any other module count together.

What happens if you exceed the limit

Incoming requests will be throttled (rejected), depending on system load.
API responses may indicate concurrency limit violations.
Normal behavior resumes automatically once ongoing requests decrease.

Zoho Desk does not enforce any request rate limits per access token. Access tokens are valid for 1 hour, after which they must be refreshed.

Allotment of API Credits

Your Zoho Desk edition comes with a fixed number of base API credits, plus additional credits based on the number of users in your account (excluding light agents). Once you’ve used up your total (base + user) credits, you can buy more, up to a maximum limit set for your edition. The table below shows the exact limits for each edition.

Edition	Base credits	Variable credits per agent
Free	5,000	0
Express	25,000	100
Standard	50,000	250
Professional	75,000	500
Enterprise	100,000	1,000
Zoho Bundle (Zoho One, CRM Plus and Service Plus)	100,000	1,000

For example, let’s say you’re running a customer support portal in the Professional edition of Zoho Desk with 200 active agents. Your team uses APIs to pull ticket data into a custom dashboard, sync records with your CRM, and update ticket fields in bulk. By default, you receive 50,000 base credits for your edition. In addition, each agent (excluding light agents) contributes 250 credits, which adds up to another 50,000 credits for 200 agents. Altogether, your team has 100,000 credits, providing ample capacity to support your daily API activities and integrations efficiently.

Credits reset every 24 hours. The 24-hour window runs from 00:00 to 23:59:59, based on the timezone of your data center.

API credits can be purchased up to the specified maximum limit and are valid only for that day. Unused credits will expire after the 24-hour period ends.

Points to note when you run out of credits

New API requests will be denied until the next reset cycle.
Existing automated processes that rely on APIs may stop running.
Agents or admins will be notified if the usage reaches the predefined threshold set through API Alerts.

You can either wait for the next reset or purchase additional credits (if available for your plan).

Additional API Credits

If you run out of your base + user credits, you can buy more (if available for your plan).

Requirements

Must be the super admin
Must be on a paid plan

When can you purchase add-on credits

You can purchase additional API credits in either of the following ways from the Zoho Store:

1. While buying or upgrading your plan

When you purchase a new paid plan or upgrade your existing plan to a paid one, you can add API credits during the checkout process.

2. As a standalone add-on (paid plans only)
If you are already on a paid plan, you can purchase API credits separately as a standalone add-on, without changing your current plan.

Notes When purchasing credits, you can select between 1,000 and 5,000,000 credits per transaction.

A maximum of 5,000,000 (5 million) additional credits can be purchased.

Best practices

Avoid Unnecessary API Calls – Only trigger API requests when the data truly needs to be updated or retrieved.
Monitor Usage – Track your current API credit balance in the Zoho Desk admin console to ensure you don’t run out.

For more details, refer to the API documentation.