Transitioning to API Credits in Zoho Desk

At Zoho Desk, we’re always looking for ways to help keep your business operations running smoothly. This includes empowering teams that rely on APIs for essential integrations, functions and extensions. We’ve reimagined how API usage is measured to give teams more control, and now we're introducing API credits to deliver an efficient, flexible, and reliable way to manage and scale your team's usage.

The old API limit model didn’t reflect actual resource usage because every call was counted the same, whether it was a simple fetch or a complex operation. The new API credit system changes this by scaling your allotment of credits based on both edition and team size. Credits are then consumed based on call complexity to ensure effective usage, optimal resource allocation, and steady performance across business operations.

This change will offer many advantages for teams that rely on Zoho Desk APIs. Here are some additional details.

Why this change benefits you  

• The system offers greater flexibility for both lightweight and resource-intensive workloads.
• Developers can manage high-cost and low-cost APIs in balance, without rigid limitations.
• The model makes it easier to scale and adopt new APIs as they become available.

In practice, this gives you more control over your API usage, while also ensuring that the platform remains reliable and fast for all users.

How your API Credits are structured  

Every organization will have three ways to receive API credits:

• Base credits: Automatically included with your Zoho Desk edition
• Variable credits: Scaled according to the number of agents in your account
• Additional credits: Available for purchase when you need extra capacity

For example, a Professional edition account starts with 75,000 base credits, plus 500 variable credits per agent. Enterprise, Zoho One, and CRM Plus accounts begin with 100,000 base credits, plus 1,000 per agent.

This structure ensures your daily capacity always reflects the size and activity level of your organization.

Understanding your API Credit allotment

Your Zoho Desk edition comes with a fixed number of base API credits, plus additional credits based on the number of agent in your account, excluding light agents. This calculation ensures your capacity is always aligned with your business size and activities. 

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

The system offers you flexible options to purchase extra credits as your usage grows.

Viewing credit usage details

We're also making it easier to keep an eye on your API credit usage. On the API details page, you'll find a detailed breakdown of your daily API credit usage, including base, variable, and any additional credits, along with the percentage used for the day. You’ll also see your API plan details, Org. ID, total credits allotted for the day, and your concurrency limit.

API Credits: What to expect next

We are committed to avoiding any impact on your ongoing business operations by ensuring that the existing process using API limits will be grandfathered (retained and continued without change). Our team has carefully analyzed usage patterns to make the transition as seamless as possible. We understand that changes like these may raise questions, so if you have a specific use case where you feel this transition might affect your setup, we are eager to listen, guide you, and provide the right solutions.

Rollout timeline  

The API credit system will be introduced gradually, data center by data center, starting on or after October 06, 2025. Once in place, it will give you more flexibility, better performance, and a usage model that scales with your day to day business functioning.

This change is designed to give you the confidence that your integrations and other business processes will continue to perform reliably, now and in the future.

Update: API Credits are now live (October 08, 2025)

The API Credit system is now live across all data centers. As part of this rollout, Zoho Desk has officially switched from the older API limit model to the new API credit model.

For existing paid users, credits will be grandfathered. This means the system will operate under API credits, but the number of credits allotted will match whichever model—API limits or API credits—provides higher API capacity. This ensures that all current users continue to enjoy the maximum available capacity with no disruption to ongoing operations.

From October 30, 2025 onward, all new sign-ups will be onboarded directly under the API credit model, and existing accounts will fully transition by the same date.

We understand how important smooth, uninterrupted operations are. As part of this transition, our team is carefully monitoring API usage patterns and making adjustments to credit allocations where needed to keep everything running seamlessly. If you'd like to learn more or have any questions, we're always here to help.

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