---
title: "What is an Instagram API rate limit?"
description: "What is an Instagram API rate limit? Meta's limits on private replies and DMs, what happens on a viral post, and how tools queue the overflow."
url: https://replyrep.io/glossary/rate-limit
updated: 2026-10-19
---

# What is an Instagram API rate limit?

A rate limit is the maximum number of API calls Meta lets an app make for an Instagram account in a set time. For DM automation the key one is 750 private replies per hour per account for post and reel comments. Calls over the limit don't go through, so tools like ReplyRep queue the overflow and send it as the limit allows.

## What are Instagram's API rate limits?

Meta publishes limits per Instagram professional account. These are the ones that matter for DM automation:

*Per Instagram professional account, from Meta's developer documentation, October 2026.*

| What | Meta's limit |
| --- | --- |
| Private replies to post and reel comments | 750 calls per hour |
| Private replies to Live comments | 100 calls per second |
| Messages with text, links, reactions, stickers | 100 or 300 calls per second (Meta's pages disagree) |
| Messages with audio or video | 10 calls per second |
| Conversations API | 2 calls per second |
| Inbox volume | Above 72,000 messages sent and received, new messages pause until volume drops |

## What happens to a rate limit on a viral post?

Say a reel draws 3,000 keyword comments in its first hour. At 750 private replies an hour, answering all of them takes about four hours. That is fine under Meta's rules, since a private reply can go out up to 7 days after the comment. The risk is a tool that drops anything over the limit, so commenter 3,000 never gets the DM commenter one got.

## Why do rate limits exist?

They protect people from spam and Meta's systems from overload. Meta's Developer Policies ban bots acting at very high frequencies, and say messaging experiences with excessive negative feedback may be rate-limited, paused or removed.

## How does ReplyRep handle rate limits?

On Lite and up, the Excess DM Queue holds everything over Meta's limit in order and drains as fast as Meta allows, and SendBack goes back for interactions that were skipped or delayed. See the [viral post DM queue](https://replyrep.io/features/viral-post-dm-queue), [how to handle a viral Instagram post](https://replyrep.io/guides/how-to-handle-a-viral-instagram-post) and the full list of [Instagram DM limits](https://replyrep.io/guides/instagram-dm-limits).

**Be ready for the viral night** Every commenter gets their DM, in order, even when Meta's limit kicks in.

## Related terms

- [Private reply](https://replyrep.io/glossary/private-reply): the message type the 750 per hour limit applies to.
- [Instagram Graph API](https://replyrep.io/glossary/instagram-graph-api): the API these limits govern.

Sources:
- [Meta: Instagram Platform overview](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/instagram-platform/overview)
- [Meta: Messenger Platform rate limits](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/messenger-platform/overview/rate-limiting)
- [Meta: Messenger Platform changelog](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/messenger-platform/changelog)
- [Meta: Graph API rate limiting](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/graph-api/overview/rate-limiting)
- [Meta: Developer Policies](https://developers.facebook.com/devpolicy/)

## Frequently asked questions

### How many DMs can I send per hour on Instagram?

Through Meta's API, an app can send 750 private replies per hour per account to post and reel comments. Replies inside conversations have much higher per-second limits. A tool should queue anything over the limit rather than drop it.

### Will hitting the rate limit get my account banned?

Meta's rate limits cap how fast an app can send, and a tool that queues to stay inside them is working within Meta's published rules. Spam is a separate matter: Meta's policies ban bots acting at very high frequencies, and messaging that gets excessive negative feedback may be limited or removed.

### Why do Meta's pages give different message limits?

Meta's Instagram Platform overview says 100 calls per second for text, links, reactions and stickers. Its Messenger Platform rate limit page and an October 2024 changelog entry say 300. Both agree on 10 per second for audio or video.

### What is the 72,000 message limit?

Meta says that if an Instagram professional account sends and receives more than 72,000 messages, new messages stop showing in the Instagram inbox and the account cannot send new ones until volume decreases. Meta does not state the time period.

Last updated 2026-10-19. Source: https://replyrep.io/glossary/rate-limit