# Account Limits

Understand resource limits and how to request increases for your projects.

## What are Account Limits?

Account limits are restrictions on the number of resources you can create per project. They help:

- Prevent abuse and spam
- Ensure platform stability
- Manage resource allocation
- Control costs

Limits are **per project**, not per account.

## Default Limits

Every new project on the **Starter** (default) tier starts with these limits. Higher account tiers raise these limits.

| Resource Type | Default Limit |
|--------------|---------------|
| VPS Instances | 3 |
| Database Instances | 5 |
| Cache Instances | 5 |
| Firewalls | 10 |
| SSH Keys | 25 |
| Snapshots | 50 per instance |
| Team Members | 10 |
| Projects per User | 5 |

## Viewing Your Limits

Check current limits and usage:

1. Navigate to **Account Limits** in the main menu
2. View all limits for the current project
3. See current usage vs. limit for each resource
4. Visual progress bars show utilization

### Usage Display

For each resource type, you'll see:
- **Current Usage**: How many you're using now
- **Limit**: Maximum allowed
- **Percentage**: Usage as a percentage
- **Status**: Color-coded indicator
  - 🟢 Green: Under 70% usage
  - 🟡 Yellow: 70-90% usage
  - 🔴 Red: 90-100% usage

## What Happens When You Hit a Limit?

When you reach a limit:

1. **Creation Blocked**: You cannot create more of that resource
2. **Error Message**: Clear message explaining the limit
3. **Request Option**: Link to request an increase
4. **Existing Resources**: Continue working normally

**Example**: If you have 3 VPS instances (the Starter limit) and try to create a 4th, you'll see:

```
You've reached the limit of 3 VPS instances for this project.
Please request a limit increase or delete unused instances.
```

## Requesting Limit Increases

Need more resources? Request an increase:

### How to Request

1. Go to **Account Limits**
2. Find the resource type you need to increase
3. Click **Request Increase**
4. Fill out the form:
   - **Resource Type**: Pre-filled
   - **Current Limit**: Shown for reference
   - **Requested Limit**: Enter your desired limit
   - **Justification**: Explain why you need the increase
5. Click **Submit Request**

### Justification Tips

Be specific and provide context:

**Good Examples**:
- "Expanding production deployment from 5 to 15 microservices"
- "Onboarding 3 new major clients, need 20 database instances"
- "Scaling read operations, need 8 database replicas"

**Poor Examples**:
- "Need more"
- "Testing"
- "Just in case"

### Review Process

1. **Submission**: Request submitted immediately
2. **Review**: Our team reviews within 24-48 hours
3. **Decision**: Approved or denied with feedback
4. **Notification**: Email notification of decision
5. **Applied**: If approved, new limit applied immediately

### Approval Factors

We consider:

- **Account Age**: Established accounts get priority
- **Payment History**: Good standing helps
- **Current Usage**: Are you using existing resources?
- **Justification**: Clear business need
- **Request Size**: Reasonable increases approved faster
- **Resource Type**: Some resources easier to increase

### Common Approval Scenarios

**Usually Approved**:
- 2-3x current limit
- Clear business justification
- Good account standing
- Reasonable resource request

**May Require Discussion**:
- 5x+ current limit
- Very new accounts
- Payment issues
- Vague justification

**Typically Denied**:
- Speculative "just in case" requests
- No clear justification
- Recent account with no usage
- Outstanding payment issues

## Managing Within Limits

Can't wait for approval? Optimize your usage:

### VPS Instances

**Consolidate**:
- Use containers instead of separate VPS
- Run multiple services per VPS
- Use orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)

**Clean Up**:
- Delete unused development/test instances
- Remove old staging environments
- Archive old projects

### Database Instances

**Optimize**:
- Use one database with multiple schemas
- Share databases across applications
- Use read replicas instead of separate instances

**Clean Up**:
- Remove unused test databases
- Archive old project databases
- Consolidate similar databases

### Cache Instances

**Consolidate**:
- Use Redis databases (0-15 per instance)
- Share cache instance across applications
- Use key prefixes for separation

**Clean Up**:
- Remove development cache instances
- Delete unused staging caches

### Firewalls

**Reuse**:
- One firewall can attach to multiple instances
- Create shared firewalls for common use cases
- Use templates for similar configurations

**Clean Up**:
- Delete unused firewalls
- Consolidate similar firewalls

### Snapshots

**Manage**:
- Delete old snapshots regularly
- Keep only necessary recovery points
- Use automated cleanup policies

## Limit Increase Pricing

**Limit increases are free**. There's no charge for raising your limits.

You only pay for the resources you actually use, not for the limit itself.

**Example**: 
- Default limit: 10 databases
- Increased to: 50 databases
- You create: 12 databases
- You pay for: 12 databases only

## Project-Specific Limits

Limits are per project, so:

- Each project has independent limits
- Creating a new project gives you a fresh set of limits
- Use multiple projects to separate resources

**Example**:
- **Production Project**: 10/10 VPS used
- **Development Project**: 2/10 VPS used
- **Total Across Projects**: 12 VPS possible

## Higher Tiers

Beyond the Starter defaults, accounts can be moved to the **Professional** or **Enterprise** tier, which raise your resource limits significantly. For reference, the Enterprise tier allows up to:

- 50 VPS instances
- 100 database instances
- 100 cache instances
- 20 replicas per database

If you need limits at this scale, request an increase from the **Account Limits** page or contact support through the dashboard to discuss the right tier for your account.

## Temporary Limit Increases

Need a short-term increase?

### Scenarios
- Load testing
- Product launch
- Seasonal traffic spike
- Migration from another provider

### Request Process
1. Submit increase request as normal
2. In justification, mention it's temporary
3. Specify the duration needed
4. We can approve temporary increases faster

### Post-Event
- Reduce resources after event
- Limits may be adjusted back down
- Contact support to discuss

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Why do limits exist?

Limits prevent:
- Accidental runaway resource creation
- Cost overruns
- Platform abuse
- Resource exhaustion

They ensure platform reliability for all users.

### Can I get instant limit increases?

For security and stability, all increases require review.

### What if I need resources urgently?

1. Optimize current usage first
2. Submit request with "urgent" in justification
3. Contact support via dashboard

### Do limits reset?

No. Once increased, limits stay at the higher level unless:
- You request a decrease
- Temporary increase expires
- Account issues require adjustment

### Can I decrease my limits?

Yes, contact support. However, there's no benefit since limits are free.

### Do limits apply to snapshots?

Yes, 50 snapshots per instance (VPS, database, or cache). Total across all instances in a project can be much higher.

### Are there bandwidth limits?

No bandwidth limits — egress traffic is pooled per team, with 20 TB included per VPS instance, 1 TB per storage bucket, and 1 TB per serverless container. Overage is billed at EUR 1.00/TB.

### Are there API rate limits?

Yes. Limits scale with your account tier — starting at 2,000 requests per hour and rising to 100,000 per hour on higher tiers.

See [API Rate Limits](https://docs.danubedata.ro/api-rate-limits) for details.

## Best Practices

### Plan Ahead
- Request increases before you need them
- Allow 24-48 hours for review
- Don't wait until you're blocked

### Be Realistic
- Request what you need, not arbitrary numbers
- Easier to get multiple small increases than one huge increase
- Show gradual growth

### Clean Up Regularly
- Delete unused resources weekly
- Review usage monthly
- Keep within 70% of limits when possible

### Use Multiple Projects
- Separate production and development
- Independent limits per project
- Better organization

### Document Growth
- Track resource usage over time
- Forecast future needs
- Use data to justify increases

## Monitoring Your Limits

The **Account Limits** page shows live usage against each limit with color-coded progress bars, so you can see when you're approaching a cap and request an increase before you're blocked.

## Next Steps

- [View Your Current Limits](/account-limits)
- [Project Management](https://docs.danubedata.ro/account-projects)
- [Billing Overview](https://docs.danubedata.ro/billing-overview)
- [Contact Support](https://console.danubedata.ro/support)

Need higher limits? [Request an increase now](/account-limits).