- What: Default rate limits, CPS caps, concurrent call thresholds, and feature limits for your Plivo account
- Key defaults: Outbound CPS = 2, Inbound CPS = 10, max call duration = 4 hours, conference max = 20 participants
- India-specific: Concurrent calls capped at CPS × 25 (so 2 CPS = max 50 concurrent calls)
- API rate limit: 300 requests per 5 seconds for both call and non-call APIs
- To increase limits: Contact Plivo Sales. Requires minimum commitment
Understanding CPS vs Concurrent Calls
Two important concepts for voice call capacity:| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| CPS (Calls Per Second) | Rate at which new calls can be initiated |
| Concurrent Calls | Total number of calls active at the same time |
Key difference: CPS limits how fast you can start calls. Concurrent calls is how many calls can be active simultaneously.
Global (outside India)
| Limit Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Outbound CPS | 2 | Can be increased |
| Inbound CPS | 10 | Can be increased |
| Concurrent Calls | No limit | Only CPS limits apply |
India
India has additional concurrency limits. Calls that exceed the limit are rejected immediately with error code 5030 (Concurrency Limit Breached).
| Limit Type | Calculation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Outbound CPS | Default: 2 | — |
| Concurrent Calls | CPS × 25 | 2 CPS = 50 concurrent calls max |
Outbound Call API limits
By default, all accounts come with a limit of two calls per second. All outbound Call API requests are queued upon acceptance, then dequeued and initiated as per the calls per second (CPS) configured for your Plivo account.SIP/browser calls and inbound calls to Plivo numbers
Inbound CPS refers to the limitation on outbound calls from SIP and browser clients and inbound calls to Plivo numbers. (These are all called Inbound CPS because outgoing call requests from SIP and browser clients are also inbound requests to Plivo.) The default Inbound CPS limit is 10. Here are three scenarios that show how Inbound CPS limits might apply. In all three, only 10 calls per second will be processed; the rest will be rejected. Scenario 1 Outbound SIP/browser calls: 11 callsInbound calls to Plivo numbers: 0 calls Scenario 2 Outbound SIP/browser calls: 0 calls
Inbound calls to Plivo numbers: 11 calls Scenario 3 Outbound SIP/browser calls: 5 calls
Inbound calls to Plivo numbers: 6 calls
Make-call API limits
By default, Plivo limits all accounts to 300 API requests per five seconds. This limit is for below APIs:- Make an Outbound Call API
- Add a Participant to a multiparty call using API
Non-call API limits
By default, Plivo limits all accounts to 300 API requests per five seconds. This limit is for all APIs excluding those that initiate a call:- All Call APIs (except “initiate a call”)
- All Recording APIs
- All Conference APIs
- All Endpoint APIs
- All Application APIs
Feature-level limits
In addition to the account-level limits, Plivo has some feature-level limits.Time limit for calls
The default maximum duration for outbound and inbound calls connected using Make a Call API and Dial XML is four hours starting from the time a call is answered. You can extend the limit to 86,400 seconds (24 hours).Call recordings
By default, the maximum duration for call recordings is 60 seconds. For calls that you record using Record API or Record XML, the maximum recording duration is 24 hours.Conference calls
Two limits have to do with conference calls.- Participants: You can have a maximum of 20 participants in a conference room. You can set the maxMembers to be between 1 to 20.
- Duration: The maximum duration for a conference is 86,400 seconds (24 hours). A conference call will get disconnected after 24 hours.
Voice transcriptions
You can transcribe a call using the Record API, Record Conference API, Record XML, and Conference XML.- Duration: Our transcription service is limited to calls with a duration greater than 5 seconds and less than four hours.
- Recording file size: The maximum recording file size is 2GB.