GitLab.com is updating its rate limiting system to ensure platform stability as demand increases. Starting October 19, 2026, rate limits will be tied to subscription tiers for Free, Premium, and Ultimate accounts. Free and unauthenticated requests will be affected first, with Premium and Ultimate limits aligning in January 2027. Limits will apply per user and per top-level group.Authenticated requests will utilize the higher limits associated with your subscription plan. Unauthenticated requests are restricted to 60 per hour per IP address. Preview windows, also known as brownouts, will occur on October 7 and 14 for free and unauthenticated traffic to allow users to test under new limits.Most users will not experience changes as they are already within the new limits, which are comparable to industry standards. To avoid hitting limits, users are advised to authenticate their requests using tokens. Optimizing API calls through batching, caching, and pagination can also help.Upgrading to Premium or Ultimate will increase these limits, and GitLab is exploring options for purchasing additional capacity. These changes primarily target heavy automation and a small number of free-tier workloads, not ordinary user interactions. GitLab Self-Managed and GitLab Dedicated platforms are not affected by this change. If you are close to a limit and cannot authenticate, or if your project is public and busy, consider making it private, upgrading, or contacting GitLab at [email protected].