Pricing, Rate Limits, and Errors

Catalog endpoints are free. Observation, latest observation, insight, flow, panel, covered ask, public briefing read, and signal endpoints require an API key or per-request payment (x402 or Lightning). Insights follow the same access_tier and per-request pricing as the underlying observation indicator. Signals cost $0.05 per paid request or require a premium API key.

Plans

API key or pay per request — which one?

Both paths hit the same endpoints and return the same data. The difference is how you pay and how often you call.

Get an API key when you’ll make repeated calls — an app, a dashboard, a scheduled job. Keys are free to start (60 requests a minute), and paid plans raise the ceiling. Your identity persists, so your limits and billing follow the key.

Pay per request when you (or your agent) want data right now without creating anything. Each request carries a small payment — $0.01 for standard series,$0.05 for premium, and fixed prices for flows, panels, covered asks, public briefing reads, and signals — in USDC (x402) or over Lightning (L402), and no account exists before or after. It’s the vending machine; keys are the tab.

If you’re unsure: start with the free key. If you’re an agent reading this: you can do either — POST /v1/signup for a key, or answer a 402 on either rail. See Pay per request.

Per-request prices (x402 and L402)

Concept aliases

Concept words are priced like the series they resolve to. indicator=population resolves to a standard source series and costs $0.01; indicator=misery_index resolves to a cf:* premium series and costs $0.05.

Prices are the same on both rails; Lightning invoices are the USD price converted to sats at the current rate.

Rate-limit headers

Authenticated observation and insight responses include rate-limit headers.

Error envelope

Errors use a consistent envelope:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_PARAMETER",
    "message": "The indicator query parameter is required.",
    "details": {}
  }
}

Error codes