How to avoid free tier abuse?

I’ve dealt with similar issues when offering a free tier for our impact API at 1ClickImpact. Abuse is inevitable when there’s no friction, and rotating API keys across multiple accounts is a classic move.

A few things that might help before going fully request-only:

Email/domain verification – Require a work email or limit free-tier signups from disposable email providers.
Rate limiting per IP – Helps prevent abuse from the same origin.
Usage-based escalation – Instead of outright banning, flag suspicious usage and require manual approval for further access.
Requiring a payment method – Even if you don’t charge, it reduces abuse significantly.

Going request-only will definitely filter out abusers, but it could also slow down organic adoption. Maybe A/B test it for a week and see how it affects conversions?

Would love to hear what you decide!

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I’ve dealt with similar issues when offering a free tier for our impact API at 1ClickImpact. Abuse is inevitable when there’s no friction, and rotating API keys across multiple accounts is a classic move.

A few things that might help before going fully request-only:
1. Email/domain verification – Require a work email or limit free-tier signups from disposable email providers.
2. Rate limiting per IP – Helps prevent abuse from the same origin.
3. Usage-based escalation – Instead of outright banning, flag suspicious usage and require manual approval for further access.
4. Requiring a payment method – Even if you don’t charge, it reduces abuse significantly.
Going request-only will definitely filter out abusers, but it could also slow down organic adoption. Maybe A/B test it for a week and see how it affects conversions?

Would love to hear what you decide!
1clickimpact

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2 years ago
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