Zapier MCP provides access to thousands of apps and actions through the Model Context Protocol. This guide explains how usage is tracked, what limits apply, and how billing works.

Beta Status: Zapier MCP is currently in beta and part of your existing Zapier Plan.

Key Concepts

What counts as a tool call?

A tool call in Zapier MCP is any operation that interacts with an external app:

  • ✅ Sending a Slack message
  • ✅ Creating a Google Sheets row
  • ✅ Searching for emails in Gmail
  • ✅ Creating a task in Asana
  • ❌ Asking what tools are available
  • ❌ Getting help or documentation
  • ❌ Failed tool calls due to configuration errors

Beta Limits

During beta, all users have the following rate limits:

  • 80 tool calls per hour (rolling window)
  • 160 tool calls per day (rolling 24 hours)
  • 300 tool calls per month (calendar month)

Join the waitlist for higher limits when we exit beta.

Enterprise Users: Zapier MCP doesn’t currently support app and action restrictions on Enterprise accounts. If you’d still like to beta test Zapier MCP, reach out here.

How Usage is Calculated

What uses a tool call?

Each successful API call to an external service counts as one tool call:

Examples that use 1 tool call each:
- "Send a message to Slack"
- "Create a row in Google Sheets"
- "Find contacts in HubSpot"
- "Update a Notion page"

What doesn’t use a tool call?

These operations are free and don’t count against your limit:

  • Listing available tools
  • Authentication and setup
  • Viewing action history
  • Failed tool calls due to:
    • Invalid authentication
    • Missing required fields
    • Configuration errors

Batch Operations

Some operations may use multiple tool calls:

"Add 5 rows to a spreadsheet" = 5 tool calls
"Send emails to 3 people" = 3 tool calls
"Search and update 10 records" = 11 tool calls (1 search + 10 updates)

Monitoring Your Usage

Check Current Usage

Visit mcp.zapier.com to see usage across all servers.

Usage Notifications

Zapier will notify you when you approach rate limits. You’ll see clear error messages if you exceed any limit.

What Happens at the Limit?

When you reach any rate limit:

  1. Immediate Effect: New tool call requests will be declined
  2. Error Message: Your AI client will receive a clear error about the limit exceeded
  3. No Interruption: Your regular Zaps continue working normally

Options When You Hit the Limit

Rate limits use rolling windows:

  • Hourly limit: Wait up to 60 minutes
  • Daily limit: Wait up to 24 hours
  • Monthly limit: Resets on the 1st at 12:00 AM UTC

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Steps

Rate limits help ensure quality service for all beta users. If you consistently need more tool calls, consider joining the waitlist or converting repetitive MCP actions into automated Zaps.