A: Hello,

Thank you for your question — I’m happy to clarify this for you.

The monthly plan includes 5,000 search credits, but we also apply a daily search limit specifically for users accessing SmatLeads through our shared (default) API. This was introduced recently because we noticed a few users heavily abusing the shared API, which affected performance and reliability for everyone.
To keep the system stable and fair, we implemented daily caps only for users relying on SmatLeads’ default API.

However, if you connect your own API keys, you are not affected by these limits — you can use SmatLeads without daily restrictions and fully control your usage.

Regarding your own API:

When you create and connect your own API, you will receive 90 days of free usage directly from the provider.

After the 90 days, you continue to get free monthly credits from the provider.

You only pay a small amount if you become a very heavy user.
Most moderate users never exceed the free allotment, so they end up paying nothing additional.

Your SmatLeads plan credits (e.g., the 5,000 monthly searches) are still fully usable; they simply help manage overall monthly usage. For example, even using only 2 searches per day would exhaust the 5,000 credits before 30 days, so the credit system remains relevant independent of daily API safety limits.

If you'd like, I can also walk you through how to add your own API for unlimited daily searches.

Let me know — I’m happy to help!