Are you evaluating DMflow.chat’s plans? This article will detail DMflow.chat’s service rate limits (QPS), security considerations, and the key differences between the Free and Lite versions in terms of AI credits, database storage, and API integration. Through this complete guide, we assist enterprises in making the most precise choice based on their business scale.
For enterprises or developers seeking automated conversation solutions, the criteria for choosing a tool often lie not only in the number of features but also in the “stability” and “scalability” of the system. Imagine, when a marketing campaign brings massive traffic, can the system hold up? When business data volume surges, does the database still have space?
DMflow.chat has formulated a clear set of rules in this regard. These rules are not simply to limit users, but actually to ensure that every tenant can enjoy a safe and stable service experience in a shared resource environment. Next, this article will guide readers to understand the operating logic of this mechanism in detail from three aspects: security limits, quota differences, and future expansion flexibility.
1. Why Have Rate Limits? Looking at QPS Design from Security
Before discussing specific numbers, we must first understand a concept: QPS (Queries Per Second), which is the volume of message processing per second. This is like ramp control on a highway; to prevent traffic from instantly jamming and causing a full-line paralysis, moderate traffic control is necessary.
Protection Mechanism for Non-Hosted Channels
For channels where users need to provide their own token or secret, such as LINE, Telegram, or WhatsApp, DMflow.chat sets a rate limit of 5 times per second (5 QPS).
The reason behind this is quite pragmatic. Because the permissions of these channels are in the hands of the tenants, without this layer of restriction, malicious users might use these public endpoints to launch Denial of Service attacks (DDoS) or send large amounts of spam. This restriction acts like a firewall, protecting the overall health of the platform and ensuring that users who follow the rules are not implicated by the malicious behavior of their neighbors.
Advantages of Hosted Channels
In contrast, Facebook Messenger and Instagram adopt a Hosted Mode. Simply put, configuration and connection are uniformly managed by the DMflow.chat platform.
In this mode, the platform has higher control and optimization space, so these channels are not subject to the above QPS limits. This is a huge advantage for brands whose main customer base is concentrated on FB or IG, meaning that during live shopping or post reply activities, the system can carry higher instantaneous traffic without worrying about missing messages due to triggering limits.
Tip: If you are concerned about the rate limit for Web Chat, it is recommended to refer to the DMflow.chat Features page in the official documentation, where there will be more targeted explanations.
2. Free vs. Lite: A Huge Watershed in Core Resources
Many users new to DMflow.chat will start with the Free version, but as their business develops, they often find resources stretched thin. What exactly does the “Lite” upgrade offer? This is not just a difference between paid and unpaid, but a qualitative change in business capacity.
Leap in Data Processing Capability
The most significant difference is shown in the processing of Forms and Data. Although the Free version allows users to experience creating forms, a single form list is limited to 1,000 entries. For a slightly larger marketing campaign list, this might fill up in a few days.
The Lite version boosts this limit to 50,000 entries in one go. This 50-fold increase means enterprises can confidently conduct large-scale data collection, member management, or build more complex structured data applications without worrying about the database bursting at any time.
Expansion of AI Brain and Knowledge Base
In AI-driven customer service scenarios, the bot’s “knowledge volume” determines its intelligence. The Free version’s document Q&A limit is stricter, supporting only 5 files with a total size of 5MB. This is suitable for testing simple FAQs.
However, the Lite version demonstrates true commercial value:
- Number of Files: Supports up to 10,000 files.
- Total Capacity: Increased to 100MB.
- Crawling Capability: This is the most critical upgrade. The Lite version supports Sitemap Crawling for static websites, or direct crawling of dynamic web pages via URL.
This means enterprises can directly “feed” their official website, help center, or product manuals to the AI, instantly building a massive knowledge base that equips the bot with the ability to answer complex questions.
Automation and Integration Capabilities
If data is blood, then API is the nervous system. The Free version cannot use trigger APIs at all, meaning it is a closed system that cannot interact with external CRM or order systems.
The Lite version provides an additional API call quota of 100 times per hour (including loops), and unlimited internal HTTP resource calls. This opens the door to automated processes, for example: when a customer completes an order in the conversation, the bot can automatically send the data to the backend system via Webhook without human intervention.
3. Flexibility and Expansion: Solutions for Business Growth
When choosing software, enterprises are most afraid of encountering a “plan ceiling”—that is, the business grows, but the software plan cannot be fine-tuned, forcing an upgrade to an expensive enterprise version. DMflow.chat demonstrates extremely high flexibility in this regard.
Add-on Capability for Key Resources
In paid versions, the vast majority of core resources can be adjusted for an additional fee. This includes:
- AI Credits: If the monthly 1,500 points of the Lite version are not enough (e.g., consultation volume surges during promotions), points can be purchased separately.
- Storage Space: Starting from the default 1GB, it can grow flexibly with the number of people or demand.
- API Call Count, QPS Limit, Number of Bots: These can all be expanded according to demand.
This “pay-as-you-go” model allows enterprises not to change the entire plan due to a shortage of a single resource, maintaining system operation at the most streamlined cost.
Comparison Summary Table
To make the differences clear at a glance, we can refer to the following resource comparison:
| Feature Item | Free Version | Lite Version | Upgrade Value Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form List Limit | 1,000 entries | 50,000 entries | Suitable for large-scale data operations, capacity increased by 50 times. |
| Document Knowledge Base | 5 files | 10,000 files / 5MB each / 100MB total | Supports Sitemap and URL crawling, knowledge base scale increased by 2000 times. |
| AI Credits | 100 points/month | 1,500 points/month | Ability to handle complex queries increased by 15 times. |
| API Integration | None | 100 times/hour | Achieve external system integration and automated processes. |
| Expandable? | No | Yes (☑) | Almost all key metrics can be upgraded for a fee. |
4. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The following compiles the most frequently asked questions by users when evaluating quotas and limits:
Q1: If I use the LINE channel but have a large business volume, what if the limit of 5 times per second (5 QPS) is not enough? This is a very practical question. For paid version users, the QPS limit can be adjusted through additional payment. If your marketing campaign is expected to have instantaneous high concurrency traffic, it is recommended to evaluate and upgrade the QPS quota in advance to ensure the immediacy of the bot’s response.
Q2: How does the “Sitemap Crawling” mentioned in the Lite version help me? Traditionally, building a bot knowledge base required manually organizing Excel or PDF documents. With support for Sitemap crawling, you only need to provide the website’s map link, and the system can automatically crawl the web content and convert it into an AI knowledge base. When website content is updated, maintenance is also easier, significantly saving time on manual data organization.
Q3: What happens if AI credits run out? When the monthly AI credits (e.g., 1,500 points for the Lite version) are exhausted, functions involving AI-generated responses (such as chitchat, document-based complex Q&A) may pause or switch to basic rule responses. To avoid service interruption, paid version users can purchase additional AI credits at any time.
Q4: Is the form text limit of 16,384 characters enough? For the vast majority of application scenarios, 16,384 characters are very sufficient. This is equivalent to thousands of Chinese characters, enough to accommodate detailed product descriptions, user feedback, or even long article paragraphs. This limit is mainly to ensure database performance and read speed.
Conclusion
In summary, DMflow.chat’s Free version is suitable for individual developers or small projects for proof of concept; while the Lite Version provides true commercial-grade combat power, with tens or even thousands of times improvement in data capacity, AI intelligent processing, and system integration capabilities.
More importantly, its architectural design retains extremely high flexibility. Enterprises do not need to worry about being tied to a plan and can flexibly stack required computing resources and storage space as the business grows. Choosing the right plan is not only for current needs but also to pave a broad road for future expansion.
