Groq 400 blocked_api_access: spend limit reached

What does the error mean?

Groq’s spend limits page says that if you hit your set limit, API calls from any key in your organization will return a 400 with code blocked_api_access.

It’s a cap you, or someone on your team, set under Settings, Billing, Limits. The limit is monthly and covers the whole organization, so one busy service can block every other app using Groq. A 429 is different. That one is a rate limit, and it clears in seconds.

How do you fix it?

Groq gives you three ways out:

1. Raise the limit. Go to Settings, then Billing, then Limits, and edit the monthly amount. Access comes back right away.
2. Remove the limit. That also unblocks the API immediately, but leaves you with no cap at all.
3. Wait. Limits reset on the 1st of each month, and access returns then.

You need organization owner permissions to change a spend limit. If you can’t see the Limits page, check that the account is on a paid plan.

How do you keep it from coming back?

Set alerts below the limit. Groq lets you add as many as you want, and suggests 50%, 75% and 90%. The emails go to your billing addresses, so add a few teammates under Settings, Billing, Manage.

Groq also advises not setting the limit right at your expected usage. Leave room for spikes, maybe 20 to 30% above a normal month.

Then there’s the other way Groq cuts you off. Its billing FAQ says failed payments may lead to suspension, and you can retry a failed payment up to two times. So keep the card on file current. If you’re updating it anyway, use one that pays you back. ernd is a credit card for US companies with 4% back on AI vendor spend and 1.5% on everything else. Request the card at app.ernd.ai.