---
title: Kafka connector limits and quotas
meta:
  description: Learn about Kafka connector limits, how they're applied, and how to request limit increases for your Tinybird workspace.
---

# Kafka connector limits and quotas

This page describes the limits and quotas that apply to the Kafka connector in Tinybird. For general workspace limits, see [Limits](/forward/pricing/limits).

## How limits are applied

Kafka connector limits are applied at the **organization level**, meaning all workspaces within your organization share the same limits. This ensures consistent resource allocation across your organization.

## Topic limits

The number of Kafka topics you can connect to depends on your plan:

{% table %}
* Plan
* Topic limit
* Notes
---
* Free
* 5 topics
* Hard limit
---
* Developer
* 5 topics
* Hard limit
---
* Enterprise
* Unlimited topics
* Contact support for high topic counts
{% /table %}

### Requesting a topic limit increase

Enterprise plan users can request an increase to the topic limit by contacting <support@tinybird.co>. Include the following information in your request:

- Your organization name
- Current number of topics in use
- Expected number of topics needed
- Use case description

## Consumer group limits

There are no hard limits on the number of consumer groups you can use. However, each combination of `KAFKA_TOPIC` and `KAFKA_GROUP_ID` can only be used in one Data Source.

**Best practices:**
- Use unique consumer group IDs for each Data Source
- Use environment-specific group IDs (for example, `prod-group`, `staging-group`)
- Document which consumer groups are in use

For managing consumer groups across environments, see the [CI/CD and version control guide](guides/cicd-version-control).

## Connection limits

You can create up to **3 Kafka connections per workspace**. Each connection can be used by multiple Data Sources.

If you need more connections, contact <support@tinybird.co> to discuss your use case.

## Message size limits

Tinybird has a default message size limit of **10 MB** per message. Messages exceeding this limit are automatically sent to the Quarantine Data Source.

**Strategies for handling large messages:**
- Use Kafka compression to reduce message size
- Split large messages into smaller chunks
- Store large payloads in object storage (S3, GCS) and reference them in Kafka messages

For detailed guidance, see the [message size handling guide](guides/message-size-handling).

## Throughput limits

The Kafka connector has the following throughput limits:

- **Minimum flush time**: 4 seconds
- **Throughput (uncompressed)**: 20 MB/s per connection

If you're regularly hitting these limits, contact <support@tinybird.co> for support. Enterprise customers may have higher limits based on their infrastructure.

## Deployment failures due to limits

If a deployment fails due to limits, you see an error message indicating which limit was exceeded. Common scenarios:

1. **Topic limit exceeded**: You've reached the maximum number of topics for your plan
2. **Connection limit exceeded**: You've created the maximum number of connections for your workspace
3. **Message size limit**: A message exceeds the 10 MB limit (sent to quarantine, not a deployment failure)

**To resolve:**
1. Review your current usage against the limits
2. Remove unused topics or connections if needed
3. Contact support to request limit increases (Enterprise plans)

## Best practices for managing limits

1. **Monitor your usage**: Regularly check how many topics and connections you're using
2. **Clean up unused resources**: Remove Data Sources and connections that are no longer needed
3. **Plan for growth**: Consider your future needs when designing your Kafka integration
4. **Use environment-specific configurations**: Separate development, staging, and production to better manage resources

## Requesting limit increases

Enterprise plan users can request limit increases by contacting <support@tinybird.co>. Include:

- Your organization name
- Which limit you need increased (topics, connections, throughput)
- Current usage and expected growth
- Use case description

Free and Developer plan users can upgrade to Enterprise to access higher limits. See [Pricing](/forward/pricing) for plan details.

## Related documentation

- [Kafka connector documentation](/forward/get-data-in/connectors/kafka) - Main connector setup guide
- [Troubleshooting guide](troubleshooting) - Resolve common issues
- [Performance optimization guide](guides/performance-optimization) - Optimize throughput
- [General limits documentation](/forward/pricing/limits) - All workspace limits