Yes. The Free tier is 600 requests a month at 100 requests a minute, across every endpoint in the catalogue, with no credit card. Nothing about it expires.

What happens when I hit the quota?

Requests return 429 with the limit, what you have used, and which window you tripped — nothing is queued, and nothing is charged. The monthly quota resets on the 1st (UTC). There is no rollover: unused requests do not carry into the next month.

Do failed requests use up my quota?

A 5xx does not. If a source breaks on our side, the request is excluded from your monthly count. A 4xx does count — a wrong parameter is still a request we answered. Per-minute throttling counts everything, so a retry loop is still throttled.

Which tier do I need?

Start on Free. Every response carries the remaining quota in its headers, and the dashboard reads the same number enforcement uses, so you will see the ceiling coming rather than discovering it.

How is Zapi different from RapidAPI or Apify?

Zapi focuses on a consistent REST contract — one API key, one response format, one error pattern for every source. No need to learn per-provider quirks like on traditional marketplaces, and no need to set up scraping workflows like on Apify.

What about the legality of accessing public data?

Zapi only accesses data that is publicly available without a login. Responsibility for how it is ultimately used stays with the developer — make sure your use case complies with the original source's ToS and the regulations in your operating region.

Is there an official SDK?

One: zpi-sdk, for TypeScript and JavaScript. It carries a typed error hierarchy, retries only what is safe to retry, submits bulk jobs, and verifies webhook signatures. Everything else is plain REST — cURL or any HTTP client works.

Can I request a source that isn’t in the catalogue yet?

Yes, through the community Discord, on any tier.

TheMealDB

Search and look up meal recipes with ingredients and preparation instructions.

2 endpoints2 calls2/2 passing

Get API key

Search

Search meals by name.

GET/v1/food:themealdb/search

passing · 1.0s5m cache

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
query	string	query	Meal keyword (English). Required.

Example response

{"project":"food:themealdb",  "data": {"ok":true,"count":25,    "meals": [      {"idMeal":"52795","strArea":"India","strMeal":"Chicken Handi","strTags":null,"strSource":"","strYoutube":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO0issT0Rmc",        "ingredients": [          {"name":"Chicken","measure":"1.2 kg"          },          {"name":"Onion","measure":"5 thinly sliced"          },          {"name":"Tomatoes","measure":"2 finely chopped"          }        ],"strCategory":"Chicken","strMealThumb":"https://www.themealdb.com/images/media/meals/wyxwsp1486979827.jpg","strInstructions":"Take a large pot or wok, big enough to cook all the chicken, and heat the oil in it. Once the oil is hot, add sliced onion and fry them until deep golden brown. Then take them out …"      },      {"idMeal":"53358","strArea":"India","strMeal":"Chicken Mandi","strTags":null,"strSource":"","strYoutube":"",        "ingredients": [          {"name":"Chicken","measure":"1"          },          {"name":"Basmati Rice","measure":"2 cups"          },          {"name":"Water","measure":"4 cups"          }        ],"strCategory":"Chicken","strMealThumb":"https://www.themealdb.com/images/media/meals/er4d081765186828.jpg","strInstructions":"1. Clean and cut the chicken; marinate briefly with salt, turmeric and a little oil.\r\n2. Rinse and soak basmati rice 20–30 minutes.\r\n3. In a large pot, heat ghee/oil. Fry chopped o…"      },      {"idMeal":"53110","strArea":"Australian","strMeal":"Sticky Chicken","strTags":null,"strSource":"https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sticky-chicken","strYoutube":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8tz2BOltTg",        "ingredients": [          {"name":"Chicken drumsticks","measure":"8"          },          {"name":"Soy Sauce","measure":"2 tblsp"          },          {"name":"Honey","measure":"1 tablespoon"          }        ],"strCategory":"Chicken","strMealThumb":"https://www.themealdb.com/images/media/meals/cj56fs1762340001.jpg","strInstructions":"step 1\r\nMake 3 slashes on each of the drumsticks. Mix together the soy, honey, oil, tomato purée and mustard. Pour this mixture over the chicken and coat thoroughly. Leave to marin…"      }    ]  },"timestamp":"2026-05-27T13:26:59Z"}

Errors

401Missing or invalid x-api-key
404Not found or private
429Rate limit or monthly quota reached

Lookup

Look up a meal by its ID.

GET/v1/food:themealdb/lookup

passing · 0.2s5m cache

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
mealId	string	query	Meal numeric id. Required.

Example response

{"project":"food:themealdb",  "data": {"ok":true,    "meal": {"idMeal":"52772","strArea":"Japanese","strMeal":"Teriyaki Chicken Casserole","strTags":"Meat,Casserole","strSource":null,"strYoutube":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aZr5hZXP_s",      "ingredients": [        {"name":"soy sauce","measure":"3/4 cup"        },        {"name":"water","measure":"1/2 cup"        },        {"name":"brown sugar","measure":"1/4 cup"        },        {"name":"ground ginger","measure":"1/2 teaspoon"        },        {"name":"minced garlic","measure":"1/2 teaspoon"        },        {"name":"cornstarch","measure":"4 Tablespoons"        },        {"name":"chicken breasts","measure":"2"        },        {"name":"stir-fry vegetables","measure":"1 (12 oz.)"        },        {"name":"brown rice","measure":"3 cups"        }      ],"strCategory":"Chicken","strMealThumb":"https://www.themealdb.com/images/media/meals/wvpsxx1468256321.jpg","strInstructions":"Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray.\r\nCombine soy sauce, ½ cup water, brown sugar, ginger and garlic in a small saucepan and cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove lid and cook for one minute once boiling.\r\nMeanwhile, stir together the corn starch and 2 tablespoons of water in a separate dish until smooth. Once sauce is boiling, add mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken then remove from heat.\r\nPlace the chicken breasts in the prepared pan. Pour one cup of the sauce over top of chicken. Place chicken in oven and bake 35 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and shred chicken in the dish using two forks.\r\n*Meanwhile, steam or cook the vegetables according to package directions.\r\nAdd the cooked vegetables and rice to the casserole dish with the chicken. Add most of the remaining sauce, reserving a bit to drizzle over the top when serving. Gently toss everything together in the casserole dish until combined. Return to oven and cook 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Drizzle each serving with remaining sauce. Enjoy!"    }  },"timestamp":"2026-05-27T13:26:59Z"}

Errors

401Missing or invalid x-api-key
404Not found or private
429Rate limit or monthly quota reached

Try it

Live request with your key

const data = await client.run(  "food:themealdb",  "search",  { query: "chicken" });

TheMealDB

Search and look up meal recipes with ingredients and preparation instructions.

2 endpoints2 calls2/2 passing

Get API key

Search meals by name.

GET/v1/…themealdb/search

passing · 1.0s5m cache

Try it

Parameters

query

string · query · required

Meal keyword (English).

Example response

{"project":"food:themealdb",  "data": {"ok":true,"count":25,    "meals": [      {"idMeal":"52795","strArea":"India","strMeal":"Chicken Handi","strTags":null,"strSource":"","strYoutube":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO0issT0Rmc",        "ingredients": [          {"name":"Chicken","measure":"1.2 kg"          },          {"name":"Onion","measure":"5 thinly sliced"          },          {"name":"Tomatoes","measure":"2 finely chopped"          }        ],"strCategory":"Chicken","strMealThumb":"https://www.themealdb.com/images/media/meals/wyxwsp1486979827.jpg","strInstructions":"Take a large pot or wok, big enough to cook all the chicken, and heat the oil in it. Once the oil is hot, add sliced onion and fry them until deep golden brown. Then take them out …"      },      {"idMeal":"53358","strArea":"India","strMeal":"Chicken Mandi","strTags":null,"strSource":"","strYoutube":"",        "ingredients": [          {"name":"Chicken","measure":"1"          },          {"name":"Basmati Rice","measure":"2 cups"          },          {"name":"Water","measure":"4 cups"          }        ],"strCategory":"Chicken","strMealThumb":"https://www.themealdb.com/images/media/meals/er4d081765186828.jpg","strInstructions":"1. Clean and cut the chicken; marinate briefly with salt, turmeric and a little oil.\r\n2. Rinse and soak basmati rice 20–30 minutes.\r\n3. In a large pot, heat ghee/oil. Fry chopped o…"      },      {"idMeal":"53110","strArea":"Australian","strMeal":"Sticky Chicken","strTags":null,"strSource":"https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sticky-chicken","strYoutube":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8tz2BOltTg",        "ingredients": [          {"name":"Chicken drumsticks","measure":"8"          },          {"name":"Soy Sauce","measure":"2 tblsp"          },          {"name":"Honey","measure":"1 tablespoon"          }        ],"strCategory":"Chicken","strMealThumb":"https://www.themealdb.com/images/media/meals/cj56fs1762340001.jpg","strInstructions":"step 1\r\nMake 3 slashes on each of the drumsticks. Mix together the soy, honey, oil, tomato purée and mustard. Pour this mixture over the chicken and coat thoroughly. Leave to marin…"      }    ]  },"timestamp":"2026-05-27T13:26:59Z"}

Errors

401Missing or invalid x-api-key
404Not found or private
429Rate limit or monthly quota reached

Code

const data = await client.run(  "food:themealdb",  "search",  { query: "chicken" });